1. BABYLONIAN ZIGGURAT

2. MESOPOTAMIAN EMPIRES Sumer ancient Sumer’s city-states
(3000 B.C B.C.)
2. Babylonia Babylonian Empire
( 1800 B.C B.C.)
Assyria Assyrian Empire
(1200 B.C B.C.)

3. 1. What two rivers run through the Fertile Crescent?
2. What body of water do the two rivers flow into?
GEOGRAPHY
Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
Persian Gulf
3. In what present day country is Mesopotamia located?
Iraq, Iran…

4. *NOTES*
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA (4000 B.C.)
“land in between the rivers”
Why was this a perfect place for the 1st civilization?
Fertile Crescent - large arc of fertile land in the Middle East
Tigris & Euphrates Rivers made it possible for farming
3. Cattle, pigs, goats & sheep were accessible

5. *NOTES*
WHAT CHALLENGES DID PEOPLE FACE IN MESOPOTAMIA?
1. Unpredictable floods destroyed crops, homes & people
2. Marshy areas unsuitable for farming
3. This land was vulnerable to attack and invasion

6. SUMERIAN WRITING Written on clay tablets
Cuneiform
Written on clay tablets
created by pressing a pointed tool into a clay tablet

8. SUMERIAN ECONOMY Make, sell or barter (trade) goods
Trade helped expand cities
Development of money over time

9. Craftsman (middle class)
SUMERIAN ECONOMY
POOR
Farmers
Craftsman (middle class)
RICH
government officials
religious leaders
traders

10. The invention of Agriculture changed the way people lived.
Agriculture (Farming)
Growth of Cities
Division of Labor (Specialization)
Trade
Writing and Mathematics

11. THE MANY PEOPLE OF MESOPOTAMIA: Cheat Sheet
Sumer : Known for written language
Babylonia: Known for creating Laws (Hammurabi’s Code)
Assyria: Known for being strong warriors

12. AIM: How did geography encourage the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia?
DO NOW:
I am a group of people working together to create an organized society _________________
I am the geographic feature where early people settled _______________
I am two features of a civilization that helps to bring people together ____________ & ______________
civilization
River valleys
Writing system
roads