Mesopotamia&

Sumer

K-lee Flores & Janay Rocha.

Main IdeaThe first known civilization arose in Mesopotamia, and its culture and innovations influenced later civilizations in the region for thousands of years.

Key Terms Fertile Crescent: a region of rich farmland that curves

from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf centered on the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

Mesopotamia: the area that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Southwest Asia

Ziggurat: a Sumerian temple made of sun-dried brick that was dedicated to the chief god or goddess of a particular city-state

City-State: a political unit that includes a town or a city and the surrounding land controlled by it

Continuation.. Polytheism: the belief in many gods Dynasty: a family of rulers whose right to rule is hereditary Cuneiform: Sumerian writing Sargon: (died c. 2300 BC) King of Akkad in Mesopotamia; he

is considered the founder of Mesopotamia and conquered many cities along the middle Euphrates to northern Syria. He established trade routes with the Indus Valley, the coast of the Oman islands, and the shores of the Persian Gulf.

Hammurabi: (ruled c. 1792–1750 BC) King of Babylonia; he was a brilliant military leader who brought all of Mesopotamia into the Babylonian Empire. He is known for his uniform code of 282 laws, the earliest known set of written laws.

Reading Focus: How did geography promote civilization in Mesopotamia?

The geographic conditions such as rich soil which helped with agriculture. Early farmers brought food to land which made the population grow and villages were formed. Later on, leaders emerged and governments formed. Due to this civilizations were slowly developed.

What features defined the civilization of Sumer? The cities were built of mud bricks. In the center of the city was a large temple

which was for the city’s chief god. Each city and the land it controlled formed a city-state. Sumerians practiced polytheism. Later on, many city states’ kings formed dynasties.

What were Sumer’s main cultural achievements? Sumerians developed the world’s first civilization, created cuneiform writing,

invented the wheel and the plow, wrote the Epic of Gilgamesh, and they built cities and ziggurats.

What events led to later empires in Mesopotamia? Frequent warfare weakened Sumer’s city state. Sargon the first created a

permanent army, he was an Akkadian ruler. The Akkadians were north of Sumer. Sargon the first formed the world’s first empire by conquering all of Sumer ans Northern Mesopotamia.

Geography Promotes Civilization

Mesopotamia is sometimes also called the Fertile Crescent.

Fertile Crescent: a region that curves between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf within this region some of the richest soil lies between two rivers, The Tigris and Euphrates.

Mesopotamia lies between the Tigris and Euphrates River. In Greek, Mesopotamia means “between the rivers”

Continuation… Early farming in Southern Mesopotamia began as early as 5500 BC. It

would flood in the spring, the floods left behind a fertile mud called slit in which enriched the soil. Early farmers grew grain such as wheat and barley. With plenty of food, population grew, and villages formed.

Some challenges were that the region received little rain. Without warning rivers could over flow washing away crops and even villages. If rivers fell to low crops would die during the hot dry summer.

Later on, Mesopotamia devolved methods to control water by digging basins to store rain water, canals to carry water to fields, and dikes to control flooding. With this large project people were assigned jobs and allocated resources

Allocate: to distribute for a particular purpose. As a result, leaders emerged and government formed, and so a

civilization was devolved.

SumerThe people who devolved the first civilizations were the Sumerians, they called their land Sumer.

The Cities Of Sumer

Large cities had began to appear in 3000 BC structures in there cities, they were built of mud bricks and other building materials.

At the heart of the temple, a pyramid-shaped structure called a ziggurat rose to the sky. For defense, a massive wall circled each city. Fields surrounded the city.

Over time, each city and the land it controlled formed a city-state, a political unit with its own government. As the city-states grew, they increasingly fought over land and water.

Religion and Government.

Religion in the city-states practiced polytheism, which is the worship of many gods.

They believed that the gods controlled all natural forces, and also that the gods protected each city-state.

Because of their beliefs on how the gods worked, they worked extra hard to please the gods.

Priests held a high status in Sumer, like if they were gods. But war chiefs began to rule as kings, and they formed dynasty's. A dynasty is a series of rulers from one family.

Sumerian Culture They produced great achievements, like the first writing

system. With the ability to write down events and humankind moved from age.

Their writing system was called cuneiform. They used sharp tools called styluses, to make wedge-shaped symbols on clay tablets. Most Scribes were men, some upper class woman also learned how to write.

They also developed a math system based up to the number 60. Because of their system we divide an hour into 60 minutes and a circle into 360 degrees.

The Sumerians also made many scientific advances. They invented the wheel, which they used both to make pottery and to build a variety of vehicles. Sumerians also invented the plow and learned to use bronze to make stronger tools and weapons

The Arts Sumerian architecture includes the use

of arches, ramps, and columns, all visible on the ziggurats. Sumerian sculpture includes statues with large, wide-open eyes, as well as small objects carved out of ivory.

Trade and Society Sumer used trade as a way to obtain materials such as for

buildings or art. Sumer lacked many raw materials, such as wood and metals. To obtain these materials, Sumerians traded with people across Southwest Asia exchanging woven textiles for metals, timber, and stone.

As trade enriched Sumer, a distinct social hierarchy, or ranking, developed. At the top were the kings, priests, and their principal agents. Next were large landowners and wealthy merchants. Below them were the majority of Sumerians which were artisans, farmers, and laborers. At the bottom were slaves, who had been captured in battle.

Sumerian men and women developed roles. Men held political power and made laws while women took care of the home and children. A few upper-class women received educations and served as priestesses in the temples.

Empires in Mesopotamia

To the north of Sumer lived the Akkadians. About 2330 BC the Akkadian ruler Sargon I created a permanent army, he was the first ruler to do this. From the city of Akkad on the Euphrates River, Sargon used this army to conquer all of Sumer and northern Mesopotamia.

He formed the world’s first empire, a land that includes different kingdoms and people under one rule. The Akkadian Empire stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.

The Akkadians adopted cuneiform from the Sumerians and used it to write their language, which became the official language of the government.

Sargon’s empire lasted about 140 years. During that time, the Akkadians helped spread Sumerian culture far beyond the Tigris and Euphrates valleys. In the end, Sargon’s empire fell. Tribes from the east invaded and captured Akkad.

The Babylonian Empire The Amorites settled in Babylon on the Euphrates, near modern Baghdad, Iraq. In

1792 BC the Amorite king Hammurabi became king of Babylon. He united all of Mesopotamia in what became known as the Babylonian Empire, named for its capital.

Hammurabi’s skills were not only used in battlefield. He was also an able ruler and administrator who oversaw building projects and improved the tax-collection system to pay for them. He also increased trade so that the empire grew wealthy. He honored the old Sumerian gods and allowed priests to retain their power and influence.

Hammurabi is the most famous for his code of laws. Hammurabi’s Code consists of 282 laws dealing with everything from trade and theft to injury and murder. The code was important not only because it was thorough but also because it was written down for all to see. People across the empire could read exactly what actions were crimes.

During Hammurabi’s long reign, Babylon became Mesopotamia’s greatest city. Yet after his death, Babylonian power declined. In less than two centuries, the Babylonian Empire had fallen.

Hammurabi’s Code

Hammurabi’s Code listed 282 laws dealing with a variety of subjects.

196. If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. 197. If he breaks another man’s bone, his bone shall be broken. 198. If he put out the eye of a freed man, or break the bone of a freed

man, he shall pay one [silver] mina. 199. If he put out the eye of a man’s slave, or break the bones of a

man’s slave, he shall pay one-half of its value. 200. If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be

knocked out. 201. If he knock out the teeth of a freed man, he shall pay one-third of

a [silver] mina. 202. If any one strike the body of a man higher in rank than he, he

shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public.

Mesopotamian Achievements

Sumerians: Developed the worlds first civilization.Created cuneiform writing.Invented the wheel and the plow. Wrote the Epic of Gilgamesh. Akkadians:Established the world’s first empire. Babylonians:Wrote Hammurabi’s Code.

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