The Fertile Crescent

The Twin Rivers Around 5000 BC migrants began to settle in the Fertile Crescent, which included parts of modern Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria Many settled in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Strong floods meant Mesopotamian villages cooperated to build dams, escape channels, canals, and ditches Cooperation set up government institutions to carry out projects. Leaders/followers arose.

Sumer 3 min

The Sumerian Civilization Around 3500 BC a people called the Sumerians arrived in Mesopotamia and built what historians consider the world’s first city-states. Each city-state usually governed itself independently and selected a military leader to serve as king and high priest. There were twelve city-states, which included Babylon and Ur.

Cuneiform Sumerians developed a system of writing, cuneiform, so that they could keep accounts and prepare documents relating to commerce and trade.

Ziggurat Sumerians practiced a polytheistic religion and pictured their gods and goddesses as unpredictable, selfish beings with little regard for human beings. Believed that if they angered the deities, they would bring misfortunes -performed ceremonies to please the gods. Ziggurats were temples where at the top was a shrine dedicated to the city-state’s god. Only priests were allowed to enter the shrine. A famous ziggurat written about in the Bible is the Tower of Babel, in which God confused the languages of the people.

Inventions Historians credit the Sumerians with numerous technological inventions, including the wagon wheel, the arch, the plow, the sundial, and bronze. Calendar, number system, acre

First Mesopotamian Empires The twelve city-states of Sumer eventually united under Sargon I and the Akkadians as the first empire. During Sargon’s rule, the Akkadians and Sumerians adopted aspects of each other’s culture -Cultural Diffusion

The Amorites The Amorites, a Semitic people from western Syria, overran many Sumerian centers and founded a dynasty in Babylon ruled by Hammurabi.

Hammurabi Hammurabi eventually brought the entire region under his control, organizing a strong government and increasing the prosperity of his people. Made Babylon a major trade center.

Code of Hammurabi Historians consider Hammurabi’s greatest achievement to be his written law code, which assigned a specific punishment for each violation. Crimes against people or property became the concern of the whole community. Different social classes had different punishments. Eye for an Eye The development of written law was a major advance toward justice and order.

Sumer has been conquered and reconquered throughout its history No natural boundaries Its wealth attracted invaders Cities could not unite to defend against outside invaders