Mesopotamia

Cradle of Civilization

MesopotamiaGeographic area-In modern day country

of IraqThe name means “land

between 2 rivers”2 Rivers- Tigris River and

Euphrates River

Mesopotamia The constant water supply from the 2

rivers provided rich farm land ideal for growing crops.

The rivers flooded each spring, the early people in the area built levees to keep the flood waters back and built irrigation systems.

Mesopotamia Area was first settled about 4500-4000

B.C. These people were originally farmers,

herders, and fishermen. They made tools, bricks, clay figures, and

pottery.

Sumer The people who lived there were called

Sumerians The first known civilization around 3500 B.C. The Sumerian people made wagon wheels, used

copper and bronze, made sail boats, used plows, wrote laws, and studied astronomy.

Sumer Important city states developed Built strong walled cities for protection

from outside invaders Important Sumerian city-Ur (capital of Sumer) had a population of

around 200,000Most cities were unattractive- no public

services available to remove garbage and sewage. This was left to pile up on the streets.

Sumerian Cities Streets were narrow, unpaved, winding Houses were one story mud brick structures with

flat roofs. Members of the upper class had 2 story houses

with many rooms that included sleeping quarters and servants quarters and burial plots below the house

Household utensils made out of stone, copper and bronze

Merchants supplied the townspeople with material items

Religion Sumerians constructed shrines or temples called

Ziggurats. Ziggurats were to serve as a pedestal for the

gods to descend to Earth. On top was a shrine room where people would

pray or hope to entertain a divine visitor.

Religion Public was not invited to engage in temple

rituals, but they needed to constantly pray or the gods would not bless their lands.

Around the ziggurat were courts where artisans worked, children went to school, and people traded and stored goods there.

Sumerians believed that all of nature was controlled by gods

Education The Sumerian schools were called “tablet houses”

and were used to educate scribes for various religious, governmental, and commercial jobs.

Schools at first were mostly religious and were for rich children

Male only Classes went from morning until sunset Curriculum included- grammar, penmanship,

science, and math

Writing Writing helped man maintain a complex

economic and political society Sumerian writing dates back as early as

3100 B.C. Dried Mud tablets with a sharp pointed

reed called a stylus was how they wrote the cuneiform.

This writing was adopted by their conquerors and used for about 2000 years.

Family Life Woman had rights in Sumerian society They could buy and sell property and

could run businesses The husband was the head of the

household He could divorce his wife or rent out his

wife and children for up to three years Children were expected to support their

parents when they became old

Priests and Kings Priests were also the kings of the city-states Gilgamesh was the most famous Received advice from an assembly of free

men During wars, the assembly chose a military

leader to serve until the war was over Eventually, these leaders stayed in charge

and became kings. Kingship became hereditary

Ticket out the Door

Accomplishments

Irrigation canals

schools

First city builders

Developed religion and government

Section 2

Later Mesopotamian Empires

Sargon 1 Ruled an area called Akkad Began to conquer city-states one by one

and became king of all of them Created world’s first empire Ruled for 50 years

Hammurabi of Babylon Hammurabi was king of Babylon who

conquered Akkad and Sumer The Babylonians took on the language and

religion of the people they conquered Hammurabi improved irrigation systems

and changed the religion Developed his own set of laws called the

Code of Hammurabi

Hammurabi Appointed judges to carry out the code Judges were punished if not honest He believed people were innocent until

proven guilty During Hammurabi’s rule, Babylon became

a trade center Hammurabi’s reign is known as the Golden

Age of Babylon

Ticket Out the Door How is Hammurabi’s code similar to the

laws in the United States?

Section 3

Contributions

Inventions and Contributions Inventions and customs of the Sumerians

and Babylonians were copied and improved upon by other cultures.

Inventions and Contributions Oldest written records in

the world First written laws Cuneiform was a model

for other people’s system of writing

Inventions and Contributions Invented the wheel which aided

transportation Invented the plow which allowed farmers

to grow more food Invented the sailboat which replaced

muscle power with wind power

wheel

Inventions and contributions Developed a 12

month calendar based on the cycles of the moon

It marked the times for religious festivals and planting

Inventions and Contributions Contributions to math Developed a number system based on 60 60 minute hour 60 second minute 360 degree circle Clock that was controlled by water

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