Geography of Sumer

Mesopotamia = “land between the Rivers” -Land surrounded by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - This land is now known as Iraq

This land was wanted by many civilizations Living between the Tigris and Euphrates would give the Sumerians good fertile soil This land was wanted by many civilizations #Critical thinking# How could fertile soil help the civilization of Sumer

Sumerians dealt with constant warfare due to their lack of natural barriers

Sumerian city states had to build high city walls to keep out invaders

The Sumerian view of the Afterlife Sumerians had a very twisted view of the afterlife

Sumerians were polytheistic, which meant that they believed in many gods

Sumerians had a bad view of the afterlife and feared the gods.

The fear of the gods came from the unpredictable flooding

“Death is where one goes in and never comes out again, the road that, if one takes it, one never comes out. The place where souls live on dust, their food is mud, and there is no light….only darkness. Death brings to the underworld of filth and torment in which there is no escape.”

Contributions of Sumer A contribution from a society is anything positive that the civilization left to the world.

The Sumerians built ziggurats. Ziggurats were Sumerian temples to the gods.

Ziggurats were also built to show wealth and strength. The bigger the Ziggurat, the more power the ruler had

Cuneiform was the first kind of writing and was invented by the Sumerians

Cuneiform is small wedge shaped writing that almost looks like small scratches into the stone

Cuneiform was invented to help the Sumerian farmers keep records of their land

Questions for Reflection: Why did Sumerians have a bad view of the afterlife? Why did Sumerians have to build high city walls. Define cuneiform, ziggurat, and polytheism.

Quiz What does Mesopotamia mean? What does it mean to be polytheistic? Why did Sumerians have a bad view of the afterlife? Why did Sumerians build high city walls? What is a ziggurat? What is Cuneiform?