Chapter 2 Lesson 1 Outline

I. Civilizationsa. Groups of people who have a complex and organized

society within a culture.b. Each civilization has its own customs, food supply,

social divisions, government, religion and technology.c. They first developed in southwestern Asia in a

crescent-shaped area.

II. Fertile Crescenta. Fertile-rich soil.

b. Today, the land of the Fertile Crescent is part of the countries Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.

c. Northern area was a plateau and the land was not fertile.

d. Southern area was a plain area and was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

III. Mesopotamia- “The land between two rivers”

a. Was one of the first civilizations

b. Located between Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

IV. Tigris and Euphrates River a. There were fresh water, fish, and very rich soil

surrounding the rivers.

b. Irrigation Systems were canals and ditches that brought water from rivers to their fields. This allowed farmers to bring water to their crops when there was little rainfall.

i. Mesopotamian farmers could control the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers by using these irrigation systems.

V. City-Statesa. City-states were individual units with it’s own

government and traditions.

b. People in city-states worked in different jobs, such as religious leaders, soldiers, traders or artisans (craftspeople, potters and weavers).

i. This is called social divisions

Chapter Two

Lesson 2 and 4 Outline

I. Mesopotamia

a.Had many city states

b.Akkad was in the north.

c.Sumer was in the south.

II. Sumer

a.Had fertile land

b.Had mud-brick known as adobe that they used to make

homes and ziggurats.

1. Ziggurats are rectangular stacked temples used for

their gods.

2. Sumerians believed the ziggurats linked heaven and

the Earth.

3. The bigger the ziggurat the important the god.

c.City-states had mud-brick walls that surrounded the city

in order to protect it from nomads and enemies.

d.Sumerians had many advancements, such as cuneiform,

ziggurats, the wheel, and farming methods.

1. Farmers traded their surplus food with others to get

goods that they needed.

e.Sumerians used writing, religion, and technology daily to

advance their civilizations.

f. Sumer had a class society- an organized society that

puts some people in a higher position then others.

(1.) king

(2.) priests and gov’t officials

(3.) artisans, merchants, scribes,

farmers

(4) slaves were at the bottom.

III. Akkad

a.Akkad did not have a lot of fertile land.

b.Akkadians were attackers because they were looking for

better farm land.

c.They conquered (took over) many city-states in

Mesopotamia to create the first empire- a large territory

with many different places under the control of a single

ruler.

d.Constant revolts from the conquered city-states caused

the empire to fall.

IV. Cuneiform

a.Cuneiform was the first system of writing that was

invented by the Sumerians.

b.It is a wedge shaped writing in which each picture stood

for a word, action, or sound.

c.Cuneiform was used to keep government records, such as

crop production, taxes, or population.

V. Polytheism

a.Polytheism is the worship of many gods.

b.Sumerians and Akkadians placed a lot of emphasis on

religion.

c.They believed that if their life was good then the gods

were happy.

d.They often made human sacrifices and offerings to the

gods to keep them happy.

e.Religion and government were linked.

f. Sumerians believed in divine kingship-the belief that

the gods chose a person to rule the city-state and this

power could be passed down from a father to a son.

VI. Monotheism

a.Monotheism is the practice of worshiping only one god.

b.Abraham was the first man to make a covenant

(promise) with God to worship only one god.

1. He was the first Jewish man.

c. The Torah is the first five books of the Jewish bible.

1. The Torah has the 10 Commandments which

provide people rules on how to worship God.

d. King David united all the Jewish people throughout Egypt

and Mesopotamia and founded Israel.

e. Solomon, King David’s son, built Solomon’s Temple to

house the Torah.

VII. Phoenicians and Lydians

a.Phoenicians developed the first alphabet.

b.Phoenicians were adventurous traders in Mesopotamia.

1. Through trading they spread ideas and goods

throughout the Mediterranean Sea.

c.Trading linked the ancient world together and led to

cultural diffusion.

1. cultural diffusion-the blending of different cultures

and ideas.

d.When trading people usually bartered for goods.

1. Bartering is the exchange of goods and services for

other goods and services.

e.Lydians-invented the first coins to make trading easier.

Chapter TwoLesson Three outline

I. Hammurabia. King of Babylon.b. Hammurabi was a mean ruler who wanted a lot of power.c. Created the Code of Hammurabi.

i. These were rules for behavior.ii. Laws were created to protect the weak from the

strong and to keep the empire running effectively.

iii. Some laws were very harsh.iv. The laws had different punishments for different

crimes.v. Believed in an “Eye for an Eye” and Tooth for a

Tooth”II. Babylon

a. Babylon was located in southern Mesopotamia and had fertile soil.

b. Babylonians relied on irrigation for farming and trade.c. Babylon was the center for culture and learning.

III. Nebuchadnezzar IIa. Nebuchadnezzar II was the Babylonian king years after

Hammurabi.b. Nebuchadnezzar II wanted to make Babylon “Great and

Glorious” so he ordered many building projects and created the Hanging Gardens.

c. Nebuchadnezzar II took over some of the Assyrian land when the empire fell because of revolts.

d. Babylon became the center for trading and learning under Nebuchadnezzar II’s rule.

i. Babylonians made advancements in math, science, and astronomy.

e. The Persians invaded Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar’s death and took over Babylon.

IV. Assyriansa. The Assyrians developed at the same time as the

Babylonians, except they were in the north. b. The Assyrians culture was influenced by the Babylonian

culture, except the Assyrians placed a lot of emphasis on war and conquest.

c. The Assyrian created a large empire that eventually fell because of the constant revolts.