MesopotamiaChapter 2

Main IdeaThe first known civilization arose in Mesopotamia, and its culture and innovations influenced later civilizations in the region for thousands of years.

Mesopotamia and Sumer

Geography Promotes Civilization• Fertile area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers became site

of world’s first civilization

• Fertile Crescent well suited for agriculture

• Farming in Mesopotamia posed challenges:

• If water levels too high, crops washed away

• If water levels too low, crops died

• People developed methods to control water:

• Basins, canals, and dikes

• Organization: assigning jobs, allocating resources

• Shaped life in city-states

• Polytheism: worship of many gods

• Priests had high status and were the first rulers

• War chiefs began to rule as kings

• Dynasty: series of rulers from one family

Religion and Government• Large cities developed by 4000

BC

• Structures made of mud bricks

• Ziggurat: pyramid-shaped temple

• Massive wall encircled each city

• Each city and its land formed a city-state, a political unit with its own government

The Cities of Sumer

Sumer

Writing

• Cuneiform: Sumerian writing

• Business accounts and records

• Law, grammar, literature

• Scribes, writers and copyists

• Epic of Gilgamesh

The Arts

• Arches, ramps, columns

• Sculpture

• Cylinder seals

Math and Sciences

• System based on number 60 • Geometry – used for building• May have been the first to use the wheel• Invented the plow• Basic surgery

Trade and Society

• Traded for wood and metals

• Social hierarchy

• Distinct male/female roles

Sumerian Culture

Draw Conclusions

Why was the Sumerians’ development of cuneiform a major turning point in history?

Answer(s): After the development of cuneiform, humankind moved from prehistory into the historical age.

• Each conquering invader adapted aspects of Sumerian culture.• Empire – a land that influences different kingdoms and people under one rule. • Thus Sumerian civilization continued to influence life in Mesopotamia.

• Sargon I:– Around 2330 BC, created first

permanent army– Conquered Sumer and northern

Mesopotamia– Established world’s first empire, Akkad,

which lasted about 100 years• Sumerian culture spread far beyond Tigris

and Euphrates valleys

Sargon’s Empire• Hammurabi became king in 1792 BC• United all of Mesopotamia • Able ruler and administrator• Hammurabi’s Code:

– 282 laws covering everything from trade to murder

– Written for all to see– Babylon became Mesopotamia’s

greatest city

The Babylonian Empire

Empires in Mesopotamia