1. City-States in Mesopotamia
Chapter 2 Section 1

2. I Geography of the Fertile Crescent
Fertile Crescent= fertile area of land between the Persian Gulf & Mediterranean Sea in Southwest Asia

3. A. Fertile Plains
Land btwnTigris & Euphrates river became known as Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia= Greek word meaning “land btwn the rivers”
Rivers flooded at least 1 a yr. leaving behind silt
Silt= Thick, fertile, mud on which farmers could plant
Food surpluses allowed villages to grow

4. B. Environmental Challenges
Good soil attracted Sumerians whose language dominated the region
Disadvantages
Flooding unpredictable
Vulnerable to attack because the lack of natural barriers
Limited natural resources (wood, stone, metal)

5. C. Creating Solutions Irrigation= ditches that carried water to fields
Allowed food surplus
Built city walls out of brick & mud for defense
Traded grain for stone, wood, & metal that they needed

6. Large building projects required laborers and ppl to oversee the labor
Projects created a need for laws to settle disputes over land and water distribution
Laws marked the beginning of organized gov’t

7. II Sumerians Create City-States
Sumerians 1st group to create a civilization
Shared same culture & developed goat's each with its own ruler
City-State=city and surrounding land it controlled

8. A. The Power of Priests Sumer early gov’t controlled by priests
Priests collected part of farmers crop as tax

9. B. Monarchs Take Control
In time of war a man was chosen to lead the city & soldiers instead of priests
As war became frequent, ppl 7 priests gave commanders permanent control of armies
Eventually became full time rulers
Passed down power to their sons to forma dynasty
Dynasty= series of rulers from a single family
City states came under rule of dynasties

10. C. Spread of Cities Food surplus prosperous city
Able to exchange extra food for goods they needed
Trade spread of ideas
Cities arose in fertile crescent (now Syria, Iraq, Turkey)
Sumerians also learned from nearby cultures
Cultural Diffusion= the process of a new idea or product spreading from one culture to another

11. III Sumerian Culture A. A Religion of Many Gods
Sumerian culture & others in region practiced a polytheism
Polytheism= the belief in many gods
Sumerians described gods doing things humans did but believed they were immortal & all powerful
Built impressive ziggurats & offered sacrifices to keep them happy so they wouldn’t cause them harm

12. Epic of Gilgamesh offers a glimpse of their beliefs and concerns
One of the earliest works of literature in the world
Story of king Gilgamesh in his search for immortality
Influenced other ancient cultures like Hebrews & Greeks

13. B. Life in Sumerian Society
Civilization saw establishment of social classes
Priests
Wealthy merchants
Majority= farmers & craftsmen
slaves

14. Slaves could earn freedom through obedience & working all day
Slaves were POWs & Sumerians who were sold into slavery to pay debts of their poor parents
Slaves could earn freedom through obedience & working all day
Women could pursue most occupations of city life
Could own property
Join lower ranks of priesthood
Could not attend upper class schools where boys learned to read and write
More rights than many other women in later civ.

15. IV The First Empire Buildings
Sumerian city-states almost always at war weakened them & left them vulnerable to attacks
Sumerians were taken over but their culture lived on and was adapted to meet needs of following rulers

16. A. Sargon of Akkad Led his army to defeat Sumerians
Akkadians were Semitic
Semitic= spoke language related to Arabic & Hebrew
Sargon created 1st empire
Empire= uniting multiple ppl, nations, or previously indep. States under 1 ruler
Lasted only 200 due to invasions & famine

17. Babylonian Empire
Nomadic warriors known as Amorites invaded Mesopotamia & established Babylon as its capital
Reached its peak during reign of Hammurabi

18. C. Hammurabi’s Code
Recognized that a single code would unify the diverse population of his empire
Engraved in stone for all to see
Different punishments for rich & poor
“eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”