Ancient Mesopotamia Global History I: Spiconardi
Geography Mesopotamia “The Land Between Two Rivers” Which two rivers? Tigris and the Euphrates Part of a larger area known as the Fertile Crescent
Geography Flooding Tigris and Euphrates commonly flooded and wiped away settlements The two rivers were unpredictable in their flooding People banded together to build canals and dikes Moved settlements to uphill areas
Geography Lack of natural barriers Mesopotamia is not enclosed by mountains or jungles Easy access for invaders and conquerors Mesopotamia becomes the crossroads of the ancient world Conquerors and conquered mingle and shared ideas and customs Cultural Diffusion the spreading of new ideas or products from one culture to another
Government Sumer: First Major Mesopotamian Civilization Sumer was not a centralized empire, but a collection of wide spread city-states Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Nippur, Akkad, Eridu United under Sargon the Great City-states still warred over water and food supplies
Government Sargon the Great The Legend His mother placed him in a reed basket and sent him down the Euphrates (Sound familiar?) A farmer found him and raised him Becomes kings cupbearer (most trusted servant) Overthrows the king and unites Sumerian city-states Establishes the Akkadian Empire (c BCE – 2100 BCE
Government The Babylonians (C BCE BCE) The Babylonians were the next major empire to control Mesopotamia Babylon was the economic center of Mesopotamia Achievements Gate of Ishtar Number system based on 60 (hours/minutes/seconds) Figured out the solar year of 365 ¼ days
Gate of Ishtar
Ziggurat of Marduk
Religion In Mesopotamia, religion and politics were intertwined; no separation Kings were also the chief priest & considered semi-divine Center of activity revolved around the ziggurat Ziggurat step-like pyramids; part of Sumerian temple Education, trade, religious ceremonies, the mandating of laws While the various city-states of Sumer had shared deities, each city-state worshipped a unique god