1. The Land Between Two Rivers
Mesopotamia
The Greeks later called this region Mesopotamia, which means “between the rivers.”
The Land Between Two Rivers

3. Development of Cities

4. Timeline Sumerian 3,500 BC – 2,300 BC Akkadian 2,300 BC – 1,900 BC
Mesopotamia was ruled by four different empires
Sumerian 3,500 BC – 2,300 BC
Akkadian 2,300 BC – 1,900 BC
Babylonian 1,900 BC – 1,300 BC
Assyrian 1,300 BC – 612 BC
The Sumerians moved to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers about 3500BC, but we do not know where they came from. They were probably nomads who discovered the fertile land between the rivers. Many different civilizations developed in this small region.

5. Geography Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning between the rivers
Ancient Mesopotamia was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Most of Mesopotamia was located in present day Iraq
The hot dry climate was mixed with seasonal flooding from the rivers l
The rivers stretch some 1,700 miles to the southeast, from their headwaters in Turkey to their common mouth on the Persian Gulf.

6. Mesopotamia (Land of Firsts)
Mesopotamia is known as, “The Cradle of Civilization,” because it was first in many things:
First to invent the wheel
First to use sails on boats
One of first to make up a story (Gilgamesh)
First to use cuneiform (writing)
First to use the calendar
First to use the seeder plow
First to give a number place value and recognize the concept of zero
Eventually the Sumerians developed a civilization. They learned that by planting seeds and plowing their land, they were able to grow crops. They learned to domesticate, or tame animals to help them plow their lands. The Sumerians learned to use irrigation, or a system of watering crops, to grow more food. The Sumerians also made a very important invention--the wheel. The invention of the wheel made it possible to pull heavy loads.

7. Agriculture (The Fertile Crescent)
Farmers turned the land into a rich food growing area by using irrigation and the plow
Farmers grew wheat, barley, dates, and other vegetables and fruit
They raised goat, pig, sheep and cattle
Irrigation created a surplus of food which led to the growth of cities
Surplus led to a flourishing system of trade
The Fertile Crescent is a rich food-growing area in a part of the world where most of the land is too dry for farming. The Fertile Crescent is a crescent shaped region that extends from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The staple crops in Mesopotamia were wheat and barley, along with the date palm.

8. Economy
The Mesopotamian plain was lacking in resources such as metals, timber, stone, and grapevines, so the Sumerians had to trade abroad to get them
At first, the Sumerians traded surplus barley for these goods
Later, the Sumerians began to manufacture trading goods that they could transport more easily, such as cloth and bronze ornaments
The Mesopotamians made written contracts, loans and created a credit system
They used a barter system

9. Trade Routes

10. Language Mesopotamians were the first to use writing (around 3,000 BC)
The system of writing was called cuneiform
Cuneiform was wedge shaped symbols pressed into clay tablets
The Mesopotamians wrote many myths
The most famous was the epic poem called Gilgamesh
Writing allowed people to keep records of their transactions
People could send messages with couriers to far away lands without traveling
Writing allowed people to pass on their accumulated knowledge to future generations
Gilgamesh is an ancient poem written in Mesopotamia more than four thousand years ago. The poem tells of a great flood that covers the earth many years earlier, making it similar to the story of Noah in the Old Testament. Many Sumerian and Akkadian myths survive, the best known being the Gilgamesh Epic, describing the legendary exploits of a king of Uruk, fragments of which go back to the early second millennium

11. Cuneiform Tablets

12. Religion The people of Mesopotamia believed in many gods
Each town was protected by its own, unique deity or god
The temple, the center of worship, was also the center of every city
Around the year 2000 B.C., temple towers called ziggurats were built to link heaven and earth
The Sumerians were polytheistic, which means they believed in many gods. They worshiped their gods at huge temples they called ziggurats. Each ziggurat was dedicated to a specific god, whom the Sumerians believed ruled over their city. When one city was conquered, the invaders would force the conquered people to accept their gods.

13. Government
The Mesopotamians had written laws that everyone in the empire had to follow
There were 282 laws created by King Hammurabi
Known as Hammurabi's Code, the laws were written in stone and placed in a public location
The Mesopotamians believed the gods called the king to establish justice and order; whoever disobeyed the king disobeyed the gods
Hammurabi was the king of the city-state of Babylon. About 1800BC, Hammurabi conquered the nearby city-states and created the kingdom of Babylonia. He recorded a system of laws called the Code of Hammurabi. The 282 laws were engraved in stone and placed in a public location for everyone to see. Hammurabi required that people be responsible for their actions. Some of Hammurabi’s laws were based on the principle “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” This means that whoever commits an injury should be punished in the same manner as that injury. If someone put out another person’s eye, their eye would be put out in return. Hammurabi’s Code may seem cruel today, but it was an early attempt at law. Laws are rules that are known to people.

14. Social Organization & Daily Life
The King held military powers.
The Governors governed the territories of the kingdom. They were generals and judges at the same time.
The aristocracy were priests and traders.
The peasants worked the land.
Sports, games and entertainment were part of their everyday life
Boxing and wrestling were popular sports
Board games were also popular
The kings were famous hunters of lions, elephants, ostriches, wild bulls
Harps and lyres were played
Mesopotamian society was organized around city-states. In early Sumerian times, a priest-king (en) ruled as a representative of the city's god, assisted by an assembly of citizens or elders. Later, as multicity states formed, a king (Sumerian lugal, Akkadian sharrum) reigned, and each individual city was administered by a governor (ensi or ishiakkum).

15. Mesopotamian Banquet

16. Art
Architecture was sophisticated, but since most building was done in mud-brick, examples have not survived as well as stone counterparts in Egypt and Greece. Immense ziggurats (stepped temple platforms) and large palaces were built, and even private houses had drainage systems.

17. Art