The Worlds First Civilization Mesopotamia The Worlds First Civilization

What is a civilization? Civilizations (SIH•vuh•luh•ZAY• shuhns) are complex societies. They have cities, organized governments, art, religion, class divisions, and a writing system.

Why were river valleys important? Farming - large amounts of people could be fed Trade - goods and ideas to move from place to place. Cities - grow up in these valleys and became the centers of civilizations.

Indo-European Migrations: 4m-2m BCE The Middle East: “The Crossroads of Three Continents”

Mesopotamia The land between two rivers.

Mesopotamia Area was first settled about 4500- 4000 B.C. These people were originally farmers, herders, and fishermen. They made tools, bricks, clay figures, and pottery.

Fertile Crescent Fertile Crescent = moon-shaped strip of land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf that is excellent farm land Located in modern- day Middle East

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia was the worlds first civilization. The two rivers that allowed Mesopotamia to succeed were the Tigris and Euphrates.

The fertile crescent In the spring, the rivers often flooded, leaving behind rich soil for farming. The problem was that the flooding was very unpredictable. It might flood one year, but not the next. Every year, farmers worried about their crops.

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia = located within the Fertile Crescent, between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers Rivers were NOT a reliable source of water (unlike the Nile) Ran dry in summer; flooded in spring Villages joined together to build dams, canals, and ditches

Irrigation Over time, the farmers learned to build dams and channels to control the seasonal floods. They also built walls, waterways, and ditches to bring water to their fields. This way of watering crops is called irrigation. Irrigation allowed the farmers to grow plenty of food and support a large population.

THE MANY PEOPLE OF MESOPOTAMIA: Sumerians (ancient Sumer’s city-states) (3000 B.C. - 1800 B.C.) 2. Babylonians (Babylonian Empire) ( 1800 B.C. - 1200 B.C. Assyrians (Assyrian Empire) (1200 B.C. - 539 B.C.) 4. Persians (Persian Empire) (539 B.C. - 330 B.C.)

Sumerians

The Sumerian Civilization People from Asia arrived in Mesopotamia Formed 12 city-states = the city and the land surrounding it Considered the world’s 1st cities Created ziggurats = stepped pyramids with a temple at the top

Sumer The first major civilization in Mesopotamia was in a region called Sumer.

Food in Sumer The Sumerians grew several kinds of crops. The most valuable one was barley, which was used to make flour and bread. Dates were also very valuable to the Sumerians. They were eaten once ripe or else they were dried for future consumption. Dates also made an excellent wine.

Barley and dates

City-states Each Sumerian city and the land around it became a separate city-state. Each city-state had its own government and was not part of any larger unit.

Social Classes in Sumer Upper class - kings, priests, warriors, and government officials. Middle class - artisans, merchants, farmers, and fishers. These people made up the largest group. Lower class - enslaved people who worked on farms or in the temples.

The Sumerian Civilization Sumerians shared common culture, language, and religion City-states governed themselves Were theocracies = kings served as both government leaders AND high priests Laws regulated the roles of women & men  men had far more rights

Sumer The people who lived there were called Sumerians The first known civilization around 3500 B.C. The Sumerian people made wagon wheels, used copper and bronze, made sail boats, used plows, wrote laws, and studied astronomy.

Board Game From Ur

Sumer Important city states developed Built strong walled cities for protection from outside invaders Important Sumerian city- Ur (capital of Sumer) had a population of around 200,000 Most cities were unattractive- no public services available to remove garbage and sewage. This was left to pile up on the streets.

Religion Sumerians constructed shrines or temples called Ziggurats. Ziggurats were to serve as a pedestal for the gods to descend to Earth. On top was a shrine room where people would pray or hope to entertain a divine visitor.

Ziggurat at Ur Temple “Mountain of the Gods”

Sumerian Religion - Polytheistic Enki Innana Anthropomorphic Gods

Religion Public was not invited to engage in temple rituals, but they needed to constantly pray or the gods would not bless their lands. Around the ziggurat were courts where artisans worked, children went to school, and people traded and stored goods there. Sumerians believed that all of nature was controlled by gods

Sumerian Cities Streets were narrow, unpaved, winding Houses were one story mud brick structures with flat roofs. Members of the upper class had 2 story houses with many rooms that included sleeping quarters and servants quarters and burial plots below the house Household utensils made out of stone, copper and bronze Merchants supplied the townspeople with material items

Writing The most important invention of the Sumerians was writing. The writing of the Sumerians was called cuneiform.

Writing Writing helped man maintain a complex economic and political society Sumerian writing dates back as early as 3100 B.C. Dried Mud tablets with a sharp pointed reed called a stylus was how they wrote the cuneiform. This writing was adopted by their conquerors and used for about 2000 years.

Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing

The Sumerian Civilization Cuneiform = Sumerian system of writing The symbols represente d complex ideas

Cuneiform alphabet

Sumerian Scribes “Tablet House”

Education The Sumerian schools were called “tablet houses” and were used to educate scribes for various religious, governmental, and commercial jobs. Schools at first were mostly religious and were for rich children Male only Classes went from morning until sunset Curriculum included- grammar, penmanship, science, and math

The Sumerian Civilization Scribes were trained to read & write documents and stories Epic of Gilgamesh = oldest story in the world

Gilgamesh

TheEpic of Gilgamesh The most famous piece of literature from Sumer is the Epic of Gilgamesh. An epic is a long poem that tells the story of a hero. The hero Gilgamesh is a king who travels around the world with a friend and performs great deeds. When his friend dies, Gilgamesh searches for a way to live forever.

Gilgamesh Epic Tablet: Flood Story

The Sumerian Civilization Practiced polytheism = belief in more than one god Each city-state had its own god Negative outlook on life and the afterlife Believed gods were selfish and had no regard for humans

Sumerian Inventions wagon wheel plow sailboat number system based on 60 geometry 12 month calendar

Sumerian Inventions Wagon Wheel Arch Potter’s Wheel Sundial 12-month Calendar Metal Plow

Inventions and Contributions Developed a 12 month calendar based on the cycles of the moon It marked the times for religious festivals and planting

wagon wheel plow sailboat

Mesopotamian Harp

Sophisticated Metallurgy Skills at Ur

Family Life Woman had rights in Sumerian society They could buy and sell property and could run businesses The husband was the head of the household He could divorce his wife or rent out his wife and children for up to three years Children were expected to support their parents when they became old

Priests and Kings Priests were also the kings of the city-states Gilgamesh was the most famous Received advice from an assembly of free men During wars, the assembly chose a military leader to serve until the war was over Eventually, these leaders stayed in charge and became kings. Kingship became hereditary

Sargon In about 2340 B.C., Sargon conquered all of Mesopotamia creating the world’s first empire. An empire is a group of many different lands under one ruler. Sargon’s empire lasted for more than 200 years before falling to invaders.

First Mesopotamian Empires The Akkadians Empire under Sargon I Kingdom was called Akkad Conquered & united all of the Sumerian city- states Empire fell apart after his & his grandson’s death

Sargon of Akkad: The World’s First Empire [Akkadians]

Sargon I Ruled an area called Akkad Began to conquer city-states one by one and became king of all of them Created world’s first empire Ruled for 50 years

First Mesopotamian Empires Babylon Ruled by Hammurabi Strict Code of Laws = Hammurabi’s greatest achievement Rules and consequences that addressed daily life Law code covered entire region of Mesopotamia “Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” type of laws Government assumed the responsibility of protecting its citizens People now had laws to protect their rights & didn’t need to resort to violence

Hammurabi of Babylon Hammurabi was king of Babylon who conquered Akkad and Sumer The Babylonians took on the language and religion of the people they conquered Hammurabi improved irrigation systems and changed the religion Developed his own set of laws called the Code of Hammurabi

The Babylonian Empires

Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.] Code

Hammurabi Hammurabi is best known for his law code, or collection of laws. Law 5: If a judge makes an error through his own fault when trying a case, he must pay a fine, be removed from the judge’s bench, and never judge another case. Law 195: If a son strikes his father, the son’s hands shall be cut off.

Hammurabi, the Judge

Hammurabi Appointed judges to carry out the code Judges were punished if not honest He believed people were innocent until proven guilty During Hammurabi’s rule, Babylon became a trade center Hammurabi’s reign is known as the Golden Age of Babylon

First Mesopotamian Empires Babylon Social classes were similar to the Egyptians, but they had far more slaves Hammurabi’s empire fell apart after his death

Babylonian Math

Babylonian Numbers

INTERNET SOURCES: www.slideshare.net/patricehigh/mesopotamia-power-point www.flushinghighschool.org/.../Review%20_2%20mesopotami... www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/GlobalStudies/AncientMiddleEast-1.ppt schools.nycenet.edu/region4/...%20Mesopotamia/03%20-%20Mesopotamia.ppt