The Fertile Crescent

1
The Fertile Crescent

• Chapter 2, Section 1
• Part 1, Slides 1-13
• Part 2, Slides 14-23
• Land Between Two Rivers
• TN SPI 6.3.3, 6.5.17

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Objectives

• Find out how geography made the rise of
  civilization in the Fertile Crescent possible.
• Learn about Sumers first cities.
• Examine the characteristics of the Sumerian
  religion.

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Key Terms

• Scribe a professional writer
• Fertile Crescent a region in Southwest Asia
  site of the first civilizations
• City-state a city that is also a separate,
  independent state
• Polytheism the belief in many gods
• Myth a traditional story a legend that
  explains peoples beliefs

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The First Schools

• The following words were written by a student at
  one of worlds first known schools.
• My headmaster read my tablet and said, There is
  something missing, and hit me with a cane . . .
  The fellow in charge of silence said, Why did
  you talk without permission? and caned me.
• A Sumerian student

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Scribes

• The first known schools were set up in Sumer (SOO
  mur) over 4,000 years ago.
• Sumerian schools taught boys and possibly a few
  girls the new invention of writing.
• Graduates of the schools became scribes, or
  professional writers.
• Scribes were important because they kept records
  for kings and priests.

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Scribes

• Learning to be a scribe was hard work.
• Students normally started school at age 8 and
  finished ten years later.
• The writings Sumerian scribes left behind help to
  tell the story of this early civilization.

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Mesopotamia

• Sumer was located in a region called Mesopotamia.
• Mesopotamia means the land between two rivers
  the Tigris and Euphrates
• Mesopotamia is often referred to as the Fertile
  Crescent a region in Southwest Asia that was
  the site of the worlds first civilization.

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Fertile Crescent

• The Fertile Crescent was an excellent location
  for farming because of its rich soil and
  life-giving rivers.
• The region drew many traders from other regions
  of the world.

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Rivers of Life and Death

• The Tigris and Euphrates rivers were the source
  of life for the peoples of Mesopotamia.
• Melting snow rushing from the mountains brought
  tons of topsoil to the plains below.
• The rivers also supplied fish, clay for building,
  and tall strong reeds used to make boats.

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Rivers of Life and Death

• Source of death . . .
• The floods did not always happen at the same time
  each year.
• Racing down without warning, they swept away
  people, animals, crops, and houses.
• Survivors would rebuild and pray that the next
  flood would not be so destructive.

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The First Cities

• Public squares bustled with activity
• Merchants, musicians, beggars, water sellers
• Scribes would write letters for a fee for those
  who could not read or write.
• Houses faced away from crowded streets.
• On hot nights, people slept outdoors on their
  homes flat roofs.
• Oil lamps supplied light for Sumerian homes.

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The First Cities

• Although cities in Sumer shared a common culture
  and language, they did not unite under a single
  ruler.
• A system of city-states formed.
• Each Sumerian city acted as an independent state,
  with its own god or goddess, its own government,
  its own army, and its own king.

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Sumerian Religion

• The people of Sumer worshipped many gods. This
  practice is known as polytheism, or the belief in
  many gods.
• Sumerian myths warned that the gods would punish
  people who angered them and reward those who
  served the gods well.

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Ziggurats

• Sumerian Temples were called ziggurats (ZIG oo
  rat)
• The Sumerians believed that gods descended to
  Earth using the ziggurat as a stairway.
• The ziggurat housed each city-state's god or
  goddess.
• Only priests were permitted inside the ziggurat
  as a result, they were very powerful members of
  Sumerian society.

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Honoring the gods

• Statues of Sumerian gods were washed by priests
  before and after each meal.
• Music sounded and incense was burned as plates of
  food were laid before the gods.
• Sumerians thought that by eating the offering,
  they would have the qualities admired in the gods.

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Sumerians placed prayer figures on altars.
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The Fall of Sumer

• The wealth of Sumers city-states and the fight
  for control of land and rivers was its downfall.
• Around 2300 B.C., Sumer was conquered by Akkad
  (AK ad).
• Akkads ruler King Sargon united Sumers
  city-states and improved its government and
  military.
• Sumer remained united for 100 years then returned
  to city-states, then fell to Babylonia in the
  1700s B.C.