Bellwork Look at the map on page 17 in your book. Into what body of water do the Tigris and the Euphrates river flow?

I. Civilizations As human settlements grew larger in population, some developed into civilizations. The first civilizations were established around rivers and the land around them.

Rivers provided 3 important things 1) fresh water 2) food 3) easy travel As these civilizations grew larger they became more organized. The people began to establish governments, laws, religions, a written language and armies.

Another feature of early civilizations was the creation of social classes. Social class is a person’s rank in society. It is determined by how much wealth or power they had.

II. Mesopotamia Over time people in Mesopotamia learned to control the river floods by building dams and channels. They also began irrigating their crops by digging ditches to bring the water to their farms.

By 3000 B.C., new cities had been established all along southern Mesopotamia in an area called Sumer. Each of these cities had their own leaders, government, religion, and armies. We call them city-states.

III. Sumer The area in southern Mesopotamia was called Sumer. People preferred settling in this area because of its fertile farmland and access to water. The people of Sumer were divided into 3 social classes: Upper, Middle, and Lower

Slavery was also part of life in Sumer. A person could become a slave by: 1) being captured during a war 2) being a criminal 3) not paying off debts

In Sumer people also began keeping records. Writing was done on clay tablets called cuneiform tablets, by the scribes. One of the world’s oldest known stories comes from Sumer. It is called, “The Epic of Gilgamesh.” The Ancient Sumerians also developed mathematical ideas.

They used geometry in order to build buildings and measure the fields. The Sumerians created a 12 month calendar based off the phases of the moon.

IV. Famous Leaders Over time Sumer became weak because of all the fighting between the city-states. In 2340 B.C., Sargon, king of the Akkadians, was able to conquer all of the Mesopotamian city-states. He created the first empire.

By 1800 B.C., a new city-state called Babylon had become very powerful. In 1792 B.C., their leader Hammurabi began conquering all the city-states. He established the Babylonian Empire. Hammurabi is best known for his code of laws, that covered everything from crimes to marriage.

Hammurabi’s Code is important because each city-state now had the same laws. His Code will also later influence the law systems of ancient Greece, Rome, and the United States.