VII. Civilization-A complex culture in which large numbers of human beings share common elements.

Tigris River

A. What are characteristics?1. Cities2. Religion3. Government4. Social Structure5. Writing6. Art

B. Geography of the Middle East1. Deserts dominate much of the area. The Syrian Desert is located in the Middle East.2. The Zagros Mountains are on the eastern border of Iraq and extend into Iran.

C. Ancient Mesopotamia (The Fertile Crescent)-Located in the Middle East, civilization began between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The first civilization to develop was Ancient Sumer.

1. Why? Rich soil and abundant crops allowed the land to sustain life. The Tigris and Euphrates overflowed their banks and deposited silt for the land. However, this system was unpredictable for farmers.

Euphrates River

2. How? Irrigation and drainage ditches allow farmers to grow crops regularly and control the water supply. This led to a surplus of crops.

3. Evidence of Sumerian sophistication:

a) Religion-The Sumerians created a polytheistic religion to help answer questions about life.

1) Polytheism-Belief in many gods

2) The most prominent building in a Sumerian city was the temple dedicated to the chief god or goddess of the city. The temple was known as a ziggurat.

Priests were only allowed to climb the temple

3) Ziggurat of Ur-Constructed around 2100 B.C.E., it was for the moon god, Nanna.

b) Trade-Sumerians imported copper and tin in exchange for dried fish, wool, barley, wheat, and metal goods. The Sumerians discovered when tin is added to copper, it makes bronze, thus making a harder metal than copper.

1) The invention of the wagon wheel, made transport much easier.

c) Writing-Around 3000 B.C.E., the Sumerians created a cuneiform (“wedge-shaped”) system of writing. They made wedge-shaped impressions on clay tablets, which were baked or dried in the sun.

1) One of the most important positions in Sumer was a scribe.

a) The Epic of Gilgamesh-A poem that tells the stories of a king named Gilgamesh. The poem recounts his quest for immortality. In the end, he is is mortal because immortality is exclusively for the gods.

d) Cities-Different city-states developed that required a government.. Further evidence of city-states are provided by city walls.

D. To the north of the Sumerian city-states were the Akkadians. They conquered the Sumerian city-states by 2340 B.C.E., and established the first empire.

E. In Babylonia, a city-state south of Akkad, Hammurabi came to power and gained control of Sumer and Akkad. After Hammurabi’s death in 1750 B.C.E., weak kings led to the collapse of Babylonia.

Hammurabi standing

1. Code of Hammurabi-One of the world’s first legal systems. Based on principles of strict justice. Principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” was fundamental.

a) Sample from the code: “If anyone commits a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death.”

2. Penalties varied based on social class.

a) A crime committed against a noble by a commoner was punished more severely than a crime committed by a commoner against a commoner.

Place the following events on the timeline

-6500 B.C.E.-Çatalhüyük is at its peak-8000 B.C.E.-4000 B.C.E.-Beginning of the Neolithic Revolution-10,000 B.C.E.-End of the Paleolithic Age-3000 B.C.E.-Beginning of Bronze Age-1750 B.C.E.-Hammurabi dies-2,500,000 B.C.E.-Beginning of the Paleolithic Age-2340 B.C.E.-Sumerians are conquered by the Akkadians-2100 B.C.E. Ziggurat of Ur constructed-3000 B.C.E.-Cuneiform was created by the Sumerians-1000 B.C.E.-Beginning of the iron age7th century B.C.E. begins9th century B.C.E. begins