1. Civilization in Mesopotamia

4. Geography of Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in an area called the Fertile Crescent.

5. Geography of Mesopotamia Some of the cities in Mesopotamia were: Sumer Akkadia Ur Assyria Babylon

6. Geography of Mesopotamia Mesopotamia’s physical features are rivers and fertile, rich soil. It is surrounded by desert.

7. Civilization is a society with cities, specialized workers, record keepers, technology, government and religion. Mesopotamia is considered “The Birthplace of Civilization”

8. Farming in Mesopotamia

9. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers made early farming and settlement possible.

10. Mesopotamia’s climate was almost always hot and dry. But sometimes it rained so hard that the region flooded.

11. To control the water, farmers from Mesopotamia dug canals from the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers.

12. Methods like this for watering crops are known as irrigation systems.

13. Irrigation helped the people of Mesopotamia control when and how much they watered their crops.

14. Also, the Mesopotamians invented the plow and used domesticated oxen to plow their fields.

17. Technology in Mesopotamia Technology – the use and knowledge of tools and products that make life easier.

18. One major technological advancement of the Mesopotamians was the invention of the wheel. Now an ox or donkey could carry a large load.

19. Cuneiform Writing By 2000 B.C. Sumerians developed wedge shaped symbols into a writing system. This system was called cuneiform.

21. Click below for a short video about cuneiform:

22. Cuneiform Writing People who were trained to write in cuneiform were called scribes.

23. Click below for a short video about scribes.

24. At first they wrote down their records. Cuneiform started as pictures but ended up as symbols.

26. The calendar made it possible to predict the rain and flood seasons.

27. Mesopotamians made the first boats and sea faring ships.

28. They also invented the first musical instruments.

29. And they created the first number system.

30. Mesopotamian Religion

31. Mesopotamians practiced polytheism. Polytheism is the belief in more than one god.

32. Each Mesopotamian city had a different god that they believed watched over them.

33. They believed that the gods were responsible for the well-being of the people and the fertility of the land.

34. They believed that natural disasters were signs that gods were mad at them.

35. The largest building in a Mesopotamian city was called a ziggurat. Top = Temple for gods Bottom = Government Offices

38. Rulers of Mesopotamia

39. Mesopotamia was made up of city-states. A city-state included a city and all the farmlands around it. Each had its own leader and government.

41. Due to a surplus in harvest, many city-states had a complex division of labor. It included farmers, merchants* and craft workers. *merchants = people who sell things.

42. KING PRIEST & GOVERNMENT WORKERS MERCHANTS, CRAFTSMEN, & SCRIBES LABORERS & SLAVES MESOPOTAMIAN SOCIAL CLASSES

43. Famous Rulers Sargon the Conqueror (2300 B.C.) - Was a servant who formed an army and conquered Mesopotamia - He became the region’s first emperor. - First to set up a standing army

44. Hammurabi (1790-1750 B.C.) -From Babylon -Controlled all of Mesopotamia -Introduced taxation -Code of Hammurabi

45. Code of Hammurabi - Code of Laws -dealt with daily life (marriage divorce, adoption, slaves) - eye for an eye