Mesopotamia ________________ The Cradle of Civilization Reasons  Permanent Homes & Villages  Complex Society Sprung –Up = City States & Kingship  Birthplace of Writing, Astronomy, Written Law & THE WHEEL Legacy We are the inheritors of all this and much more Later civilizations would borrow heavily from the Mesopotamians, taking their ideas and building upon them

“The Land Between the Rivers”

The Greek word Meso means middle and Potamus means river Fertile Crescent The “Cradle of Civilizaton” Site of the world’s first permanent farming villages The Crossroads Babylonian Map of the World

Geographical Challenges Mountains to the North (Zagros) and to the East (Taurus) Southern Flood Plain –Drought in Summer –Floods in Winter/Spring –Few natural resources –(minerals or forests) –Abundant fish and waterfowl –Fertile soil for farming (once irrigation began) Northern lands –More reliable rainfall produces better farmland –Forests for building, and hunting

Sumerians (Sumer) Assyrians (Assyria) Babylonians (Babylon) Chaldeans (Chaldea) And if you really want to be picky about it there are many other groups of people who are considered part of the Mesopotamian Civilization (Hittites, Kassites, Persians etc.) The 4 Peoples of Mesopotamia

Law & Government Theocracy – a form of government where people are ruled by religious officials In Early Sumer, citizens elected an assembly to run the government Kings called Lugals were created by the assembly for strong leadership during conflict with other city- states Sumerian Laws – by Ur- Nammu Babylonian Laws – by Hammurabi (“Hammurabi’s Code”) King Sargon the Great of Sumer ( BCE)