Chapter 2-Western Asia and Egypt-3500-500 B.C Section 1-Civilization Begins in Mesopotamia Akkadian Warrior

Click the Speaker button to listen to the audio again.

Key Events As you read, look for the key events in the history of Southwest Asia and Egypt.  The Sumerians in Mesopotamia were among the first groups to build a civilization, and they were the first to develop a system of writing.  Due in large part to the Nile, early Egyptian civilization was stable and prosperous. Massive monuments, the pyramids, were built to honor the deaths of the pharaohs. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Key Events As you read, look for the key events in the history of Southwest Asia and Egypt. The Israelites emerged as a distinct people.  Of the other empires that came into being in Southwest Asia, the longest lasting and most powerful were the Assyrian and Persian Empires. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Impact Today The events that occurred during this time period still impact our lives today.  The peoples of Mesopotamia and Egypt built cities and struggled with the problems of organized government.  The Israelites developed a major world religion, which influenced the development of Christianity and Islam and has a continuing effect on Western civilization. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to:  explain the impact of geography.  describe the significance of religion.  list major sets of laws.  name the first empires and why they declined.  list characteristics of life in these societies.  describe the effects of wars and conquests. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: identify the importance of early inventions.

Civilization in Mesopotamia Begins Main Ideas Mesopotamia, one of the first civilizations, began between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.  The Sumerians formed city-states and created forms of communication that affect our lives today.  Key Terms city-state  patriarchal  polytheistic  cuneiform ziggurat  theocracy  empire  Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Civilization in Mesopotamia Begins People to Identify Sumerians  Sargon  Hammurabi  Akkadians  Places to Locate Tigris River  Fertile Crescent  Uruk  Babylon Euphrates River  Mesopotamia  Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Civilization in Mesopotamia Begins Preview Questions How did geography affect the civilizations in Mesopotamia?  How did the Akkadian Empire begin? Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Civilization in Mesopotamia Begins Preview of Events

Click the Speaker button to listen to the audio again.

One of the most interesting objects discovered by archaeologists in the Mesopotamian city of Ur was the so-called “Standard of Ur,” a wooden box decorated with images of peace on one side and images of war on the other. The box’s beauty testifies to the artistic talent of the Sumerians.

The Impact of Geography Mesopotamia is at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent, an arc of land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.  Mesopotamia (“between the rivers”) is the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.  These rivers often overflow and leave silt, which makes the soil rich for a flourishing agricultural economy.  Mesopotamian civilization was one of history’s important early civilizations to grow in a river valley. (pages 37–38) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Impact of Geography (cont.) Developing consistent agriculture required controlling the water supply.  People in Mesopotamia, therefore, developed a system of drainage ditches and irrigation works.  The resulting large food supply made possible significant population growth and the emergence of civilization in Mesopotamia. (pages 37–38) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Impact of Geography (cont.) Ancient Mesopotamia covered three general areas: Assyria, Akkad, and Sumer. Several peoples lived in these areas.  Mesopotamian civilization involved many peoples.  The Sumerians developed the first Mesopotamian civilization. (pages 37–38) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The City-States of Ancient Mesopotamia By 3000 B.C. the Sumerians had formed a number of city-states centered around cities such as Ur and Uruk.  These states controlled the surrounding countryside politically and economically.  City-states were the basic political unit of the Sumerian civilization. (pages 38–40) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The City-States of Ancient Mesopotamia (cont.) The Sumerians built largely with mud bricks.  Using them they invented the arch and the dome and built some of the largest brick buildings in the world.  The most important building in each city was the temple.  Often it was built on top of a massive stepped tower called a ziggurat. (pages 38–40) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The City-States of Ancient Mesopotamia (cont.) Sumerians believed gods and goddesses owned and ruled the cities.  The Sumerian state was a theocracy, then–a government by divine authority.  Priests and priestesses were important figures politically as well as religiously.  Eventually, ruling power passed more into the hands of kings, who traced their authority back to the divine. (pages 38–40) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The City-States of Ancient Mesopotamia (cont.) The Sumerian economy was principally agricultural, but industry (metalwork and woolen textiles, for example) and trade were important.  The invention of the wheel around 3000 B.C. facilitated trade. (pages 38–40) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The City-States of Ancient Mesopotamia (cont.) The Sumerian city-states had three classes: nobles, commoners, and slaves.  Nobles included the royal family, royal officials, priests, and their families.  Commoners worked for large estates as farmers, merchants, fishers, and craftspeople. Around 90 percent of the people were farmers.  Slaves principally worked on large building projects, wove cloth, and worked the farms of the nobles. (pages 38–40) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia The Akkadians lived north of the Sumerian city-states.  The Akkadians are called a Semitic people because they spoke a Semitic language.  Around 2340 B.C., the leader of the Akkadians, Sargon, conquered the Sumerian city-states and set up the world’s first empire. (pages 40–41) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia (cont.) An empire is a large political unit that controls many peoples and territories.  In 1792 B.C., Hammurabi of Babylon, a city-state south of Akkad, established a new empire over much of both Akkad and Sumer. (pages 40–41) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Code of Hammurabi The Code of Hammurabi is one of the world’s most important early systems of law.  It calls for harsh punishments against criminals.  The principle of retaliation (“an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”) is fundamental in Hammurabi’s code. (pages 41–42) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Code of Hammurabi (cont.) Punishments varied according to social status.  A crime committed against a noble brought a harsher punishment than the same crime committed against a commoner.  Hammurabi’s code punished public officials who failed in their duties or were corrupt.  It also had what we would call consumer protection provisions, for example, holding builders responsible for the quality of their work. (pages 41–42) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Code of Hammurabi (cont.) If a building collapsed and killed someone, the builder was executed. Damages had to be paid to people injured.  The largest group of laws in the code covered marriage and the family.  Parents arranged marriages, and the bride and groom had to sign a marriage contract to be officially married. (pages 41–42) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Code of Hammurabi (cont.) Hammurabi’s code expresses the patriarchal nature of Mesopotamian society.  Women had fewer privileges and rights than men.  The code also enforced obedience of children to parents.  A father could cut off the hand of a son who had hit him, for example. (pages 41–42) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Importance of Religion Due to the harsh physical environment and famines, Mesopotamians believed that the world was controlled by often destructive supernatural forces and deities.  The Mesopotamians were polytheistic because they believed in many gods and goddesses.  They identified three thousand of them. (page 42) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Importance of Religion (cont.) Human beings were to serve and obey the gods and goddesses.  Sumerians believed that human beings were created to do the manual labor the gods and goddesses were not willing to do.  As inferior beings, people could never be sure what the deities might do to help or hurt them. (page 42) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Creativity of the Sumerians The Sumerians were important inventors.  They created a system of writing called cuneiform (“wedge-shaped”).  They used a reed stylus to make wedge-shaped markings on clay tablets, which were then baked in the sun. (pages 42–43) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Creativity of the Sumerians (cont.) Writing was used for record keeping, teaching, and law.  A new class of scribes (writers and copyists) arose.  Being a scribe was the key to a successful career for an upper-class Mesopotamian boy.  Writing also passed on cultural knowledge from generation to generation, sometimes in new ways. (pages 42–43) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Creativity of the Sumerians (cont.) The Epic of Gilgamesh, the most important piece of Mesopotamian literature, teaches the lesson that only the gods are immortal.  Gilgamesh is wise and strong, a being who is part human and part god.  Gilgamesh befriends a hairy beast named Enkidu.  When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh feels the pain of his friend’s death, and he searches for the secret of immortality.  He fails. (pages 42–43) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

The Creativity of the Sumerians (cont.) The Sumerians invented important technologies, such as the wagon wheel.  In mathematics they invented a number system based on 60, and they made advances in applying geometry to engineering.  In astronomy, the Sumerians charted the constellations using their number system of 60. (pages 42–43) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.