Chapter 1, Section 2 Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia’s Civilization Civilizations are complex societies that have cities, organized governments, art, religion, class divisions, and a writing system.

Why Were River Valley’s Important? The first civilizations arose in river valleys because good farming conditions made it easy to feed large numbers of people. They also made it easy for people to travel and trade.

Why Were River Valley’s Important? Governments were formed because someone had to make plans and decisions for the common good. The leaders took charge of food supplies and building projects and made laws to keep order and assembled armies to defend the cities.

Why Were River Valley’s Important? With less to worry about, people began to develop religion and arts, ways of writing, and a calendar. Early civilizations shared another feature- they had a class structure, meaning people held different places in society depending on what work they did and how much wealth or power they had.

The Rise of Sumer Mesopotamia, which is Greek for “the land between the rivers,” was a flat plain bounded by the Tigris River and Euphrates River. Mesopotamia lay in the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent, a curving strip of land that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.

The Rise of Sumer Mesopotamia had a hot, dry climate. Floods were frequent and unpredictable but would leave behind rich soil for farming. Over time, farmers learned to control the rivers with dams and channels. The also used the rivers to irrigate , or water, their crops. By 3000 B.C., many cities had formed in southern Mesopotamia in a region known as Sumer

What Were City-States? Sumerian cities were city-states, with their own governments. Sumerians cities often fought each other. To protect themselves, the city-states built walls around themselves, usually made out of river mud.

Gods and Rulers Sumerians believed in many gods which were thought to have powers over natural forces. To please their gods, they built ziggurats, a grand temple to the chief god. The word ziggurat means “mountain of god/ hill of heaven.” A ziggurat had tiers like a giant square wedding cake, with the top tier being a shrine, or special place of worship that only priests and priestesses would enter. The priests were powerful and controlled much of the land.

What Was Life Like In Sumer? While Sumerian kings lived in large palaces, ordinary people lived in small mud-brick houses. While most Sumerians were farmers, some were artisans, or skilled workers. Others were merchants and traders who traded tools, wheat, and barley for copper, tin, and timber.

What Was Life Like in Sumer? Sumerian city-states had three classes. The upper class consisted of kings, priests, and gov. officials. The middle class consisted of artisans, merchants, fishers, and farmers(largest group). The lower class consisted of slaves. Men headed the households. Only males could go to school. Women did have rights and could buy and sell property and run businesses.

A Skilled People Mesopotamia has been called the “ cradle of civilization” because of the influence of Sumerian ideas on other areas.

Why Was Writing Important? Perhaps the greatest invention was writing. It’s important because it helps people keep records and pass on ideas. Sumerians developed a writing system called cuneiform. It consisted of hundreds of wedge-shaped marks cut into damp clay tablets with a sharp-ended reed. Only a few wealthy boys, called scribes learned to write. They held honored positions in society.

Sumerian’s Literature The world’s oldest known story comes from Sumer. It is called the Epic of Gilgamesh. It is an epic that tells the story of a hero king who travels around the world with a friend and performs great deeds.

Advances in Science and Math The Sumerians invented the wagon wheel to help carry people and goods from place to place. Another breakthrough was the plow, which made farming easier. Still another invention was the sailboat, which replaced muscles power with wind power. The Sumerians developed many mathematical ideas, including geometry, a number system based on 60, and a 12-month calendar.

Sargon and Hammurabi Sargon, the king of the Akkadians, conquered all of Mesopotamia and set up the world’s first empire. An empire is a group of many different lands under one ruler. After Sargon, another group of people became powerful. They built the city of Babylon on the Euphrates River. The Babylonian king, Hammurabi, conquered lands north and south of Babylon to create the Babylonian Empire.