WH1.3A-E UNIT 2: RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS

FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIVILIZATION: 1.Advanced Cities 2.Specialized Workers 3.Complex Institutions 4. Record Keeping 5.Advanced Technology

RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS Permanent Settlements Why river valleys? Rich soil for crops Irrigation for agriculture Easily protected from invasion Appeared between about 3500 to 500 BC

MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION

MESOPOTAMIA Oldest Known Civilization Cradle of Civilization Civilization first began around 3500 BC Capital was Ur Mesopotamia means “land between the rivers”

LOCATION Between Tigris and Euphrates River This area is also known as the Fertile Crescent Climate-Dry with little rain (desert)

RIVERS Tigris and Euphrates River flood at least once year When the water recedes it leaves a layer of silt Farmers plant grain Irrigate with river water The rivers were very unpredictable

SUMERIANS People began to settle the land around 4500 BC Around 3300 BC the Sumerians arrived and created the Civilization of Sumer Create City-States Each city and the land (fields) that surrounded it Mesopotamia became a collection of city- states

CITY-STATES All Sumerian city-states shared the same culture, but had their own government Operated almost as its own country

LAYOUT OF CITY-STATE

ZIGGURAT At the center of every Sumerian city was a walled temple with a ziggurat in the center A ziggurat is a tiered pyramid structure place of worship acted as a city hall Priests and rulers appealed to the gods for the well being of the city-states

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LIFE IN THE CITY Houses were made of mud brick and were windowless Jobs Artisans Metal Working (bronze for tools and weapons) Pottery (store food)

IRRIGATION Ditches to carry water to field This turned the dry valley into a prosperous center of agriculture

CITY WALLS Build City Walls to protect city Located in a valley with natural protection of deserts and mountains

CULTURE Polytheism-the belief in many gods In Sumer, these gods controlled the forces of nature such as weather All powerful, immortal, and did many of the same things humans did Power to destroy cities Built ziggurats dedicated to gods

PATRON GODS Each city-state had a patron god Examples: Anu-Sky god Enil-Earth god Ea-Water god They believed the gods lived in the Ziggurat

TRADE Open air markets called Bazaars People traded farm and artisan goods

CULTURAL DIFFUSION Spread of ideas and products from one culture to another Contact between city-states because of trade or war led to cultural diffusion

POLITICAL STRUCTURE Priests and rulers shared control Farmers believed the success of their crops depended on blessings from the gods The priests were the go-betweens They required taxes which were a portion of the farmers crops

POLITICAL STRUCTURE War-men choose toughest fighter to command soldiers War becomes more frequent Leader takes standing control

DYNASTY Full time ruler who would pass control down to their sons Dynasty A dynasty is a series of rulers from a single family Hereditary Rule

SOCIAL PATTERNS Social classes developed 1.Upper-Kings, landholders, and priests 2.Middle-Wealthy Merchants and Traders 3.Lower-Farmers and Artisans 4.Slaves Slaves were foreigners captured in war people who had been sold into slavery as a child to pay off a families debt

WRITING The system of writing in Sumer was cuneiform Earliest form of writing Cuneiform means “wedge shaped”

PURPOSE OF WRITING Keep record of food surplus Teach Record history Survey land (create maps) Record irrigation systems Architecture of buildings

EPIC OF GILGAMESH Oldest story ever written It is about the life of a Sumerian King

INVENTIONS Bronze tools were common Wheel Sail Plow Chariot

CIVILIZATION FADES TO EMPIRE The city states were consistently at war with each other The Akkadians took over and created the world’s first empire (2350 BC) An empire is when several peoples, nations, or previously independent states come together under the control of one ruler

AKKADIAN EMPIRE

BABYLONIANS The Babylonians took over in 2000 BC The peak of this empire was during the reign of Hammurabi from 1792 BC to 1750 BC

HAMMURABI’S CODE Code of Laws He felt a single, uniform law code would unify all the groups in the empire He put together many existing rules, judgments, and laws He had the Law Code engraved into stone pillars and copies were placed all around the empire

PUNISHMENTS PUNISHMENTS WERE HARSH - EYE FOR AN EYE

EXAMPLE If any one strike the body of a man higher in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public.

EXAMPLE If any one bring an accusation of any crime before the elders, and does not prove what he has charged, he shall, if it be a capital offense charged, be put to death.

DECLINE AND FALL AFTER HAMMURABI’S DEATH DIVIDED INTO SMALL STATES HITTITES ENDED EMPIRE BY RAIDING OUT OF ASIA MINOR (TURKEY)