Mesopotamia

“Land Between Two Rivers”

Where was Mesopotamia?

Civilization emerged because the soils around the rivers provided a surplus of food.

City-states developed independently of each other.

Independent cites developed; Ur, Urak,

Eridu

Cuneiform invented Sargon

establishes the 1st empire

Hammurabi comes to

power

3000 BCE 1500 BCE

Sumer

Akkadian

Babylon

2340 BCE 1792 BCE

Akkadian Empire

falls

2100 BCE

Sumer: the First Civilization 3000 BCE formed city-states around Ur, Urak, and Sumer

Basic political unit of Sumer Ziggurat was center of city

government and religion Theocracy gave increased power to

the rulers Polytheistic religion creates

thousands of godsSSWH1b

The Nanna Ziggurat at Ur

What was the purpose of a ziggurat?

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Sumer was the site of several “firsts” in human historyThe plow

The sailboatThe wheel

System of writing: cuneiform

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Which of Sumer’s inventions do you think is most important? Why?

Writing is the most important because it allows us to know what happened in the past.

Sumer was displaced by the Akkadian Empire approximately 2340 BCE

Sargon conquered Sumerian city-states creating the world’s first empire

An empire is a large political unit that controls many peoples and territories

Role of Women

• Bearing / raising children• Own property• Control dowry• Trade• No political role• Textiles, breweries, prostitutes, bakers,

fortunetellers• Steadily declines

– Men take 2nd wife (if no kids)– Marriage alliances

Babylon came to power about 2100 BCE

Hammurabi was first king of the empire

Expanded control of Mesopotamia by Babylon

Best known for the development of legal code

Hammurabi’s Code was one of the first, and most famous, written codes of law“to promote the welfare of the people, I,

Hammurabi, the devout, god-fearing prince, cause justice to prevail in the land by destroying the wicked and the evil, that the strong might not oppress the weak.”

Some very general, some very specific

282 entries cover all kinds of civic interactions

Favored wealthy and powerful

What about other places and people?

Egypt: Gift of the Nile

The regular flooding of the Nile allowed for life in Egypt.

agriculturefish &

waterfowlmud for

buildingeased

transportation

The Nile was bordered by deserts which provided:

defense from invasion

precious metals and stones

stones for building

The pharaoh had absolute power

owned and controlled all the land

descended from Re embodied Horus as a god-on-earth

set apart from the rest of humanity

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The pharaoh had absolute power

owned and controlled all the land

descended from Re embodied Horus as a god-on-earth

set apart from the rest of humanity

SSWH1b