1. Bell Ringer 1.) Prepare for your SOL Rolling Review Pre- History quiz 2.) Complete the provided Mesopotamia map identification worksheet

2. The world’s first civilizations all began in river valleys. The first civilization began in an area known as Mesopotamia.

3. Mesopotamia Name means “land between the rivers.” Rivers: Tigris and Euphrates – flooded once per year, leaving behind fertile soil ideal for farming. Entire area is part of the “Fertile Crescent” – an arc of land from the Mediterranean Sea in the west, through Mesopotamia, to the Persian Gulf in the east.

4. The first society to develop in the Fertile Crescent was Sumer. Surrounding deserts and the lack of natural barriers attracted outsiders to Mesopotamia and made the Sumerians vulnerable to attack.

5. Lasting Contributions of Sumer: Writing: Sumerians made the world’s first writing system, a system of wedges and lines called cuneiform. Phoenicians simplified cuneiform to a 22 letter alphabet. Phoenician merchants spread the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean world. The alphabet influenced Greek, Latin, & English.

6. Lasting Contributions of Sumer: (cont’d) Religion: The Sumerians, just like many other ancient civilizations, were polytheistic, meaning they believed in many gods. Each god had power over different forces of nature or parts of the people’s lives. Sumerians believed that people were just the servants of the gods. The ziggurat was a religious structure or temple where sacrifices to the gods were made.

7. The Babylonians By 2000 B.C.E., Mesopotamia was governed by a group of people called Amorites. Capital City  Babylon, located near present day Baghdad, Iraq. The people were known as the Babylonians. Babylonian culture was greatly influenced by the Sumerians.

8. Hammurabi’s Code From 1792-1750 B.C. (B.C.E), Babylon was ruled by a king named Hammurabi. He is known for establishing the worlds first organized, written law code, which was based on old Sumerian laws. These laws helped to establish the “eye for an eye” principle.

9. Hammurabi’s Code (cont’d) Hammurabi had the law posted all over Babylon for everyone to read. The point of the law was to keep the strong from taking advantage of the weak. The code included civil and criminal law, land, trade, as well as military and family law. Turning Point in History

10. Exit Ticket: Develop a “Hammurabi’s Code” for Princess Anne High School: Your code should include at least 5 laws and consequences Think about things that are important to keep order in a school. Be realistic! Nothing ridiculous, please…