1. The Ancient Civilization of Mesopotamia
What were the important characteristics of the civilizations in Mesopotamia?

2. River Valley Civilizations
The discovery of farming during the Neolithic Revolution allowed nomadic people to settle into civilizations

3. The first civilization began in an area known as Mesopotamia
The world’s first civilizations all began in river valleys

4. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flooded once per year, leaving behind fertile soil ideal for farming
Mesopotamia means “land between the rivers” & is often called the “Fertile Crescent” or as the “Cradle of Civilization”

5. TODAY

6. The earliest people in Mesopotamia were Sumerians.
But, surrounding deserts & the lack of natural barriers attracted outsiders to Mesopotamia made the Sumerians vulnerable to attack

7. Many different people, civilizations and empires would be established in Mesopotamia after the Sumerians…
Phoenicians
Assyrians
Babylonians
Persians
Akkadians
Israelites
(Hebrews)

8. But all the civilizations
of Mesopotamia had…
S = Specialized Workers C = Complex Institutions A = Advanced Cities A = Advanced Technologies R = Record Keeping

9. SCAAR- Characteristics of Civilizations
Specialized Workers:
At the top of society were priests, and then kings
In the middle were skilled workers, like merchants
At the bottom, were common farmers & slaves

10. SCAAR- Characteristics of Civilizations
Complex Institutions, Government:
Babylonian King Hammurabi created the first legal code
Hammurabi’s Code had 282 laws based on justice & retaliation
The code had different punishments for the various levels of society

12. Hammurabi’s Code

13. SCAAR- Characteristics of Civilizations
Complex Institutions, Religion:
Sumerians & Babylonians were polytheistic (many gods)

14. SCAAR- Characteristics of Civilizations
Complex Institutions, Religion:
The Israelites/Hebrews practiced the first monotheistic religion called Judaism
God gave Moses the Ten Commandments which served as moral laws
The holy book of Judaism is the Torah

15. SCAAR- Characteristics of Civilizations
Advanced cities:
Sumerian city-states were protected by high walls
At the city center was a temple called a ziggurat

16. SCAAR- Characteristics of Civilizations
Advanced Technology:
Sumerians inventions include the wheel, sail, plow, & bronze metalwork

17. SCAAR- Characteristics of Civilizations
Writing:
Sumerians made the world’s first writing called cuneiform
Phoenicians simplified cuneiform to a 22 letter alphabet
Phoenician merchants spread the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean world
The alphabet influenced Greek, Latin, & English

18. Create your own Code
As a complex institution, government provides order for a civilization.
Develop a “Hammurabi’s Code” for East View High School to keep order for our students.
Your code must include at least
5 laws and consequences
Note, Think about things that are important to keep order in a school