1. What is History?

2. What is History?
History attempts to describe and explain the past.

3. What is History?
History attempts to describe and explain the past. Historians are generally concerned with the causes, consequences and significance of events.

4. What is History?
History attempts to describe and explain the past. Historians are generally concerned with the causes, consequences and significance of events. History is distinct from myths and narratives about the past in that History is exclusively concerned with what can be demonstrated through the reasoned use of evidence.

5. What is History about?
Once, History focused exclusively on war, politics and 'great men'. Now, the discipline of History is much better at recognising that everything has a history and is much more diverse. Areas of study include, for example;
the history of everyday life
the history of ideas
the history of technology
gender history
cultural history
art history

6. Periods of History* Pre-History (before writing) - approx. 3000 BC
Ancient History - > 500 AD
Medieval History AD
Modern History 1500 > present
* Used in the West (Europe and the Anglosphere)

7. The Ancient Mediterranean
From Latin Mediterraneum mare "Mediterranean Sea" from Latin mediterraneus "midland;" original sense being of "sea in the middle of the earth," from medius "middle" + terra "land, earth". (

8. & Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a Greek term meaning “The land between two rivers”. The rivers are the Euphrates and the Tigris.

9. Sumerians
3500: Sumerians settle on the banks of the Euphrates, probably after migrating from Central Asia through Iran.

10. Mesopotamian Trade
“The Cuneiform World”

11. Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing (begins developing 3000)

12. Cuneiform Writing

13. Sumerian Scribes
“Tablet House”

14. Gilgamesh
The real Gilgamesh reigned in Erech around 2700 BCE. Relation between the real and mythical Gilgamesh is unclear.

15. Gilgamesh Epic Tablet: Flood Story

16. Ziggurat at Ur
Temple
“Mountain of the Gods”

17. The Royal Standard of Ur

18. Sophisticated Metallurgy Skills at Ur

19. Sargon of Akkad: The World’s First Empire (2270 BCE)

20. The Babylonian Empires

21. Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.] Code

22. What are you curious about?
Why are you interested in Ancient History in general?
What interests you about the Sumerians and Ancient Mesopotamia? What aspects of it would you like to find out about?