3. Indo-European Migrations: 4m-2m BCE The Middle East: “The Crossroads of Three Continents”

4. The Ancient Fertile Crescent Area The Middle East: “The Cradle of Civilization”

5. Fertile Crescent Mesopotamia = Land between TWO rivers –Tigris –Euphrates

6. Sumerians This is now Kuwait

7. Sumerian Religion - Polytheistic Enki Innana Anthropomorphic Gods

8. Polytheism Poly More than one Many –Polygamy –Polygon Theism God Religious –Christian –Islam –Budhaism

9. Mesopotamian Trade “The Cuneiform World”

10. Cuneiform (Writing) Stylus (stick)Stylus (stick) WedgesWedges –Symbols –Sounds –Pictures Scribes=writersScribes=writers Clay tablet (wet)Clay tablet (wet)

11. Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing

12. Cuneiform Writing

13. Deciphering Cuneiform

14. Sumerian Scribes “Tablet House”

15. Sumerian Cylinder Seals

16. Gilgamesh http://

17. Gilgamesh Epic Tablet: Flood Story (Noah)

18. Ziggurat at Ur  Temple  “Mountain of the Gods”  Temple  “Mountain of the Gods”

19. The Royal Standard of Ur

20. Mesopotamian Harp

21. Board Game From Ur

22. Sophisticated Metallurgy Skills at Ur

23. Sargon of Akkad: The World’s First Empire [Akkadians] Present day Iraq

24. The Babylonian Empires

25. Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.] Code

26. Hammurabi, the Judge “An eye for an eye”

27. Babylonian Math Base 60— think clocks, triangles

28. Babylonian Numbers No 0’s