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Mesopotamia Chapter 1, Section 2. Mesopotamia. Means “ the land between the rivers ” A land that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Now Southern Iraq. What is a Civilization ?. Cultural universals. Complex societies that have… - cities - organized governments - art
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Mesopotamia Chapter 1, Section 2
Mesopotamia • Means “the land between the rivers” • A land that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers • Now Southern Iraq.
What is a Civilization? Cultural universals • Complex societies that have… - cities - organized governments - art - religion - class divisions - writing system (What do these words remind you of ?)
Why were river valleys important? • Good farming conditions • Provided fish and freshwater to drink • Provided easy transportation routes for trade
FARMING and IRRIGATION • Floods often ruined crops. • Farmers built irrigation systems to control floods. • Included walls, waterways and ditches to bring water to their fields.
First Foods Garlic and onions were grown to provide flavoring for Mesopotamian cooking, as were many kinds of herb and spice. Grain crops were developed by farmers from wild grasses, such as emmer. Vegetable crops included peas, beans, and greens, such as spinach.
Crops Fruits that thrived in Mesopotamia’s warm climate included dates, grapes, and juicy figs. Farmers had to hand over a share of their produce to government officials as taxes Water carried along irrigation channels from canals and rivers enabled produce such as pomegranates and pistachio nuts to be grown in city gardens.
First Permanent Homes Reed houses similar to those built by the Mesopotamians thousands of years ago are still used by the Madan people in the wetlands of southern Iraq.
More Sturdy Homes Ordinary Mesopotamians lived in mud-brick houses with flat roofs. The same basic house design was used across the Middle East for much of its history.
Early Animals Goats were first domesticated (bred as farm animals) around 8000 BCE. The first tame goats were short-horned varieties, whereas their wild relatives had long, curved horns. The Sumerians hunted deer and gazelles, but most meat came from farm animals. Fish were caught in rivers and wetlands, and along the coast.
Rise of Sumer The red area is Sumer; what do you think the little white dots indicate? City-States • A region in southern Mesopotamia • Cities formed there by 3000 B.C. • Were isolated from each other because of geography • Each Sumerian city became a separate City-State with its own government.
City-State ANY REGION THAT HAS ITS OWN GOVERNMENT AND IS NOT PART OF A LARGER UNIT.
What do you notice about this ditch in relation to the river?
Sumerians at War • Sumerian city-states often went to war with each other. • Fought for glory and control of territory. • To protect their lands, each city-state surrounded itself with a strong brick walls made of river mud and crushed reeds.
Sumerian Beliefs • Believed in many gods. • Each god had power over natural forces or human activity (i.e. flooding, basket weaving) • Each city-state built a temple called a ziggurat to honor its chief god.
Ziggurat Built to honor gods and served as the city’s treasury. The word means “mountain of god”.
Life in Sumer • Kings lived in palaces • Ordinary people lived in mud-brick houses. • Some people were artisans. Artisans are skilled workers who make metal products, cloth or pottery. • Most people farmed and others worked as merchants or traders.
Artisans The Mesopotamians invented the potter’s wheel sometime before 3500 BCE. Skilled goldsmiths in the Assyrian city of Ashur took raw metal and worked it into delicate gold chains for necklaces and fine gold settings to hold precious stones.
Social Classes in Sumer • People were divided into three classes. • Most stayed in the same class into which they were born.
Upper Class • Kings • Priests • Warriors • Government Officials
Middle Class (the largest class) • Artisans • Merchants • Farmers • Fishers
Lower Class • Enslaved people who worked on farms or in the temples • Forced to serve others
Men and Women in Sumer • Men headed the households • Men decided whom their children would marry. • Only males could go to school. • Women could buy and sell property. • Women could run businesses.
Sumerians invented writing! • Their writing was called cuneiform. • Only a few people learned how to write, mostly boys from wealthy families. • These boys becamescribes, or record keepers.
Cuneiform Hundreds of wedge-shaped characters helped people keep records and share their stories.
Sumerian Literature • Oldest known story comes from Sumer • Epic of Gilgameshis about a great Sumerian king. • An epicis a long poem that tells the story of a hero.
Other Inventions • Wagon Wheel • Plow • Sailboat • Geometry • Number system based on 60 • 12 month calendar
Like their letters, Mesopotamian numbers were cuneiform (wedge-shaped) symbols. The main counting system used the number 60 as its base.
The Sumerians are threatened The area outlined in red is the area known as Akkad. The land to the north of Sumer was called Akkad. At its greatest extent, the Akkadian Empire stretched from the Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.
Sumerian City-States Lose Power • The Akkadians from Northern Mesopotamia launched attacks on Sumerian City-States. • Sargon, king of Akkadians, conquered all of Mesopotamia and created the world’s first empire. • An empire is a group of many different lands under one ruler. • Sargon’s empire lasted 200 years.
Babylon • A new group of people took over Mesopotamia in 1800s B.C. and built the city of Babylon. • The Babylonian king was Hammurabi. • Hammurabi created the Babylonian empire.
Babylonians Mesopotamian cities, such as Babylon, were protected by massive walls. At the center were temples, ziggurats, and palaces. Around these were offices, workshops, and housing.
Code of Hammurabi • Hammurabi is best known for his “eye for an eye” philosophy. • Covered crimes, farming and business activities, and marriage and the family. • Influenced later law codes, including those of Greece and Rome.
