1. THE MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION

2. THE MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION
In Greek it means the land between two rivers
Broad fertile valley between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates in West Asia
The earliest and most advanced urban culture on the lower valley of the Euphrates-Sumerian civilization
On the north-eastern side of Sumer were regions called Babylonia and Akkad
Highlands in the north were called Assyria

3. MESOPOTAMIA- CRADLE AND GRAVE OF MANY CIVILIZATIONS
Around 3,500 BCE the Sumerians developed the world’s first civilization
It flourished for about 1,500 years and was then absorbed by the Babylonians and finally the Assyrians
Oldest civilization and flourished from 3,500 BCE to 600 BCE

4. CHARACTERISTICS SOCIAL STRUCTURE THREE CLASSES
UPPER CLASS- members of the royal family, priests and high officials
MIDDLE CLASS- farmers, artisans and traders
LOWER CLASS- slaves

5. FAMILY LIFE FATHER – head of the family and enjoyed special privileges
WOMEN – rights of women protected
CHILDREN – brought up strictly , boys sent to schools –reading, writing and arithmetic- girls trained in dance and music

6. Town planning Cities were not as well planned as the Harappan cities
Uniform pattern
City divided into three main parts
The sacred area- temple tower or ziggurat dedicated to the patron god of the city-smaller temples dedicated to other gods
The walled city on a mound
The outer town
People lived in the walled city and the outer town areas, houses built along the streets, each house had a central courtyard with rooms around it

7. OCCUPATION
AGRICULTURE- main occupation Irrigation system, dykes to control floods, invented ox-drawn plough, wheeled wagon for transportation of goods, first to cultivate wheat, also grew barley, pulses and fruits
DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS
Cow, goat, sheep and donkey

8. ART AND CRAFT Developed their creative skills
Pottery, weaving and metal work
Jewellery ,armours and statues

9. TRADE AND COMMERCE
Stone, timber and metal ores were scarce and were traded for the produce of the fields
Flourishing foreign trade developed
Food grains and finished products were exported to the Mediterranean countries and Egypt
Had trade relations with India
Records of the business accounts on clay tablets

10. ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Introduced architectural forms such as arches, columns, domes and vaults in the construction of buildings
Ziggurats made from sun-baked bricks, many storeys high and decorated with tiles, precious stones and marble, these temples used as observatories, schools, granaries and trade centres
Big cities, canals and dams
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon- one of the seven wonders of the ancient world- King Nebuchadnezzar
Discovery of metal objects, statues , gold and silver ornaments and pottery

11. ziggurat

12. Hanging gardens of Babylon

13. RELIGION Believed in many gods Every city had its own special god
Worshipped the forces of nature
King- chief priest and the representative of God
Later king appointed priests to look after the temple
Believed in life after death- drinking vessels, ornaments, weapons found in graves

14. ACHIEVEMENTS
SCRIPT- Invented a system of writing known as cuneiform (wedge-shaped)
Wrote from right to left with a stylus ( a sharp pen made of reeds, bone and metal)
Wrote on clay tablets which were then baked in fire and hardened
Each tablet like a page of a book
Several clay tablets made a complete book

15. science Skilled mathematicians Special sign for number ‘one’
If they wanted to write five, they would repeat the sign of ‘one’ five times
Counted in tens and sixties
Used the figure 60 as the unit for measuring time
They were the first to divide an hour into 60 minutes and a minute into 60 seconds
Year divided into 12 months
Days and nights were divided into two equal halves consisting of 12 hours each

16. Legal system Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, compiled a code of law
Written on a stone slab
One of the oldest legal codes
Protected the poor and the weak and safeguarded the rights of women
Severe punishments for dishonest dealings
Eg. If house fell on the owner and he died-builder put to death

17. HAMMURABI

18. Decline The Euphrates river changed its course
The inhabitants abandoned the site
Winds and storms eroded the walls and the monuments, burying the treasures of this civilization beneath a sandy desert plain