1. Roots of Southwest Asian Societies
Chapter 12
Lesson 1

2. Ancient Foundations
Mesopotamia: “land between the rivers”, part of the Fertile Crescent
Fertile Crescent: arc of green land stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf
Key agricultural region

3. Ancient Foundations-cont.
Tigris & Euphrates Rivers contributed to rapid growth of cities and towns
Provided farmers with fertile soil and water supply to irrigate farms
Created a surplus of food
Farming spread from Mesopotamia to Fertile Crescent

4. Sumer City-state: crowded urban area and the lands that surround it
Government officials
Controlled irrigation of canals, organized city defenses, collected taxes
Helped develop science, math, arts, and law

5. Sumer-cont. Sumerian Writing System Contributions in Mathematics
Cuneiform: wedge-shaped writing on clay tablets
First form of written history
Contributions in Mathematics
Developed system of math dealing with fractions and measurement of time
U.S. use this system of telling time (Base 60)

6. Achievements of Early Empires
Hammurabi: ruler of Babylon
Empire was large and included many different peoples
Wanted all to know the law of his land so it was written down throughout his land
How does the Code of Hammurabi compare with our system of law today?

7. Achievements of Early Empires-cont.
Phoenicians: Sea going traders who lived in present day Lebanon
Spread ideas and technologies through trade in the Mediterranean
Accomplishments of Phoenicians
Improved writing system started by others
Adopted Greek alphabet which led to Roman alphabet
U. S. alphabet based on Roman alphabet

8. Islamic Civilization New ways of life and legal system were introduced
Under Islamic empires:
Majority of people in SW Asia became Muslim (90%)
Great mosques were built and many remain standing today

9. Islamic Civilization-cont.
Under Islamic empires:
Legal system based on Shariah introduced
Legal system based on Quran, the Islamic holy scripture/holy book
Islamic Contributions
Algebra, decimals, distance, rate, time, astronomy, physics, chemistry, medicine, engineering

10. Islamic Civilization-cont.
Mosques vs Church
Islam forbids use of human figures
Mosques decorated with colorful geometric figures
Churches have images of human figures
Islam guides its followers:
Covers all areas of daily living including marriage, family matters, food, and dress

11. Key Vocabulary
Code of Hammurabi: laws carved on stone and posted across lands so that everyone knew what the laws were
Cuneiform: wedge-shaped writing on clay tablets
Domesticate: to tame and raise animals

12. Key Vocabulary-cont. Mosque: Muslim house of worship
Islam: religion of Muslim people
Muslim: person who practices Islam

13. Key Vocabulary-cont. Quran: Islam’s holy scripture/ holy book
Shariah: law drawn from Islam’s holy scripture/ holy book
Mecca: birthplace of Islam; holy land of Muslims
Secular: nonreligious