Middle Eastern Civilizations

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Middle Eastern Civilizations

• 3500 BCE-395 CE

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Mesopotamia

• One of the worlds great civilizations developed
  along mighty river systems in Mesopotamia.
• Mesopotamia dates around3500 BCE.
• The source of life for Mesopotamia was the
  Tigris-Euphrates River system in Asia.

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Mesopotamia

• Mesopotamians learned how to use their natural
  environments to their advantage. They achieved
  this by learning how to control the floodwaters
  of the rivers, and how to work the rich soils
  along the riverbanks.
• A constant food supply in these areas allowed
  these peoples to have more free time, and to
  develop successful cities, marvelous temples, and
  powerful empires.

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Map of Mesopotamia
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Mesopotamia Cradle of Civilization

• Located in the Tigris-Euphrates valley of present
  day Iraq is the ancient Sumerian city-state of
  Ur.
• Ur was one of the great city-states (an
  independent state consisting of a city and its
  surrounding territory) of ancient Mesopotamia.
• Ur was a highly sophisticated society with
  soldiers, court servants, musicians, and a strong
  belief in the afterlife.

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The Land Between the Rivers

• The empires of Mesopotamia included Sumer,
  Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea.
• Mesopotamia was part of an area known as the
  fertile crescent, which was the site of some of
  the worlds first permanent farming villages.

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Map of the Fertile Crescent
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Land and Climate

• The land and climate of this region hardly seem
  ideal for a thriving civilization.
• The south was mainly a flat flood plain.
• Summers were very hot and dry with droughts that
  could kill crops and cause famines.
• Spring often was a time of flooding from the melt
  waters from the nearby Zagros Mountains
• Winter was often a time for sudden downpours that
  turned the plains to mud.

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Assignment

• With your elbow partner discuss and describe the
  location of Mesopotamia and the features of the
  surrounding area using todays notes and map.
• Based on what you now know about the early
  civilization of Mesopotamia, how would you
  explain the benefits of farming in the fertile
  crescent?