1. Aim: Was the ancient Middle East the cradle of civilization?
Do Now: What is going on with these statues??
NY State Standards 2, 3
Common Core Standards RS 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, WS 1, 2

3. I Geography of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia means the land between two rivers; the Tigris and Euphrates (in modern Iraq).
Mesopotamia is often called the Fertile Crescent due to its rich soil.
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flood yearly like Egypt. *Unlike Egypt, their floods are less predictable. This caused the people of Mesopotamia to fear their gods.
TIGRIS RIVER

4. II Mesopotamian Government
Sumer was the first Mesopotamian civilization. Sumer was a collection of city-states, each ruled by a King. Similar to ancient Egypt, Mesopotamian city-states had developed a bureaucracy.
In the center of each city-state was the ziggurat (temple). All buildings were built of sun-baked mud brick. Each city-state was surrounded by a city wall.
A city-state is a city that governs itself.

5. Mesopotamian Government Continued…
C) In 2300 BCE King Sargon of Akkad attacked Sumer. He created the Akkadian Empire, one of the first empires in the world. After his death, his empire quickly fell apart.
An empire is a group of states that is under the control of a single authority.

6. Mesopotamian Government Continued…
D) In 1790 BCE Hammurabi, King of Babylon, conquered most of Mesopotamia. He created the Code of Hammurabi; the world’s first known written law code.
Code of Hammurabi:
300 laws carved into a stone pillar
Displayed in public
Included civil and criminal laws
Punishments were specific to the crime. However, the punishment was also based on your social status and wealth. (The lower your status, the harsher the penalty)

7. Mesopotamian Government Continued…
E) In 1400 BCE the Hittites (from Asia Minor) settled in Mesopotamia. They brought with them the knowledge of iron working.
A Hittite iron helmet.

8. Mesopotamian Government Continued…
F) By 1100 BCE the Assyrians conquered Mesopotamia. King Assurbanipal founded one of the world’s first libraries.

9. Mesopotamian Government Continued…
F) In 626 BCE King Nebuchadnezzar conquered the Assyrian Empire, and began the Neo-Babylonian Empire… out of… you guessed it… Babylon!
He conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the first Jewish temple and forced many Jews leave Jerusalem for Babylon.
He rebuilt the city walls of Babylon, including the Ishtar Gate. It is covered in blue tile, with images of lions.
He built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his wife.
A design from the Ishtar Gate

10. Recreation of the Ishtar Gate

11. Recreation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

12. III Achievements of Mesopotamia
A) By 3200 BCE Sumerians invented cuneiform, a true writing system. They marked clay tablets with a stylus (sharp pointed tool).

13. Achievements of Mesopotamia Continued…
B) Mesopotamians were using the wheel by about 3,500 B.C.

14. Achievements of Mesopotamia Continued…
C) The Sumerians developed the earliest known number system. They divided space and time by units of 6. D) Like the Egyptians, Sumerians studied astronomy, and created a 12 month calendar.
*We still use Sumerian math!
60 degrees in a circle
60 seconds in a minute
60 minutes in an hour
Below is a Sumerian star chart
The Sumerians also gave us the 12 signs of the Zodiac! Unlike astronomy, astrology is not science. Rather, astrology is the belief that the positions of the stars affect our lives.

15. Achievements of Mesopotamia Continued…
E) The Epic of Gilgamesh may be the oldest written story on earth!
Written in cuneiform
About a Sumerian King
It contains a story of a great flood, eerily similar to the story of Noah and the Ark!
F) Irrigation canals, dykes & dams

16. V Religion in Mesopotamia
A) Polytheistic. B) Unlike Egypt, Mesopotamians believed the afterlife was misery. This was because the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates was not very predictable. C) Priests performed ceremonies on top of ziggurats.
“The house where one goes in and never comes out again… the place where they live on dust and their food is mud…” – Epic of Gilgamesh
On the left is a royal headdress of a female Queen found in the royal burial at Ur.

17. US Soldiers Climbing the Ziggurat at Ur

18. Mesopotamia Period 1 through 600 BCE
Sumerians
3200 – 1900 BCE
Invented cuneiform writing.
Akkadian Empire
2300 – 2150 BCE
Sargon attacked Sumer and created one of the world’s first empires.
Babylonian Empire
1790 – 1595 BCE
King Hammurabi created the world’s first written law code.
Hittites
1650 – 1200 BCE
Expert iron craftsmen.
Assyrian Empire
1350 – 609 BCE
King Assurbanipal created a world famous library.
Neo Babylonian Empire
626 – 539 BCE
King Nebuchadnezzar built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his wife.

19. Mesopotamia was only 1 of the River Valley Civilizations!

20. Key Vocabulary Akkadian Empire Hittites Asia Minor Ishtar Gate
Assyrian Empire
King Assurbanipal’s Library
Babylonian Empire
King Hammurabi
City-States
Neo-Babylonian Empire
Cuneiform
King Nebuchadnezzar
Epic of Gilgamesh
King Sargon
Euphrates River
Mesopotamia
Fertile Crescent
Sumerians
Hammurabi’s Code
Tigris River
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Ziggurat