1. CITY-STATES IN MESOPOTAMIA Members- Sophia Midence Claudia Baquedano Felipe Lin

2. ENVIROMENT A desert climate dominate the landscape between the persian Gulf and the mediterranean sea in southwest Asia. Yet with in this dry region lies an arc of land that provided some of the best farming in southwest Asia. The regions curved shape and the richness of its land led scholars to call it the fertile crescent. The rivers framing mesopotamia are the tigris and euphrates. They flow southeast ward to the persian Gulf. The tigris and Euphrates rivers flooded Mesopotamia at least once a year.

3. MESOPOTAMIA´S MAP

4. LANGUAGE The ancient languages of Mesopotamia have come down to us in the cuneiform script. Assyrian and Babylonian are sister dialects of a single language known as Akkadian, which is related to other Semitic languages such as Arabic and Hebrew. The script was invented before 3000 BC and was first used for the Sumerian language, which has no known relatives. Sumerian was spoken in South Iraq until it died out around 2000 BC, giving way to Akkadian

5. CULTURE The belief system, social structure, technology, and arts of the sumerians reflected their civilization´s triumph over its dry and harsh environment.

6. RELIGION Worshiped many gods. Believed gods controlled every aspect of life. Saw afterlife as a grim place. Everybody would go into darkness and eat dust. To keep the gods happy, each city built a ziggurat, or pyramid temple. They were polytheism, a religion of many gods.

7. GODS

8. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Historians believe that sumerians invented the wheel, the sail, and the plow and that they were among the first to use bronze. Arithmetic and geometry: in order to erect city walls and buildings, plan irrigation systems, and survey flooded fields, sumerians needed arithmeteic and geometry. Architectural innovations: arches, columns,ramps, nad the pyramid shaped the design of the ziggurat and permanently influences mesopotamia civilization. Cuneiform: sumerians created a system of writing. one of the first known maps was made on a clay tablet in about 2300 B.C. other tablets contain some of the oldest written records of scientific investigations in the areas of astronomy, chesmistry, and medicine.

10. CUENIFORM

11. POWER AND AUDITORY Civilazations came the begining of what we call social classes. Kings, land holders, and some priest made up the highest level in sumerian society wealthy merchants rankd next. the vast majority of ordinary sumerian people worked with their hands in fields and workshops. At the lowest level level of sumerian society were the slaves. some slaves were foreigners who had been sold into slavery as children to pay the debts of their poor parents,. Debt slaves could hope to eventually buy their freedom.

12. SUMERIANS  Irrigated fields and produced 3 main crops barley, dates and sesame seeds  built canals, dikes, dams and drainage systems  developed cuneiform writing  invented the wheel  Abundance of food = increase of population  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  controlled land on behalf of gods  most of profits of trade went to  The Sumerians were not successful in uniting lower Mesopotamia Southern Mesopotamia 3500-2000 BCE

13. AKKADIANS  Leader Sargon the Great unified lower Mesopotamia after conquering Sumerians in 2331 BCE  Established capital at Akkad  Spread Mesopotamian culture  Akkadians conquered by invading barbarians by 2200 BCE Akkad- northern Mesopotamia 2340 – 2180 BCE

14. BABYLONIANS THE HAMMURABI KING  Conquered Akkad and Assyria  Built walls to protect the city canals and dikes to improve crops  Economy based on agriculture and wool  Individuals could own land  Artisans and merchants could keep most profits and even formed guilds 1830-1500 BCE  Grain used as the medium of exchange  emergence of currency :  shekel = 180 grains of barley;  mina = 60 shekels l  Mina was eventually represented by metals - one of first uses of money  still based on grain  Hammurabi’s Legacy  law code  Babylonians reunited Mesopotamia in 1830  central location dominated trade and secured control  YET AGAIN, Mesopotamia was not unified for long …

15. CODE OF HAMMURABI To enforce his rule, Hammurabi collected all the laws of Babylon in a code that would apply everywhere in the land Most extensive law code from the ancient world (c. 1800 BCE) Code of 282 laws inscribed on a stone pillar placed in the public hall for all to see Hammurabi Stone depicts Hammurabi as receiving his authority from god Shamash Set of divinely inspired laws; as well as societal laws Punishments were designed to fit the crimes as people must be responsible for own actions Hammurabi Code was an origin to the concept of “eye for an eye…” ie. If a son struck his father, the son’s hand would be cut off Consequences for crimes depended on rank in society (ie. only fines for nobility)

16. HAMMURABI

18. VOCABULARY Fertile Cresent- An Arc of rich farmland in the southwest asia bewteen the persian gulf and the mediterranean sea. Mesopotamia-An ancient region of southwest Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern-day Iraq. City-state- A city and a sourrounding lands fuctioning as an independent unit. Dynasty- A series from a ruler from a single family. Cultural diffusion- The spreading of ideas or products from one culture to another. Polytheisim- A beleif in many gods. Empire - Political unit in which a # of peoples or countries are controlled by a sibgle ruler. Hammurabi- Babylonian king who made Babylon the chief Mesopotamian kingdom and codified the laws of Mesopotamia and Sumeria.

19. MESOPOTAMIA CULTURAL DIFFUSION

21. ASSESMENT What were the three enviromental challenges to sumerians? A/ Unpredictable flooding combined with a period of Little or no rain,With no natural barriers for protection,and the natural resources of sumerians were limited How did the sumerians view the gods? A/ they pay them respect and they think that the gods were bringing misfortune,luck, and natural disasters What areas of life did Hammurabi´s code cover? A/it covered what affected the family including family relationships business conduct and crime How was sumerian culture spread through Mesopotamia? A/ by trading with neighboring countries and groups. Why is the development of a written code of laws important to a society? A/ so it can bring order and protect the people in a society How did the need of interact with the environment lead to advances in civilization? A/ because they needed resources so the more interaction to the enviroment they got to learn and discover different things of the world

22. Thank you for your attention…