Mesopotamia

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Mesopotamia
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Mesopotamia an area, not a civilization
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Mesopotamia

• Mesopotamia means land between two rivers
• Civilization developed between the Euphrates and
  the Tigris Rivers
• By 3000 B.C. a number of cities are established
  by the Sumerians

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Role of the Environment

• Created in a region that agriculture is possible-
  IMPORTANCE?
• Irrigation and drainage possible- HOW?
• Forced people to work together and formed
  communities
• 12 city states develop Ur, Uruk, Eridu

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Role of the Environment

• Are there any natural geographic barriers?
• Result?
• Faced threats from others
• Competition for water rights

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Role of the Environment

• Rivers supplied basics for existence
• food
• water
• sanitation
• Also provided for shelter
• How?
• basics of building?

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Role of the Environment

• Problems with living near a river valley?
• Destroyed by frequent unpredictable floods that
  ravaged entire citieshow is that different from
  Egypt?
• Creates a pessimistic view of life gods. Why?
• Communication amongst the various isolated cities
  was very difficult

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Invention of Writing

• Origins of Writing probably began because needed
  to keep track of trade
• 3100 BC realized that drawing tokens was easier
  than making tokens
• Result was the development of cuneiform
• wedge-shaped
• pictographic system

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Cuneiform
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Sumerian Society Overview

• Sumer was different from all other earlier
  civilizations
• Advanced citiesUr, Uruk, Eridu
• Specialized workers
• Complex institutions
• Record keeping
• Advanced technology
• Developed city-states with own king
• Food surplus increased population expanded
  trade expansion of Sumerian society

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Sumerian Society Religion

• Religion is Polytheisticgods goddesses
  unpredictable
• Each city state had own deity
• Gods are selfish
• People have little control over own life
• Wrote myths (Epic of Gilgamesh)- flood story vs.
  Bible
• Government is a theocracy
• Built Ziggurats

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Sumerian Society Ziggurats

• Ziggurats- step pyramids
• Serve as shrine to the sky
• Platform on top for ceremonies

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Sumerian Society

• Had social classes
• Priests and kings were at the top
• Slaves were at the bottom
• Women probably couldnt attend school but had
  many other rightsown property, conduct business

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Sumerian Society Achievements

• Made bronzewhy some historians say history
  began in Sumer
• Advances in mathematics
• Number system based on 60 (60 seconds1 minute)
• 12 month calendar

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Other Sumerian Inventions

• Wagon wheel
• Potters wheel (shape containers)
• Metal plow
• Sails
• Some of the earliest known maps
• New architecture

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From Sumerians to Babylonians

• The Sumerian city-states eventually fell to
  foreign invaders (2000s BC)
• The Akkadians
• Semites- nomadic people from the Arabian
  Peninsula that migrated to Mesopotamia
• Sargon I (2300-2200 BC) unites all Mesopotamian
  cities (creates first empire)
• Under Sargon I
• Akkadians adopted Sumerian religion
• Akkadians adopted Sumerian farming

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Babylonian Empire

• Amorites (2000-1600 BC)
• Located in modern day Syria
• Conquered many parts of old Sumeria (including
  Babylon)
• Hammurabi--created a law code with harsh
  punishments 1st code of laws
• Borrowed heavily from Sumerian culture
• After Hammurabis death Babylon declined

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Babylonian Empire

• Hammurabi--created a law code with harsh
  punishments 1st code of laws
• Make justice appear in the land
• 282 sections dealing with daily life
• An eye for an eye

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Babylonian Empire Society

• Government responsible for citizens but laws
  varied depending on class level
• Hammurabi dies
• Babylonian empire declines, kingdom divided
• A number of city states againvulnerable to
  future invaders

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Babylonian Empire

• The end.for now