Mesopotamia The Heart of Civilization

Where was Mesopotamia? Mesopotamia is Greek for land between the rivers. It was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in present day Iraq, and at the center of an Area known as the FERTILE CRESCENT. People began to form early settlements in this region around 4500 BCE (before common era.)

Why did civilization begin in the Fertile Crescent? Civilization began in the Fertile Crescent for the same reasons that we observe later in the course. Civilization arises where it is easier or more efficient to live. As mankind moved from the hunter gatherer, to the stable farmer, who raised crops and domesticated animals, the need for a certain set environmental characteristics was needed. ALL civilizations that arose are based on the need for 2 things: A.) Proximity to Water – Rivers Primarily B.) Fertile Soil

What do Rivers Do? Rivers provided early civilizations with: A.) Water to Drink & Bathe In B.) Irrigation source for Agriculture C.) Transportation D.) Fertilization of the soil Without the knowledge on how to develop the means to fertilize the soil, early civilizations relied on annual flooding to bring in silt (new soil) every spring. This silt renewed the soil every year and therefore ensured that a surplus of crops could be grown annually. This surplus resulted in a LARGE jump in population which in turn resulted in the formation of cities.

The Earliest Civilizations were… Three civilizations arose in Mesopotamia beginning around 4500 BCE, making them the Oldest Civilizations in World History. The three are: A.) Sumerians B.) Akkadians C.) Assyrians We will begin examining the oldest of the three – the Sumerians.

The Sumerians The Sumerians invented the worlds first cities. The first city in the world was called Ur, and was located along the Euphrates river in present day Iraq. The Sumerians also founded other cities including Uruk and Erido. Both had populations in the thousands. ALL Sumerian cities were organized into a system that they invented known as a “city state” or an area of land around a city, which is also controlled by that city. The individual city has its own government, laws, army and religion. Most city states were ruled by Kings and Priests.

Sumerian City State Physical Organization

Duties of a Sumerian King Sumerian Kings were responsible for: A.) Leading and Training the Armies The king lead the army into battle; constructed the battle plans; planned the training schedule for the army. B.) Supervised Construction of Public Works A king was responsible for ensuring that public works such as irrigation canals, city water supplies, storage facilities were constructed correctly and were properly maintained.

Sumerian Social Structure

Sumerian Social Structure Cont… Kings ruled the Sumerian city states, but they shared a measureable amount of power with the Priests of the city. Kings were believed to need the support of the gods, so it was important for a King to stay closely tied with the priests. Kings only could rule with the support of the gods according to the Sumerians Priests needed to share power with the Kings of the Sumerian city states because the King controlled the Army and ultimately was the ONLY protection a priest could depend on in a time when short wars were common. Farmers and crafts people made up the highest percentage of the social structure in the Ancient Sumerian city states. Slaves formed the bottom social group but were also the smallest grouping.

Ziggurat’s

Sumerian Economics: Sumerian Economics was based chiefly on Agriculture. Later trading and industry came to be important. The Sumerians were the first people on earth to make Bronze Artifacts in large numbers. The Sumerian provided the tools, weapons and household items such as eating utensils (spoons and knives) to the other inhabitants of Mesopotamia.

Sumerian Economics: Sumerians imported: Copper, Tin and Timber Sumerians exported: dried fish, wheat, barley, and metal tools and weapons.

The Akkadians To the North of the Sumerians lived a Semitic speaking people known as the Akkadians. Semitic is a language family that includes many languages including but not limited to the following which are still spoken today: Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, and Greek.

The Akkadians The reason these languages are ALL Semitic languages is because they ALL come from an older common origin… i.e. the areas known as the Fertile Crescent and Mesopotamia. Around 2340 BC – the Akkadian King Sargon overran most of the area controlled by the Sumerian city states and formed the worlds first empire.

Order from Chaos To Maintain ORDER… we require…. LAW The first Law on Planet Earth in ANY civilization was the Code of Hammurabi, and was made possible by the Sumerian invention of Cuneiform or wedged shaped writing. See page 44 in the resource textbook