Chapter 1 Section 2 Mesopotamian Civilization

1. Chapter 1 Section 2Mesopotamian Civilization Vocabulary civilization irrigation city-state artisan cuneiform scribe empire

2. Mesopotamia’s Civilization • Over thousands of year, early farming villages turned into ______________. • Civilizations—___________________________________ _____________________________________________. • Rivers were important b/c of 2 main things. • _____________________________________. • _____________________________________. • People formed ______________ to make plans and decisions for the common good. • Took charge of food supplies & building projects. • Made laws and assembled armies. • Developed religion, the arts, ways of writing, and calendars.

3. Rise of Sumer • Earliest civilization formed in today’s southern Iraq between ________ and ___________ rivers. • Area was called ____________________. • Mesopotamia is Greek for “the land between the rivers.” • Extended from Mediterranean Sea to Persian Gulf. • Had a hot, dry climate, but in spring, rivers flooded. • Left behind rich soil for farming. • Floods were unpredictable, so farmers controlled rivers w/dams and channels. • Also used rivers to _________________ their crops. • Irrigation—_____________________________________. • By 3000 B.C. cities had formed in southern Mesopotamia in region known as ______________.

5. City-States • Sumerian cities were _____________. • City-state—_____________________________________ ______________________________________. • Sumerian cities often fought. To protect themselves, they built walls around them. • Sumerians believed in many _____. • Each god thought to have power over natural force. • Built grand temple called ____________ to honor the gods. • Most Sumerians were farmers.

6. Sumerians & Skilled People • Others were __________. • Artisans—_______________________________________. • Others were merchants or traders. • Sumerians divided into 3 Social Classes: • _______________--kings, priests, & govt. officials. • _______________--artisans, farmers, merchants, & fishers. • _______________--enslaved people who worked on farms. • Mesopotamia called “___________________.” • Called this b/c of influence Sumerians had on other peoples. • Writing was very important to keep records & pass on ideas. • Sumerians developed writing system called _________________. • Few people learned to write—they were called _______________.

7. A Skilled People/Sargon & Hammurabi • Sumerians produced oldest known story—the ________________. • Also invented wagon wheel, sailboat, & plow. • Developed mathematical ideas: • Geometry, number system based on 60 (60 minute hour & 60 second minute), and 12-month calendar. • Conflicts weakened Sumer’s city-states. • _________, king of Akkadians, conquered Mesopotamia and set up world’s first _________. • Empire—_______________________________________. • After Sargon, different group of people became powerful & built city of _____________ on Euphrates River.

8. Hammurabi • Babylonian king, ___________, conquered lands north & south of Babylon—created empire. • Best known for ___________________. • Code of Hammurabi was collection of laws that covered: • Crimes • Farming • Business activities • Marriage • Family • Many punishments were cruel, but was important step in development of fair justice system.