1. Chapter 4: Mesopotamia Lesson 1: The Sumerians Bell Ringer What are 3 reasons early civilizations would need to invent a written form of language?

2. The First Civilizations in Mesopotamia
Civilizations first developed around 3,000 BC in river valleys
Located in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China
Very similar to each other
Had social classes
Depended on your occupation
Had governments
Set up laws, defended the people, and built large projects
Had values and beliefs
These gave meaning to life

3. Two Rivers Mesopotamia- “the land between the rivers”
Was the earliest known civilization
Located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
The Fertile Crescent
A curving strip of good farm land

4. Early Valley Dwellers Taming the Rivers
People first settled Mesopotamia around 7,000 BC
These people were hunters and herders
By 4,000 BC they began to build farming villages
Taming the Rivers
Water from the rivers was used to water their fields
Floods left behind silt – small particles of soil great for farming
Created a system of irrigation – system that supplies water to dry lands
Dug canals from the water source to their fields
Led to a surplus - extra amounts of food
Led to more trade and development of cities like Sumer

5. Sumer’s Civilization People living here were known as Sumerians
Built cities which became centers of civilization
City-States Arise
City-state – a city that governs itself and its surround territory
Were cut off from their neighbors due to harsh landscape
Had their own government
Populations were between 5,000 – 20,000 people
Used mud to make bricks for building
Often fought and traded with each other

6. Gods, Priests, and Kings Polytheism – worshipped many gods
had powers over different parts of life
Each city-state picked a god to represent them
Built ziggurats – pyramid-shaped structures with a temple at the top to honor them
The top was considered a holy place
Priests were the first rulers of city-states
Monarchies developed and were run by Kings and Queens
First Kings were war heroes

7. Social Groups People were divided into social classes
Upper class – Kings, Priests and Warriors
Middle Class – merchants, farmers, fishers, and artisans
Largest social class
Lower class – slaves
Captured in war, criminals, or people in debt
Worked for the upper class
Roles of Men and Women
Men went to school and trained for a specific job
Women took care of the home and children

8. Farmers and Traders Most people living in Sumer were farmers
Grew wheat, barley, and dates
Raised sheep, goats, and pigs
Sumerians needed to trade for goods they did not have
Trade routes linked up as far away as India and Egypt
Traded for timber, minerals, and metals

10. Document Based Question
“To bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule over and enlighten the land, to further the well being of mankind.”
- Code of Hammurabi
Hammurabi was known for being a fair ruler. What does this code reveal about how he will rule the people in his kingdom?
Why does Hammurabi refer to “wicked and evil-doers”? Who are they?

11. Turn to Page 74 in your text books:
Look at the map and answer questions 1, 3, and 4.
Look at the timeline and place these events in order, starting with the earliest
Assyrians control Mesopotamia
Settlements develop along the Indus River
Sumerians invent cuneiform
The first Olympic Games

12. Sumerian Contributions
Mesopotamia is considered the “Cradle of Civilization”
Beginning of organized human society
Sumer influenced many future civilizations
They copied an improved on what Sumer did
Writing
Most important contribution
Earliest known system in the world
Called Cuneiform – wedge shaped marks in soft clay
Did not have paper
Mostly wealthy men learned how to write
Became scribes – people who copy or write information for record keeping
Wrote stories like the “Epic of Gilgamesh”

13. Technology and Mathematics
First people to use the wheel
Built carts which were pulled by donkeys
Used carts for military called Chariots
Developed the first sailboats
Traveled along the rivers
Made the first wooden plow
Used for farming
First people to develop Bronze
Made from copper and tin
Developed time measurement
60 seconds in a minute
60 minutes in an hour
12 month calendar based on the moon

14. Reflection Choose which invention you think is the most significant and explain why you made this choice. Write AT LEAST 5 sentences to answer this question.

15. Chapter 4 Lesson 2 Bell Ringer Why do you think Hammurabi wanted to display his code of laws for his people to see?

16. The First Empires
Empire – a group of many different lands under one ruler
By 2400 BC, Sumer had faded and powerful empires arose
King Sargon
Ruled the Kingdom of Akkad
Conquered what was left of Sumer’
Created the first empire in 2340 BC
Lasted for 200 years
Hammurabi
Ruled the Kingdom of Babylon
Stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea
Known for creating laws called Hammurabi’s Code
“eye for an eye”
Considered a just and fair ruler

17. The Assyrian Empire Existed 1,000 years after Hammurabi
Built a large and powerful military
numbered around 50,000
Had cavalry, infantry, and charioteers
Robbed and destroyed villages
Took tribute – forced payments from conquered people
Used IRON weapons
Kings and Government
Extended from Persian Gulf to Nile River
Capital city was Nineveh
Divided into provinces – territories belonging to an empire
Connected by guarded roads
Paid taxes to the king

18. Life in Assyria Based on other Mesopotamian cultures
Similar laws, harsher punishments
Worshipped same gods
King Ashurbanipal built one of the first libraries
Located in Nineveh
Held 25,000 tablets of stories and songs

19. The Chaldean Empire Took control of Babylonia by 612 BC
Rebelled against Assyrians
Led by King Nabopolassar
Burned Assyrian capital, Nineveh, to the ground
Made Babylon their new capital
Greatness of Babylon
Rebuilt by King Nebuchadnezzar (Son of Nabopolassar)
Surrounded by huge brick walls
300 ft. tall ziggurat with a golden roof
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
One of the 7 Ancient Wonders
Had a complex irrigation system
Located along a major trade route
Caravans – group of merchants traveling together for safety

20. Fall of the Empire After Nebuchadnezzar Conquered by Persia
Series of weak kings
Poor harvests/trade
Conquered by Persia
Allowed to keep their culture
Reflection: Why do you think ancient cities had at least one magnificent building?
Write AT LEAST 5 sentences to answer this question.

21. Use this example of a diagram to brainstorm types of evidence archaeologists might look for in order to learn about life in ancient Mesopotamia.

22. Use this example of a diagram to list the effects of 3 major inventions during the time of these early Mesopotamian civilizations.