WH Holt: Mesopotamia & Sumer

Geography promotes Civilization! In southwest Asia the Fertile Crescent curves between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. The area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers is called Mesopotamia (means: between the rivers)

5500BC People were farming in southern Mesopotamia mainly due to the spring flooding of both rivers fertilizing the soil with silt. Due to frequent flooding or drought the inhabitants developed ways to control the water: basins to store rainwater canals to carry water to fields dikes to control flooding.

How did these projects get coordinated? Leaders governments developed … The Sumerians developed the first civilization called Sumer!

3000 BC: Within the civilization of Sumer cities developed by building with mud bricks and creating a temple to honor the chief god with a pyramid on top called a Ziggurat.

Each city built a wall around itself for protection and grew crops outside the wall for their people.

Over time each city began to develop their own political ideas and formed city-states (a political unit with their own government and ideas) and began to fight other city states over land.

Religion: Polytheistic Worshiped many gods, mostly natural gods therefore giving the priests the most respected positions and ruled like kings.

These kings would have their children and families take over generation after generation and developed a dynasty (ruler are all from the same family).

Sumerians created the first writing system called Cuneiform (page 35) where they used sharp tools called styluses to carve clay tablets.

Used to keep business accounts and city-state records Wrote law and poems and songs Best known epic story was Epic of Gilgamesh

Developed a math system based on the number 60 (why we use 60 minutes) and Geometry for building temples and irrigation systems.

Sumerians also created: the wheel plow sewers kept medical knowledge performed basic surgery architecture (arches, ramps, columns) Art statues & cylinder seals carved out of ivory

Sumerians traded with many other city-states and created a social hierarchy: Top: were kings and priests Next: were large landowners and wealthy merchants Below: were artisans, farmers, and laborers Bottom: slaves captured from other city- states.

Empires in Mesopotamia: Sargon from Akkadian Empire 2330 BC (north of Sumer) over took Sumer and controlled the Fertile Crescent from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The Akkadian Empire adopted many of the Sumerians’ culture including the language.

Lasted for 140 years until the Amorites attacked from the east and created a new Empire called the Babylonian Empire!

1792 The Amorite King Hammurabi not only a great warrior and great trader he created a set of laws to control his people Hammurabi’s Code: A set of codes the were retaliatory, “ An eye for an eye” M (read a few codes, student assignment)

The Babylonian Empire lasted about 200 years.