“The land between rivers” Mesopotamia “The land between rivers”

Mesopotamia 3500 – 1700 B.C. Region located between the Tigris River and Euphrates River

Agriculture Very hot and dry, but people learned how to irrigate the land by using the rivers. Led to a surplus of food Allowed people to specialize in areas other than farming Pottery Weavers Metal workers Warriors priests

Government Divided into City-States Had its own ruler and local gods Uruk Ur Babylon Had its own ruler and local gods Eventually, several of the city states united under one single ruler

Religion Polytheistic Believed in as many as 2,000 different Gods Historians believe Mesopotamian religions were the world’s oldest faiths Rulers were often priests Theocracy – society governed by religious leaders

Building World’s first city-builders Lacked stone or timber, instead built with mud bricks and crushed reeds Walled cities, temples with arch's, and stepped pyramids known as ziggurats. Each ziggurat was made of a series of square levels, with each level slightly smaller than the one below it

Culture/Science Sumerians invented the wheel and the sailboat Also figured out how to reroute water to irrigate fields firther away Tools and weapons of copper and bronze Sumerians devised a calendar, 12 months Babylonians developed a number system based on 60 and invented the world’s first writing system cuneiform, a form of symbol writing on clay tablets Only the elite could read and write in cuneiform (priests and scribes)

Legal System Babylonians developed earliest written law code Code of Hammurabi Aim was to ensure justice and protect the weak

Amateur Historian…go! Hammurabi’s Code treated nobles and commoners differently, some code provisions punished criminals harshly. 195 – if a son strikes a father, his hands shall be cut off 196 – if a noble man puts out the eye of another noble man, his eye shall be put out 197 – if he breaks another noble man’s bone, his bone shall be broken 198 – if he puts out the eye of a commoner, he shall pay one mina (silver) How did the penalty a nobleman faced for putting out the eye of a nobleman or a commoner differ?

Women Responsible for raising children and crushing grain ENORMOUS variations in the rights of women from different social classes Wealthier women were allowed to go to the marketplace to buy goods, could complete loegal matters in the husbands absence, and could own property Could engage in business for themselves and obtain divorces Those who were relatives to the ruler enjoyed an even higher status