MESOPOTAMIA AND SUMER

MESOPOTAMIA Mesopotamia is the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers Also known as the Fertile Crescent due to an abundance of crops There are three main areas: Assyria Akkad Sumer The city-state of Babylon is also found in Mesopotamia

SUMER By 3000 BC independent city-states had been established Cities City-state = a city that has political and economic control over the surrounding countryside Cities Surrounded by walls and defensive towers Building made from sun-dried bricks Sumerians invented the arch and the dome The most prominent building was the ziggurat (a pyramid- shaped structure), the temple dedicated to the chief god or goddess of the city

Monotheistic = belief in one God Polytheistic = belief in many gods Rulers and Religion Believed that gods and goddesses owned the cities Polytheistic Monotheistic = belief in one God Polytheistic = belief in many gods Much wealth was given to build the temples Worked hard to please the gods Priests and priestesses had a great deal of power Started off as a theocracy, but eventually power passed into the hands of kings Kingship was seen as divine, kings believed to get their power to rule from the gods and served as the gods’ chief representative

Society Economy based mainly on farming, also did some trading Known for their metalwork major social groups: Kings, priests, nobles Large landowners and wealthy merchants Artisans and farmers slaves Society was patriarchal = dominated by men Scribes also held very important positions Few people could read and write, took years of schooling

Paid scribes (writers) to create written documents Advancements Created a system of writing called cuneiform Made wedge-shaped impressions on clay tablets and then baked them in the sun Paid scribes (writers) to create written documents The Epic of Gilgamesh – famous epic poem Developed the wagon wheel Were the first to make bronze out of copper and tin Invented the plow and performed basic surgery Used geometry to measure fields and erect buildings Developed a math system based on the number 6 Hour divided into 60 min., circle into 360 degrees