Mesopotamia
Warm up Where did artisans and merchants in Ur trade their goods? What method of trade did they use? Money? What was the most important building in Ur? Knowing this,what can we infer about the people of Ur?
Geography of the Fertile Crescent Most of the land between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea is dominated by desert. There is a region around the Tigris and Euphrates River known as The Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent includes a region known as Mesopotamia. “Land between the rivers”.
The Tigris and the Euphrates flood Mesopotamia at least once a year. The floods leave behind a thick bed of mud called silt. Farmers would plant grain in the rich silt and irrigated the fields with river water. This led to a surplus in Mesopotamia.
What kinds of things will a food surplus allow civilizations in Mesopotamia to do?
Environmental Challenges The Sumerians were the first people to settle and farm the lands in Mesopotamia. Although the rivers provided rich soil, there were three disadvantages to their new home. 1. Unpredictable flooding combined with a period of little or no rain. 2. There were no natural barriers for protection. Sumerian villages were almost defenseless. 3. Natural resources were limited. Building materials and other necessary items were scarce.
Come up with a possible solution for each of these problems with a partner.
Solutions: To provide water, they dug irrigation ditches to carry water to their fields. City walls were constructed with mud bricks. Sumerians traded their grain with other settlements to attain raw materials.
Building irrigation systems and city walls required organization of people. Leaders emerged and created laws to settle disputes. These leaders were the beginning of organized government.
Sumerians Create City-States By 3000 B.C.E., The Sumerians had built a number of cities. Although these cities shared the same culture, they developed their own governments, and each had their own rulers.
Each city and the land it controlled formed a city-state. City-states function just like an independent country does today. A ziggurat stood in the middle of every Sumerian city-state. The ziggurat was the center of political and religious life in Sumerian culture.
Priests and Rulers Share Control Sumer’s earliest governments were controlled by the temple priests. Farmers believed that the success of their crops depended upon the blessings of the gods. In times of war, the men of the city chose a tough fighter to command the city’s soldiers.
At first, the commander’s power was temporary. He would return power to the priests. Eventually, some military leaders became the full-time rulers. These rulers usually passed their power on to their sons, who passed it on to their sons. Dynasty – a series of rulers from a single family.
Spread of Cities Food surplus allowed Sumerian city-states to conduct long-distance trade. Influence of Sumer expanded through the use of trade. Cultural diffusion.
Religion Sumerians worshiped many gods that controlled the various forces in nature. Polytheism – The belief in more than one god. Sumerians described their gods as doing many of the same things that humans do. Falling in love, having children, fighting.
They offered the gods sacrifices in the form of animals, food, wine, and beer. Sumerian afterlife = “land of no return”. A dismal, gloomy place. There was no joy there and “dust is their fare and clay their food”.
Epic of Gilgamesh – long Sumerian poem that outlines many Sumerian myths and legends.
Babylonian Empire In 2000 B.C.E., nomadic warriors invaded Mesopotamia and overwhelmed the Sumerians. They established their capital at Babylon. A city on the Euphrates River. The Babylonian Empire reached its peak during the reign of Hammurabi.
Hammurabi’s code Hammurabi constructed a uniform code of laws that could unify the legal system within his empire. The code was engraved in various stone tablets, and were placed all over his empire.
Class Assignment Complete the primary source activity about Hammurabi’s Code.