1. Mesopotamia Student Notes I

2. Mesopotamia Timeline Sumer 3,500 BC – 2,300 BC
Mesopotamia was ruled by four different empires
Sumer 3,500 BC – 2,300 BC
Akkad 2,300 BC – 1,900 BC
Babylon 1,900 BC – 1,300 BC
Assyria 1,300 BC – 612 BC
The Sumerians moved to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers about 3500BC, but we do not know where they came from. They were probably nomads who discovered the fertile land between the rivers. Many different civilizations developed in this small region.

3. Agriculture/Farming (Mesopotamia)
Farmers used levees to control the rivers in order to prevent flood damage and irrigate their crops
Farmers grew wheat, barley, dates, and other vegetables and fruit
They raised goats, pigs, sheep and cattle
The Fertile Crescent is a rich food-growing area in a part of the world where most of the land is too dry for farming. The Fertile Crescent is a crescent shaped region that extends from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The staple crops in Mesopotamia were wheat and barley, along with the date palm.

4. Agriculture/Farming (Mesopotamia)
Irrigation created a surplus of food which led to the growth of cities
Surplus refers to the extra crops or products they had
The Fertile Crescent is a rich food-growing area in a part of the world where most of the land is too dry for farming. The Fertile Crescent is a crescent shaped region that extends from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The staple crops in Mesopotamia were wheat and barley, along with the date palm.

5. Agriculture/Farming (Mesopotamia)
Surplus led to a successful system of trade
The Fertile Crescent is a rich food-growing area in a part of the world where most of the land is too dry for farming. The Fertile Crescent is a crescent shaped region that extends from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The staple crops in Mesopotamia were wheat and barley, along with the date palm.

6. Economy
Mesopotamia had very few resources such as metals, timber, and stone, so the Sumerians had to trade to get them

7. Economy At first, the Sumerians traded surplus barley for these goods
They used a barter system to acquire the resources they needed

8. Language Mesopotamians were the first to use writing
The system of writing was called cuneiform
Cuneiform was wedge shaped symbols pressed into clay tablets
Gilgamesh is an ancient poem written in Mesopotamia more than four thousand years ago. The poem tells of a great flood that covers the earth many years earlier, making it similar to the story of Noah in the Old Testament. Many Sumerian and Akkadian myths survive, the best known being the Gilgamesh Epic, describing the legendary exploits of a king of Uruk, fragments of which go back to the early second millennium

9. Language The Mesopotamians wrote many stories
The most famous was the epic poem called Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was a priest-king who searched for a way to live forever
Gilgamesh is an ancient poem written in Mesopotamia more than four thousand years ago. The poem tells of a great flood that covers the earth many years earlier, making it similar to the story of Noah in the Old Testament. Many Sumerian and Akkadian myths survive, the best known being the Gilgamesh Epic, describing the legendary exploits of a king of Uruk, fragments of which go back to the early second millennium

10. Language The Mesopotamians wrote many laws and tales
The most famous epic poem called the Epic of Gilgamesh
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Read part of Gilgamesh pg 59 in text
What material did the people of Mesopotamia write? Clay

11. What challenges did the people of Mesopotamia face? (EXPLAIN WHY)
Process:
What challenges did the people of Mesopotamia face? (EXPLAIN WHY)