A UGUST 25, 2015 What do you know about Mesopotamia, if anything? Think about it and be ready to share anything you know.

C HAPTER 1-3 M ESOPOTAMIA

M AIN I DEA & W HY I T M ATTERS N OW Main Idea: The earliest civilization in Asia arose in Mesopotamia and organized into city-states. Why It Matters Now: The development of this civilization reflects a pattern that has occurred repeatedly throughout history.

G EOGRAPHY OF THE F ERTILE C RESCENT Desert climate between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea Within the dry region lies an arc of land that provides some of the best farming in Southwest Asia – known as the Fertile Crescent

Eastern part: Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flow to Persian Gulf Between them lies a plain Mesopotamia – means “land between the rivers” in Greek

Rivers flooded once a year As the water receded, it left a thick bed of mud called silt Where farmers could plant and harvest enormous quantities of wheat and barley Allowed villagers to grow

People started to settle and farm in southern Mesopotamia – known as Sumer Swampy lands produced good soil

E NVIRONMENTAL C HALLENGES 1) Flooding was unpredictable Sun dried out the mud Land became a desert 2) Small region Size of Massachusetts Lived in little huts No natural barriers for protection 3) The natural resources of Sumer were extremely limited

C REATING S OLUTIONS 1) Dug irrigation – ditches that carried river water to their fields and allowed them to produce a surplus of crops 2) For defense, they built city walls with mud bricks 3) Sumerians traded with the peoples of the mountains and desert for the products they lacked

These activities required: 1) Organization 2) Cooperation 3) Leadership Created a need for laws to settle disputes over how land and water would be distributed Beginning of organized government

S UMERIANS C REATE C ITY -S TATES Sumerians: First groups of people to form a civilization Built a number of cities, surrounded by fields Cities shared same culture But, they developed their own governments Each city and the surrounding land it controlled formed a city-state Functioned much like an independent country

C ITY -S TATE OF S UMER : U R

T HE P OWER OF P RIESTS Earliest governments were controlled by the temple priests Farmers believed the success of crops depended upon the blessings of the gods The priests acted as the go-between with the gods Ziggurat was a city hall Managed irrigation system Demanded crops for taxes

M ONARCHS T AKE C ONTROL War: Priests did not lead the city The men chose a tough fighter who could command the city’s soldiers Some military leaders became full-time rulers, or monarchs Passed power onto their sons, who passed it on to their own heir The series of rulers from a single family is known as a dynasty

T HE S PREAD OF C ITIES City-states grew prosperous from the surplus food produced on their farms Increased long-distance trade As trade expanded: Sumerians came into contact with others Ideas spread New cities were arising Ideas were absorbed Process of a new idea or a product spreading from one culture to another is called cultural diffusion

A R ELIGION OF M ANY G ODS Believed that many different gods controlled the various forces in nature – known as polytheism Sumerians believed: Their gods were immortal and all-powerful Humans were nothing but servants They needed to keep the gods happy They had to offer rich sacrifices

Sumerians worked hard to earn the gods’ protections in this life Expected little help from the gods after death Believed the souls of dead went to the “land of no return” where no joy awaited any souls Epic of Gilgamesh – one of the earliest works of literature in the world Legendary king, Gilgamesh, of Mesopotamia whose adventures were detailed

L IFE IN S UMERIAN S OCIETY With civilization came great differences between groups in society, the beginning of social classes 1) Priests and kings 2) Wealthy merchants 3) Ordinary Sumerian people – field workers and shop workers 4) Slaves

Affected life of both men and women Women could: pursue most occupations hold property in their own name join lower ranks of priesthood Women could not: attend schools where upper-class boys learned to read and write

S UMERIAN S CIENCE AND T ECHNOLOGY Invented: wheel, sail, plow First to use bronze Developed first system of writing, cuneiform Developed number system in base 60 Time (60 seconds = 1 minute) Geometry (360 degrees of a circle) Used all resources available Permanently influenced Mesopotamian civilization

S ARGON OF A KKAD Defeated city-state in Sumer Led his army from Akkad North of Sumer Adopted most aspects of Sumerian culture Conquests spread culture even further Created the first empire – which brings together several peoples, nations, or previously independent states under the control of one ruler

B ABYLONIAN E MPIRE Nomadic warriors, known as Amorites invaded Mesopotamia in 2000 B.C. Overwhelmed the Sumerians and established their capital at Babylon on the Euphrates River Reached its peak during the reign of Hammurabi – who is known best for the code of laws he put together

T ODAY ’ S A SSIGNMENT : Using the notes, please complete worksheet 1-3 on the back of the note packet. When you are finished, please turn it in to my tray and find something else to do quietly until everyone finishes.