1. The Land Between Two Rivers
Mesopotamia
The Greeks later called this region Mesopotamia, which means “between the rivers.”
The Land Between Two Rivers

3. Uruk

4. known in the Bible as Erech (now Warka) \
Uruk was Mesopotamia's - and the World's - first city

6. Timeline Sumerian 3,500 BC – 2,300 BC Akkadian 2,300 BC – 1,900 BC
Mesopotamia was ruled by four different empires
Sumerian 3,500 BC – 2,300 BC
Akkadian 2,300 BC – 1,900 BC
Babylonian 1,900 BC – 1,300 BC
Assyrian 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.

7. Geography Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning between the rivers
Ancient Mesopotamia was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Most of Mesopotamia was located in present day Iraq
The hot dry climate was mixed with seasonal flooding from the rivers l
The rivers stretch some 1,700 miles to the southeast, from their headwaters in Turkey to their common mouth on the Persian Gulf.

8. Mesopotamia (Land of Firsts)
Mesopotamia is known as, “The Cradle of Civilization,” because it was first in many things:
First to invent the wheel
First to use sails on boats
One of first to make up a story (Gilgamesh)
First to use cuneiform (writing)
First to use the calendar
First to use the seeder plow
First to give a number place value and recognize the concept of zero
Eventually the Sumerians developed a civilization. They learned that by planting seeds and plowing their land, they were able to grow crops. They learned to domesticate, or tame animals to help them plow their lands. The Sumerians learned to use irrigation, or a system of watering crops, to grow more food. The Sumerians also made a very important invention--the wheel. The invention of the wheel made it possible to pull heavy loads.

9. Agriculture (The Fertile Crescent)
Farmers turned the land into a rich food growing area by using irrigation and the plow
Farmers grew wheat, barley, dates, and other vegetables and fruit
They raised goat, pig, sheep and cattle
Irrigation created a surplus of food which led to the growth of cities
Surplus led to a flourishing 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.

10. Economy
The Mesopotamian plain was lacking in resources such as metals, timber, stone, and grapevines, so the Sumerians had to trade abroad to get them
At first, the Sumerians traded surplus barley for these goods
Later, the Sumerians began to manufacture trading goods that they could transport more easily, such as cloth and bronze ornaments
The Mesopotamians made written contracts, loans and created a credit system
They used a barter system

11. Trade Routes

12. The Beginnings of Writing
The Sumerians were very good farmers. They raised animals such as goats and cows (called livestock). Because they needed to keep records of their livestock, food, and other things, officials began using tokens.

13. Tokens were used for trade.
Clay tokens came in different shapes and sizes. These represented different objects.

14. Advancement
With the development of cities came a more complex economy and more complex social structures.

15. Language Mesopotamians were the first to use writing (around 3,000 BC)
The system of writing was called cuneiform
Cuneiform was wedge shaped symbols pressed into clay tablets
The Mesopotamians wrote many myths
The most famous was the epic poem called Gilgamesh
Writing allowed people to keep records of their transactions
People could send messages with couriers to far away lands without traveling
Writing allowed people to pass on their accumulated knowledge to future generations
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

16. Cuneiform Tablets

17. Cuneiform “Wedge” The earliest form of writing dates back to 3300 B.C.
People back then would draw "word-pictures" on clay tablets using a pointed instrument called a stylus. These "word-pictures" then developed into wedge-shaped signs.

18. Religion The people of Mesopotamia believed in many gods
Each town was protected by its own, unique deity or god
The temple, the center of worship, was also the center of every city
Around the year 2000 B.C., temple towers called ziggurats were built to link heaven and earth
The Sumerians were polytheistic, which means they believed in many gods. They worshiped their gods at huge temples they called ziggurats. Each ziggurat was dedicated to a specific god, whom the Sumerians believed ruled over their city. When one city was conquered, the invaders would force the conquered people to accept their gods.

19. Government Political structure an early form of democracy
Frequent wars led to the emergence of warriors as leaders
Eventually rise of monarchial system
co-operation was the basis of government
Followed leadership of god of the city which was interpreted by a council of leading citizens > or > priests > or leader of the city (ie. king)

20. Government
The Mesopotamians had written laws that everyone in the empire had to follow
There were 282 laws created by King Hamurabi
Known as Hamurabi's Code, the laws were written in stone and placed in a public location
The Mesopotamians believed the gods called the king to establish justice and order; whoever disobeyed the king disobeyed the gods
Hammurabi was the king of the city-state of Babylon. About 1800BC, Hammurabi conquered the nearby city-states and created the kingdom of Babylonia. He recorded a system of laws called the Code of Hammurabi. The 282 laws were engraved in stone and placed in a public location for everyone to see. Hammurabi required that people be responsible for their actions. Some of Hammurabi’s laws were based on the principle “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” This means that whoever commits an injury should be punished in the same manner as that injury. If someone put out another person’s eye, their eye would be put out in return. Hammurabi’s Code may seem cruel today, but it was an early attempt at law. Laws are rules that are known to people.

21. Social Organization & Daily Life
The King held military powers.
The Governors governed the territories of the kingdom. They were generals and judges at the same time.
The aristocracy were priests and traders.
The peasants worked the land.
Sports, games and entertainment were part of their everyday life
Boxing and wrestling were popular sports
Board games were also popular
The kings were famous hunters of lions, elephants, ostriches, wild bulls
Harps and lyres were played
Mesopotamian society was organized around city-states. In early Sumerian times, a priest-king (en) ruled as a representative of the city's god, assisted by an assembly of citizens or elders. Later, as multicity states formed, a king (Sumerian lugal, Akkadian sharrum) reigned, and each individual city was administered by a governor (ensi or ishiakkum).

22. Hammurabi’s Laws Divided society into 3 classes: Nobility Commoners
Slaves
Rules for marriage and divorce.
Women had to accept as well as parent permission with dowry.
Protected welfare of women and children

23. Sumerians “Land of the lords of brightness”
social, economic and intellectual basis
Irrigated fields and produced 3 main
crops (barley, dates and sesame seeds)
built canals, dikes, dams and drainage systems
develop cuneiform writing
invented the wheel
Abundance of food led to steady increase of population (farm, towns, cities)
first city of the world
Developed a trade system with bartering: mainly barley but also wool and cloth for stone, metals, timber, copper, pearls and ivory
Individuals could only rent land from priests (who controlled land on behalf of gods); most of profits of trade went to temple
However, the Sumerians were not successful in uniting lower Mesopotamia
Established the social, economic and intellectual basis of Mesopotamia
First to develop writing in the form of cuneiform
Sumerians are credited to have invented the wheel
Became the first city of the world
However, the Sumerians were not successful in uniting lower Mesopotamia

24. Akkadians Leader: Sargon the Great
Sargon unified lower Mesopotamia (after conquering Sumerians in 2331 BCE)
Established capital at Akkad
Spread Mesopotamian culture
However, short-lived dynasty as Akkadians were conquered by the invading barbarians by 2200 BCE
Leader: Sargon the Great
Sargon’s greatest achievement was the unification of lower Mesopotamia (after conquering Sumerians in 2331 BCE)
Established capital at Akkad
Spread Mesopotamian culture throughout Fertile Crescent
Yet dynasty established by Sargon was short-lived… Akkadians were conquered by the invading barbarians by 2200 BCE

25. Babylonians KING HAMMURABI’S BABLYON
(6th Amorite king) who conquered Akkad and Assyria (north and south)
He build new walls to protect the city and new canals and dikes to improve crops
Economy based on agriculture and wool / cloth
individuals could own land around cities
Artisans and merchants could keep most profits and even formed guilds / associations
Grain used as the medium of exchange > emergence of measurement of currency: shekel = 180 grains of barley; mina = 60 shekels
Mina was eventually represented by metals which was one of first uses of money (but it was still based on grain)
Hammurabi’s Legacy: law code
Babylonians reunited Mesopotamia in 1830 BCE
central location dominated trade and secured control
YET AGAIN, Mesopotamia was not unified for long…

26. 10th century BCE, Assyria emerged as dominant force in the north
City of Assur- became important trading and political centre
After Hammurabi’s death, Babylon fell apart and kings of Assur controlled more of surrounding area and came to dominate
Made conquered lands pay taxes (food, animals, metals or timber)
Rule by fear as kings were first to have a permanent army made up of professional soldiers (estimated men)
Made superior weapons of bronze and iron
iron changed lifestyles in Mesopotamia in weapons and in daily life ie. replaced wooden wheels and applied to horse drawn chariots
Assyrians
Assyrian reunited Mesopotamia and established the first true empire
However, states began to revolt and ONCE AGAIN, Assyrian Empire collapsed by late 7th century BCE
By 539 BCE, Mesopotamia part of the vast Persian Empire (led by Cyrus the Great)
Persian Empire dominated for 800 years until Alexander the Great
10th century BCE, Assyria emerged as dominant force
Assyrian reunited Mesopotamia and established the first true empire
Assyrian army was most feared due to their brutal, bloodthirsty & terrorizing tactics and use of iron weapons, battering rams, chariots
Assyrian Empire stretched from Persian Gulf north and West to Syria, Palestine and Egypt
However, states began to revolt and ONCE AGAIN, Assyrian Empire collapsed by late 7th century BCE
By 539 BCE, Mesopotamia part of the vast Persian Empire (led by Cyrus the Great)
Persian Empire dominated for 800 years until Alexander the Great

27. Mesopotamian Banquet

28. Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh is an ancient story or epic written in Mesopotamia more than 4000 thousand years ago
Gilgamesh is the first known work of great literature and epic poem
Epic mentions a great flood
Gilgamesh parallels the Nippur Tablet, a six-columned tablet telling the story of the creation of humans and animals, the cities and their rulers, and the great flood ANALYSIS
Gilgamesh and the Nippur tablet both parallel the story of Noah and the Ark (great flood) in the Old Testament of the Jewish and Christian holy books
Modern science argues an increase in the sea levels about 6,000 years ago (end of ice age)
the melting ice drained to the oceans causing the sea level to rise more than ten feet in one century

29. Art
Architecture was sophisticated, but since most building was done in mud-brick, examples have not survived as well as stone counterparts in Egypt and Greece. Immense ziggurats (stepped temple platforms) and large palaces were built, and even private houses had drainage systems.

30. Art

33. Who was the best? Assyria Sumer Closely tied to environment
Irrigation techniques for farming
wheel
Trade- bartering
Writing- cuneiform
Religion tied to government as priests and kings made decision for gods
ziggurats
Babylon
Production of food through farming
Private ownership of land vs ownership by the gods
Developed mathematics and calendar system and system of units for currency
Hammurabi’s law code
Assyria
Kings conquered lands to create empire of Assyria
Cooler climate could produce crops with little irrigation
Deposits of ore allowed for development and use of iron
Assyrian army became most effective military force