Mesopotamia  Growth of City-States: Sumer, Akkad, Uruk, Babylon  Religion and Government  A system of writing  Legends

Life in Sumer, Akkad and Uruk  The Sumerians and the Akkadians were very similar. They both farmed, and had similar customs. Wars occurred frequently over control of land and water.  Uruk was a very large city-state holding up to 50,000 people.  Each city-state was surrounded by a mudbrick wall for protection.  At the highest point of each city-state, was the city’s temple called a ziggurat.

A ziggurat consisted of a series of stacked rectangular platforms that formed a huge pyramid shaped structure. Reaching up to 290 feet, ziggurats were believed by Mesopotamians to link heaven and earth.

Religion  Religion and government were closely linked.  The Sumerians and the Akkadians practiced polytheism- the worship of many gods.  Each city-state believed to be under the protection of a particular god who looked after its interests.  If the people in a city state were peaceful and prosperous, they believed it was because the gods were pleased.  They worked hard to keep the gods happy by making offerings everyday.

Government  The Sumerians believed that kings were chosen by the gods to carry out the god’s wishes.  This was called divine kingship- the belief that the right to rule was god-given.  The Sumerians also believed that the right to rule could be passed from father to son.  Sumer also had a class system where society was divided into classes.

Writing  The Sumerians were great traders and made many business deals.  Sumerians invented a writing system to keep track of all of their business dealings called cuneiform.- A system of wedge-shaped writing.  A professional writer or scribe would press reeds into wet clay leaving markings that stood for objects, activities or sounds.  The clay tablet was left to dry creating a permanent record to use for reference.

Cuneiform Writing

Time to Review  How does a system of writing make it easier to conduct business?  Why were most city-states surrounded by a wall?  What is the belief in many gods called?  What does divine kingship mean?  How are city-states different from villages in the New Stone Age?