1. MESOPOTAMIA
THE FERTILE CRESCENT

2. SECTION 1 - VOCABULARY SCRIBE – A PERSON WHO WRITES & KEEPS RECORDS
CITY-STATE – A CITY THAT IS A SEPARATE, INDEPENDENT STATE WITH IT’S OWN GOVERNMENT
POLYTHEISM – THE BELIEF IN MORE THAN ONE GOD
MONOTHEISM – THE BELIEF IN ONLY ONE GOD
CUNEIFORM – GROUPS OF WEDGES & LINES -1ST WRITING SYSTEM

3. I. MESOPOTAMIA – Greek word that means land between 2 rivers
A. called the Fertile Crescent
1. located between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
2. rich soil because of the rivers
3. area shaped like a crescent moon
4. located in the present day country of Iraq
5. site of some of the 1st civilizations
6. sufficient (enough) food to meet their needs

4. B. Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
JOY SORROW
RICH FERTILE
SOIL – LED TO
A SURPLUS
OF FOOD
FLOODS CAME
WITHOUT WARNING –
DESTRUCTION
OF HOMES, CROPS,
ANIMALS, & PEOPLE

5. C. Sumerian civilization
1. Religion –huge part of their daily lives
a. no separation between government and religion
1. religious leaders were also the political leaders
a. kept order in society
b. scribes kept records for officials
c. cuneiform – 1st writing system

6. Sumerian Civilization
2. Religion –
a. Sumerian temples were called ziggurats – site of the main god or goddess
b. ziggurats were built in a pedestal or stairway fashion for the gods/goddesses to descend to earth
c. they were polytheistic – more than one god

7. D. The Fall of Sumer
1. city-states fought over land and the use of river water
2. During the civil wars, Sumer was conquered by Akkadia
a. King Sargon – Addadia’s ruler – united the city-states and improved the government & the military
b. Sumer lasted 100 yrs & fell to northern rival, Babylonia in the 1700s BC

8. SECTION 2 VOCAB
1. empire – people and territories controlled by one government
2. Babylon – capital of Babylonia – city of great wealth and luxury
3. bazaar – a market selling different kinds of goods
4. battering ram – a powerful weapon with a wooden beam mounted on wheels

9. II Empires of Mesopotamia
A. Babylon reached its height in 1760BC
1. Hammurabi was king of Babylon from BC – He prided himself on his ability to maintain law and justice
2. He united the city-states of Sumer
3. He created a system of roads throughout the empire encouraging travel & trade
4. Babylon was located between Assyria & the city-states of Sumer –making it a natural crossroad for trade

10. Empires of Mesopotamia
B. Code of Hammurabi
1. 1st organized set of laws & punishments – written so everyone knew them
2. The code did NOT apply equally to all people – punishments depended on the victim’s class
3. punishments were severe – eye for an eye
4. laws covered ALL aspects of life

11. B. Assyria 1. Babylon fell to Assyria in @ 1600BC
2. Assyria reached its height of power in 650BC
3. skilled warriors – best defense was to attack
a. invented the battering ram
b. expert archers
c. armed charioteers

12. ASSYRIA 4. Capital city was Nineveh a. city of great learning
b. remarkable library – held thousands of clay tablets with writings from Sumer and Babylon
5. Fall of Assyria
a. Medes & Chaldeans joined together & defeated the Syrians in 612BC

13. C. Babylon – Under the Chaldeans
1. King Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
a. royal garden & palace 350 ft high
b. one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world.
3. Babylon became a center for learning
a. science, astronomy, raised honey bees
4. Babylon under the Chaldean
rule fell to the Persians
in 539 BC

14. SECTION 3 - VOCAB 1. COVENANT – A PROMISE MADE BY GOD
2. MONOTHEISM – THE BELIEF IN ONE GOD
3. FAMINE – LACK OF FOOD LEADING TO STARVATION
4. EXILED –FORCED TO LEAVE
5. PROPHET – RELIGIOUS TEACHER WHO SPEAKS FOR GOD
6. DIASPORA – THE SCATTERING OF PEOPLE WITH COMMON BELIEFS

15. III. THE RISE OF THE ISRAELITES
A. Judaism – 1st monotheistic religion to date
Believed that God is everywhere, all-knowing, and has complete power
Israelites were 1st called the Hebrews
Much of what we them comes from the Torah – the Hebrew Bible

16. III. THE RISE OF THE ISRAELITES
B. Abraham – Israelite leader
1. Taught his people monotheism
2. Torah told him to lead his people out of Mesopotamia and into the land of Canaan
a. In time, famine spread across Canaan causing the Israelites to flee to nearby Egypt

17. III. THE RISE OF THE ISRAELITES
C. Moses – Israelite leader
1. after years of slavery by the Egyptians, Moses led his people out of Egypt back to Canaan –promise land
2. This movement was called the Exodus
3. Here, God gave Moses the 10 Commandments – these are the heart of Judaism

18. III. THE RISE OF THE ISRAELITES
D. Effects of later religions
1. both Christianity and Islam have their beginnings in Judaism
2. all three of these religions are monotheistic
3. all three of these religions honor – Abraham, Moses, and the prophets