Warm Up: Key Terms Fertile Crescent (p. 33) Mesopotamia (p. 33) City-state (p. 34) Polytheism (p. 34) Dynasty (p. 35) Cuneiform (p. 35) Indo-Europeans (p. 40)

Chapter 2.1 The Ancient Near East

Objectives: Day 3, 1/25/11 Understand how the first known civilization in Mesopotamia influenced later civilizations in the region Explain how Indo-European invaders both shaped the cultures of the Fertile Crescent and adapted to the civilizations they encountered there

Mesopotamia Watch the following video clip about the rise of civilizations in Mesopotamia and copy the questions to answer during the video: Video: From Nomads to Farmers 1. What does the word “Mesopotamia” mean? 2. What two rivers was it located between? 3. How did Mesopotamian’s control the river water? 4. How did people become slaves in Mesopotamia? 5. What group has the highest/most important job in Mesopotamian society?

Mesopotamia and Sumer The Cradle of Civilization

Geography Promotes Civilization The Fertile Crescent a band of fertile land that forms an oasis in the midst of deserts and mountains between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf Mesopotamia Area between Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Means “between the rivers”

Sumer Developed the first civilization Large cities appeared by 3000 B.C. Eventually formed city-states A political unit with its own government Religion shaped life in city- states Sumerians practiced polytheism The worship of many gods

Sumerian Writing Sumerians developed the world’s first known writing system Known as cuneiform Produced using sharp tools called stylusses to make wedge-shaped symbols on clay tablets Used to keep business accounts and other records Paid scribes to create written documents

Hammurabi’s Code Tribe called Amorites settled in Babylon on the Euphrates River near modern day Baghdad, Iraq Hammurabi became king in 1792 B.C. Most famous for his code of laws Important because it was written down for all to see No one could lie about it or make up laws

Fertile Crescent Empires Hittites, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Phoenicians

The Hittites As the Babylonian Empire declined, Indo- Europeans took over Several tribes from the north that spoke related languages The Hittites Warlike Indo-European tribe Settled in Asia Minor, present day Turkey Used horse-drawn chariot

The Assyrians Originally from northern Mesopotamia, near the city of Assur along the upper Tigris River Built a large empire that included all of Mesopotamia, some of Asia Minor, and Egypt Relied on military strength Produced great cultural achievements such as library at Nineveh

The Chaldeans Took over after Assyrian collapse Made Babylon their capital Nebuchadnezzar II became king Rebuilt Babylon Famous for building the Hanging Gardens (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world)

The Phoenicians Built a wealthy trading society Founded trading colonies, including Carthage Greatest achievement was their alphabet Consisted of 22 letters Later modified by the Greeks to create their own alphabet on which our own is based