City-States in Mesopotamia Chapter 2 Section 1

I Geography of the Fertile Crescent Fertile Crescent= fertile area of land between the Persian Gulf & Mediterranean Sea in Southwest Asia

A. Fertile Plains Land btwnTigris & Euphrates river became known as Mesopotamia Mesopotamia= Greek word meaning “land btwn the rivers” Rivers flooded at least 1 a yr. leaving behind silt Silt= Thick, fertile, mud on which farmers could plant Food surpluses allowed villages to grow

B. Environmental Challenges Good soil attracted Sumerians whose language dominated the region Disadvantages Flooding unpredictable Vulnerable to attack because the lack of natural barriers Limited natural resources (wood, stone, metal)

C. Creating Solutions Irrigation= ditches that carried water to fields Allowed food surplus Built city walls out of brick & mud for defense Traded grain for stone, wood, & metal that they needed

Large building projects required laborers and ppl to oversee the labor Projects created a need for laws to settle disputes over land and water distribution Laws marked the beginning of organized gov’t

II Sumerians Create City-States Sumerians 1st group to create a civilization Shared same culture & developed goat's each with its own ruler City-State=city and surrounding land it controlled

A. The Power of Priests Sumer early gov’t controlled by priests Priests collected part of farmers crop as tax

B. Monarchs Take Control In time of war a man was chosen to lead the city & soldiers instead of priests As war became frequent, ppl 7 priests gave commanders permanent control of armies Eventually became full time rulers Passed down power to their sons to forma dynasty Dynasty= series of rulers from a single family City states came under rule of dynasties

C. Spread of Cities Food surplus prosperous city Able to exchange extra food for goods they needed Trade spread of ideas Cities arose in fertile crescent (now Syria, Iraq, Turkey) Sumerians also learned from nearby cultures Cultural Diffusion= the process of a new idea or product spreading from one culture to another

III Sumerian Culture A. A Religion of Many Gods Sumerian culture & others in region practiced a polytheism Polytheism= the belief in many gods Sumerians described gods doing things humans did but believed they were immortal & all powerful Built impressive ziggurats & offered sacrifices to keep them happy so they wouldn’t cause them harm

Epic of Gilgamesh offers a glimpse of their beliefs and concerns One of the earliest works of literature in the world Story of king Gilgamesh in his search for immortality Influenced other ancient cultures like Hebrews & Greeks

B. Life in Sumerian Society Civilization saw establishment of social classes Priests Wealthy merchants Majority= farmers & craftsmen slaves

Slaves could earn freedom through obedience & working all day Slaves were POWs & Sumerians who were sold into slavery to pay debts of their poor parents Slaves could earn freedom through obedience & working all day Women could pursue most occupations of city life Could own property Join lower ranks of priesthood Could not attend upper class schools where boys learned to read and write More rights than many other women in later civ.

IV The First Empire Buildings Sumerian city-states almost always at war weakened them & left them vulnerable to attacks Sumerians were taken over but their culture lived on and was adapted to meet needs of following rulers

A. Sargon of Akkad Led his army to defeat Sumerians Akkadians were Semitic Semitic= spoke language related to Arabic & Hebrew Sargon created 1st empire Empire= uniting multiple ppl, nations, or previously indep. States under 1 ruler Lasted only 200 due to invasions & famine

Babylonian Empire Nomadic warriors known as Amorites invaded Mesopotamia & established Babylon as its capital Reached its peak during reign of Hammurabi

C. Hammurabi’s Code Recognized that a single code would unify the diverse population of his empire Engraved in stone for all to see Different punishments for rich & poor “eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”