1. Objective (3.1):
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Explain why irrigation systems were critical to Mesopotamians and
Identify the features of a city-state.

2. Mesopotamian and Sumerian City-States
Chapter 3.1
Mesopotamian and Sumerian City-States
In this chapter you will learn about the rise of the early city-states in Mesopotamia. You will also learn about how these city-states grew into complex cities that were like small countries in today’s modern world.

3. Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means, “land between the rivers.” The two rivers that surround Mesopotamia are the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It is located in present-day Iraq. It was a harsh area to live. The north was hilly and the south was plains. The hills received rain, but the plains were dry. People could not farm in the hills. The plains had hard and dry soil. On top of that, many natural resources (i.e. wood and stone) could not be found in this area.
Mesopotamia had four key problems for the settlers of this are. They were:
Food shortages in the hills
Uncontrolled water supply in the
plains
Difficulties in building and
maintaining irrigation canals
Attacks by neighboring city-
states

4. Food Shortages
Foothills in Mesopotamia were an excellent place to farm. The hills offered needed natural resources, and the mild climate and plentiful amount of rain made growing crops successful.
But by 5000 B.C.E. (Before the Common Era), food supplies could not keep up with the growth of people. Many people set out for the plains in southern Mesopotamia, trading famine for a new set of problems (dry land and few natural resources).
But, the plains had space and potential. People who migrated here named the region Sumer, and its inhabitants known as Sumerians.

5. Water Supply
Settlers that moved to Sumeria faced many challenges. Spring floods made the planting season unpredictable. Hot summer drought dried crops out. Sumerians built levee systems to prevent damage from floods and to divert water from the river to their crops. Building levees helped them to control the water so vital to their civilization.
Levee-An earth wall built to prevent a river from flooding.

6. Irrigation Systems
Irrigation canals and levees prevented water disasters in Mesopotamia. Problems arose with who would maintain the canals and the supply of water. As the water flowed through a village upstream, water was diverted for the crops. City-states downstream lacked water, which led to drought.
Villages worked together to maintain the canals, but fighting arose when there were water shortages.

7. Attacks by Neighboring Communities
As city-states flourished, they fought one another over water and land rights. City-states located up river blocked the water supply of those down river, so wars broke out.
Sumerians began to use natural and man-made barriers to protect themselves. Mud brick walls protected cities, along with hand-dug moats which surrounded the city with a water barrier.
Ur-Sumerian
Nineveh (during Ashurbanipal)-Assyria

8. City-State Layouts
City-states became more complex as the need for defenses arose. City-states were located near a water supply for their crops. Also, water defenses and walls were built around the city for protection. Farmland was outside the city walls, but supplies were brought into the city during an attack.

9. City-States and Layouts
Sidon-Phoenicia
Layout of Ur