Section 1: Mesopotamia and Sumer The Great Ziggurat of Ur Built during the Early Bronze Age, 21st century BC

Section 1: Mesopotamia and Sumer Main Idea The first known civilization arose in Mesopotamia, and its culture and innovations influenced later civilizations in the region for thousands of years. Objectives How did geography promote civilization in Mesopotamia? What features defined the civilization of Sumer? What were Sumer’s main cultural achievements? What events led to later empires in Mesopotamia?

I. Geography Promotes Civilization Fertile Crescent: stretches from Med. Sea to Persian Gulf

I. Geography Promotes Civilization Mesopotamia: area between Tigris and Euphrates rivers; site of first civilizations

Droughts and floods ruin crops I. Geography Promotes Civilization Land well suited for farming but region posed challenges Droughts and floods ruin crops

I. Geography Promotes Civilization Methods developed to control water: Basins, canals, and dikes Organization: assigning jobs, allocating resources

II. Sumer

Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar) was the southernmost region of ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq and Kuwait) and is generally considered the “cradle of civilization.” The name comes from Akkadian and means “land of the civilized kings.” The Sumerians called themselves “the black headed people” and their land, in cuneiform, was “the land” or “the land of the black headed people.” While the Sumerian city of Uruk is believed to be the oldest city in the world, the ancient Mesopotamians believed that when the gods first gave human beings the gifts necessary for cultivating society, they did so by establishing the city of Eridu in Sumer and that it was in Eridu that order was established and civilization began.

II. Sumer Large cities developed by 4000 BC. The city and its land formed an independent city-state

II. Sumer Structures were made of mud bricks Ziggurat: pyramid-shaped temple Massive walls encircled each city Ziggurat at Ur c. 2100 B.C. Walls of Babylon

II. Sumer Sumerians practiced polytheism; priests held high status, were the first rulers 1. Himurta--Thunder Showers 2. Innanna--Morning Star 3. Thunderbird 4. Ntu--Sun God. 5. Enki--God of Sweet Waters. 6. Isimud--Enki's Vizier

II. Sumer War chiefs began to rule as kings; many formed dynasties

III. Sumerian Culture

Herders and cows in the goddess Inana’s fields, 21st–20th century B.C. III. Sumerian Culture Sumerian writing was cuneiform; wedge-shaped marks made on clay tablets with a stylus Herders and cows in the goddess Inana’s fields, 21st–20th century B.C.

III. Sumerian Culture Cuneiform first used for record keeping Scribes recorded information Used later for law, literature, etc.

III. Sumerian Culture Arithmetic based on units of 60 Invented the plow and the wheel

III. Sumerian Culture Advanced medical knowledge, performed basic surgery

III. Sumerian Culture Lacked many raw materials; traded for wood, metals across SW Asia

III. Sumerian Culture Distinct social hierarchy; well-defined male and female roles The Standard of Ur: The Peace Side represents Sumerian society The War Side represents the Sumerian Army

IV. Empires in Mesopotamia Invaders adopted aspects of Sumerian culture as their own

IV. Empires in Mesopotamia c. 2330 BC – Akkadian ruler Sargon I conquered Sumer and northern Mesopotamia

A. Sargon’s Empire World’s first empire; spread Sumerian culture outside Mesopotamia

B. The Babylonian Empire 1792 BC - Hammurabi became king of Babylon, united all of Mesopotamia Shamash, the supreme sun god and judge, offers to Hammurabi the rod and ring that symbolize authority

B. The Babylonian Empire Code of Hammurabi - 282 written laws, covered everything from trade to murder In 1750 BC, at the height of his power, Hammurabi codified 282 laws, written down for all to see, on an eight-foot-high stele made of black basalt. Although the Code of Hammurabi is not the first legal code, it is the best preserved ancient law the world has today.

Summary