Make observations about each city in your Notes. City States Make observations about each city in your Notes.

Objectives: city-state, ziggurat, polytheism. Describe Sumerian religious beliefs.

Toronto

Chicago

New York

Rome

Sumer (p.108) Southern Mesopotamia was also known as Sumer. People in Sumer’s cities valued their independence, worked hard to control the rivers, worshiped similar gods, and made some of the first wheeled vehicles and pottery wheels.

City-States of Sumer A city-state is a self- governing city that also governs the surrounding villages. Strong walls were built around them for protection. Although Sumerian kings were very powerful, they were not considered gods.

Religion in Ancient Sumer (p. 111) In the center of most ancient Sumerian cities stood a towering mud- brick building with a temple at its peak. That building was called a ziggurat. Since these temples were located at the center of cities, historians believe that religion was very important in Sumer.

Polytheism Like the Egyptians, Sumerian religious beliefs involved polytheism. Polytheism is the belief in many gods and goddesses. Each city-state had a special god or goddess. Among the deities that people worshiped were Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, and Enki, the god of water.

Why are the centers of the cities important? Quickwrite Why are the centers of the cities important?