2. 3,000 BC (Bronze Age starts in Sumer

3.  Hammurabi from Babylon (city- state south of Akkad) took over. In 1792 BC he creates an empire, takes over Sumer, Akkad, and dies in 1750 BC- series of weak kings, and then the Empire falls.  Based on strict Justice  Penalties were very severe- they varied according to class (if commoner commits crime against noble more severe penalty, then vice versa)  Principle of Retaliation ( Eye for an eye) was a fundamental part of the system.  Duties of public officials was taken seriously (must catch burglars or replace lost property, pay fine to relatives of murdered victims if they did not catch them.  Consumer protection laws- builders responsible if their buildings collapsed, could be put to death, if owner died replace goods, destroyed in collapse.  Family law- arranged marriages  Patriarchal- men had more rights than women by law  men could divorce women for leaving the house on business, not cleaning her house, and not being able to have children.

4.  Children- obedience was expected: if son hits father, the father could cut off his hand.  Religion  Polytheism  Humans were to obey and serve the gods.  Humans created to do manual labor, they were inferior to the gods.

5.  Priests- rulers- highest in society. They were the go- between people/gods, managed irrigation system, and collected taxes (part of every farmer’s crops).  Ruler- best general- commander of armies.  Formed dynasties father to son- who were the rulers.  Polytheism- belief in many gods.

6. Was the center of each city- state. It also acted as a city hall.

7.  FROM HIGHEST TO LOWEST 1. Kings, priests, landholders 2. Wealthy merchants 3. Farmers (most of the people) 4. Slaves (captured or sold into)  Women had as many rights as men

8.  Based mainly on farming  Trade  Industry- metal work, woolen textiles, & pottery.

9. IMPORTS  Copper, tin  bronze  timber EXPORTS  Wool  Dried fish  Barley, wheat  Metal goods

10.  Due to geographic location and lack of water, Sumerian city-states fought each other. This caused outside groups to attack (easy to do).  Akkadians- group located to the North  2,340 BC- Sargon I attacked and created the 1 st empire. (easy to create, difficult to keep)  Eventually the Akkadians conquered by Hill peoples in 2,100 BC  The city-states fought each other again till 1792 BC when the Babylonians took over the area.

11.  Mesopotamia- Fertile Crescent  Land between 2 rivers” – the Tigris and the Euphrates River which is today Iraq.  It is considered the 1 st real civilization.

12. Little rain, but silt (material deposited by rivers) made the soil very rich, good for growing crops. Each spring 2 rivers overflow/ fertilize land, had to irrigate and build drainage ditches, because flooding was not exact (time or amount) This produced a surplus in crops which led to cities  which led to civilizations developing in area.