1. Mesopotamia: “The Cradle of Civilization”
Unit 1-2
TYWL: Civilizations often emerge along river valleys supports agriculture, Institutions often form to manage resources & people. Civilizations often develop their own patterns of exchange & social structure. Societies often create & implement tools to manage the environment.

2. Earliest Civilization: the Fertile Crescent
earliest of all civilizations
Mesopotamia: Greek word “between the rivers”, specifically,Tigris River & Euphrates River (present day Iraq)
Lasted for approximately 3000 years
1st to irrigate fields, devised a system of writing, developed mathematics, invented the wheel and learned to work with metal
Flooding: in spring
Categorized as the earliest of all civilizations as people formed permanent settlements
Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means “between the rivers”
Specifically, the area between the Tigris River and Euphrates River (present day Iraq)
Mesopotamia is not within the "Fertile crescent“, it is in the more desert area that the "Fertile crescent" arcs around

4. Religion
Kingship believed to be created by gods & the king’s power was divinely ordained
Polytheistic religion consisting of over 3600 gods & demigods
Shows diversity of religion from different regions
Yet all of Mesopotamia shared the same religion and the same prominent gods

5. Ziggurats Large temples dedicated to the god of the city
Tower of Babel
Ziggurat of Ur -2000BCE
Important for gods to be honoured by religious ceremonies
Ceremonies performed by priests in sacred temples
Temples created from mud brick and placed on platforms due to constant flooding
Temples evolved to ziggurats- a stack of 1-7 platforms decreasing in size from bottom to top
Famous ziggurat was Tower of Babel (over 100m above ground and 91m base)

6. Government
early form of democracy
Eventually rise of monarchial system

7. Sumerians Akkadians develop cuneiform writing invented the wheel
first city of the world
Akkadians
Leader: Sargon the Great
Sargon unified lower Mesopotamia (conquered Sumerians in 2331 BCE)
Capital at Akkad
Spread Mesopotamian culture
Established the social, economic and intellectual basis of Mesopotamia
First to develop writing in the form of cuneiform
Sumerians are credited to have invented the wheel
Became the first city of the world
However, the Sumerians were not successful in uniting lower Mesopotamia

8. Babylonians KING HAMMURABI’S BABLYON
Built new walls to protect the city
Economy based on agriculture & wool / cloth
individuals could own land around cities
Babylonians reunited Mesopotamia in 1830 BCE
Hammurabi’s Legacy: law code

9. Code of Hammurabi
Enforce his rule, collected all the laws of Babylon in a code that would apply everywhere in the land
282 laws inscribed on a stone pillar
Hammurabi as receiving his authority from god Shamash
Punishments fit the crimes as people must be responsible for own actions
Hammurabi Code was an origin to the concept of “eye for an eye…”

10. Defining Crime & Punishment
The Code of Hammurabi
1st to codify & set down in writing.
Est. Civil Law
civil law, dealt w/private rights and matters ( taxes etc.)
Defining Crime & Punishment
criminal law, dealt w/offenses against others (assault or murder).

11. After Hammurabi’s death, Babylon fell apart and kings of Assur controlled more of surrounding area and came to dominate
Made superior weapons of bronze & iron
iron changed lifestyles in Mesopotamia in weapons and in daily life
established the first true empire
By 539 BCE, Mesopotamia part of the vast Persian Empire (led by Cyrus the Great)
Assyrians
10th century BCE, Assyria emerged as dominant force
Assyrian reunited Mesopotamia and established the first true empire
Assyrian army was most feared due to their brutal, bloodthirsty & terrorizing tactics and use of iron weapons, battering rams, chariots
Assyrian Empire stretched from Persian Gulf north and West to Syria, Palestine and Egypt
However, states began to revolt and ONCE AGAIN, Assyrian Empire collapsed by late 7th century BCE
By 539 BCE, Mesopotamia part of the vast Persian Empire (led by Cyrus the Great)
Persian Empire dominated for 800 years until Alexander the Great

12. Development Of
WRITING

13. Writing Greatest contribution
wet clay tablets with the point of a reed
Scribes were only ones who could read and write
First form of writing was developed called CUNEIFORM (meaning “wedge shaped”), dating to 3500 BCE
Cuneiform spread to Persia & Egypt

14. Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh is an ancient story or epic written in Mesopotamia more than 4000 thousand years ago
Epic mentions a great flood
Gilgamesh and the Nippur tablet both parallel the story of Noah and the Ark (great flood) in the Old Testament of the Jewish and Christian holy books