1. “City-States in Mesopotamia”
Chapter 2, Section 1
“City-States in Mesopotamia”

2. The Fertile Crescent An area of fertile land in Southwest Asia
Mesopotamia – the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The rivers of Mesopotamia flooded the land yearly and left behind fertile silt

3. New Developments in Sumer
Irrigation ditches
Walled cities made with mud brick
Trade for grain, cloth, and crafted tools

4. Characteristics that Separated Sumer
1) Advanced cities
2) Specialized workers
3) Complex institutions
4) Record keeping
5) Improved technology

5. The Sumerian City-State
A city surrounded by fields of barley and wheat
Each city had its own government and rulers and functioned as its own government
In the center of every city-state was a walled temple with a ziggurat in the middle

6. Ziggurat

7. Sumerian Religious Beliefs
Polytheism (belief in many gods)
Belief in gods who controlled the weather and demons who caused disease, misfortune, and misery
Believed the gods did many human activities (fall in love, have children, argue, etc.)
Belief that humans were the gods’ servants

8. Sumerian Belief in the After-Life
The souls of the dead went to the “land of no return,” a joyless place between the Earth’s crust and the sea.
Anu – Sumerian god of heavens and judgment

9. Sumerian Social Classes
1) Kings, landowners, and priests
2) Merchants
3) Farmers and artisans
4) Slaves

10. Sumerian Inventions The wheel, sail, and plow First to use bronze
Developed a number system based on 60
Architectural innovations: arches, columns, ramps, and pyramid shapes
Cuneiform – the system of writing

11. Sumerian Empires Sarga of the Akkadians – about 2350 BC
Babylonian Empire – about 2000 BC
Hammurabi ruled at the peak of the Babylonian Empire and established Hammurabi’s Code, a written set of 282 laws that defined legal retaliation for wrongs (“an eye for an eye”)