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Early Civilizations

Early Civilizations. Chapter 2. I. Mesopotamia. Mesos – Greek for “middle” Potamos – Greek for “river” Greek meaning “land between the rivers” Area located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers – Modern-day Iraq

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Early Civilizations

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  1. Early Civilizations Chapter 2

  2. I. Mesopotamia • Mesos – Greek for “middle” • Potamos – Greek for “river” • Greek meaning “land between the rivers” • Area located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers – Modern-day Iraq • Fertile Crescent – Rich farmland located between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea

  3. Sumerians – People who established the 1st civilization more than 5,000 years ago

  4. Sumerian Art

  5. A. Environmental Challenges • 1) Unpredictable Floods • Each year the two rivers flooded • Did not flood at the same time or on the same land each year • If rivers did not flood the land was a desert • Solution: Sumerians dug irrigation ditches

  6. 2) Villages had no natural defenses • Left the Sumerians open to attacks • Created state of constant warfare • Solution: Constructed mud bricks that provided some protection against invaders

  7. 3) Extremely limited natural resources • Solution – Created large trade networks to get resources

  8. B. Sumerian Religion • Polytheism – Belief in more than one god • Polys – Greek for “many” • Theos – Greek for “god” • Believed in over 3000 gods • Ziggurat – Huge pyramid-like buildings built to honor gods

  9. .

  10. Ziggurat of Ur

  11. Epic of Gilgamesh – Oldest known work of literature • Story of King Gilgamesh’s unsuccessful quest for immortality • Flood story

  12. C. First Empire • Empire – Bringing people and previously independent nations under the control of one ruler • Sargon of Akkad – Defeated the city of Sumer and created the world’s first empire in 2350 BC

  13. Statue of Sargon of Akkad

  14. D. Hammurabi – 1780 BC • Conquered Mesopotamia and established his empire at Babylon • Most famous for his code of laws

  15. E. Code of Hammurabi • 282 laws • Helped bring many people together under one law • Retributive Justice – Punishment equals the crime • “An eye for an eye” • “A tooth for a tooth”

  16. And why do you think he believed it important to place the laws in prominent locations so the people could visibly see them? Hammurabi had these laws posted in prominent places throughout his empire A total of 282 laws are etched on this 7 ft. 5 in. tall black basalt pillar (stele). The top portion, shown here, depicts Hammurabi with Shamash, the sun god. Shamash is presenting to Hammurabi a staff and ring, which symbolize the power to administer the law. Although Hammurabi's Code is not the first code of laws (the first records date four centuries earlier), it is the best preserved legal document reflecting the social structure of Babylon during Hammurabi's rule. This amazing find was discovered in 1901 and today is in the famous Louvre Museum in Paris, France. .

  17. Actual Code of Hammurabi

  18. The Louvre

  19. Set different punishments for rich and poor • Only equal punishment for people of the same class • A rich person who took the eye of a lower class person had to pay a fine

  20. Tablet from the Code of Hammurabi

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