1. MESOPOTAMIA
CHAPTER 4: PAGES 73-96

2. LESSON 1: THE SUMERIANS IT MATTERS BECAUSE….
The Sumerians made important advances in areas such as farming and writing that laid the foundation for future civilizations.

3. The First Civilizations in Mesopotamia (pages 76-78)
The earliest known civilization
Means “the land between the rivers” in Greek
Located in present-day Iraq
Began on the plain between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River
Area known as the Fertile Crescent
Historians believe that people first settled there around 7,000 B.C., eventually moving into the Tigris-Euphrates valley around 4,000 B.C. by building farming villages.

4. The First Civilizations in Mesopotamia (pages 76-78)
Fertile Crescent:
The fertile area of land located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf
Silt:
Fine particles of fertile soil
Left behind on the banks and plains after flooding—very good soil for farming
Irrigation:
A system of watering crops through digging of canals
Surplus:
An amount that is leftover; extra amount

5. Sumer’s Civilization (pages 78-81)
What is a city-state?
A city that governs itself and its surrounding territory
Had its own government and was not part of any larger governing state
People raised their own crops and made their own goods within the city-state
Population ranged from about 5,000 to 20,000 people
Each one was protected by a large city wall
Gates were open during the day and closed at night
The ruler’s palace, a large temple, and other public buildings were in center of city.
City-states often went to war with one another, or they traded during times of peace.

6. Sumer’s Civilization (pages 78-81)
Polytheism:
a belief in more than one god
Different gods were believed to play different roles in Sumerian life
They honored whatever god(s) they believed would help their activity—different powers such as wind, rain, and the things they did
Each city-state claimed one god as its own although they honored all the gods
Ziggurat:
A large temple; a pyramid-shaped structure with a temple on top
Means “to rise high” in the ancient Akkadian language
Top was a holy place that was the god’s home—only special priests could go there

7. Sumer’s Civilization (pages 78-81)
Upper Class
Middle Class
Lower Class
 King
Warrior 
Government Official
Priest
Merchant
Farmer
Artisan
Slave
Debtor
Criminal
If you lived in Sumer, you were mostly likely a farmer.
Trade was a key part of Sumer’s economy.

8. Sumerian Contributions (pages 81-83)
The Sumerians created the first civilization that had a great influence on history.
Of all the contributions made by Sumerians to the world, writing is perhaps the most important.
The writing system that they developed was the earliest known system in the world.
Mesopotamia has been given the nickname “the cradle of civilization” because many other civilizations copied and improved many of the ideas and inventions that began in Sumer.

9. Sumerian Contributions (pages 81-83)
Cuneiform:
A system of writing developed by the Sumerians
Used wedge-shaped marks made in soft clay
Made up of about 1,200 characters
Comes from a Latin word meaning “wedge”
Scribe:
Official record keepers; a person who copies or writes out documents
Epic:
A long poem that tells the story of a hero

10. Sumerian Contributions (pages 81-83)
Only a few people—mostly boys from wealthy families—learned how to read and write cuneiform.
Sumerian Inventions and Discoveries:
Wheel
Bronze (stronger tools, weapons, and jewelry)
Carts
Chariots
Geometry
Sailboat
Place-value system based on the number 60 (60 minute hour, 60 second minute, 360 degree circle)
Wooden plow
Pottery wheel
Division and multiplication
Used stars for farming
12 month calendar based on cycles of the moon

11. LESSON 2: MESOPOTAMIAN EMPIRES
IT MATTERS BECAUSE….
Mesopotamia’s empires greatly influenced other civilizations. Hammurabi’s Code influenced the legal codes of Greece and Rome.

12. The First Empires (pgs. 86-87)
How did Mesopotamia’s first empire develop?
Empire:
A group of many different lands under one ruler
Sumerian city-states began to weaken by conflict, causing the strength of Sumer to fade
Empires arose due to conquest and trade
Led to the spread of culture
Akkad:
A kingdom that developed in northern Mesopotamia

13. The First Empires (pgs. 86-87)
Who was Sargon?
The leader of Akkad (People known as the Akkadians)
He moved his armies south in 2340 B.C. and conquered the remaining city-states one by one
He united all of the conquered territory with Akkad and became know as the king of Sumer and Akkad
This formed the world’s first empire!
Eventually, his empire extended to include all people of Mesopotamia
This empire lasted more than 200 years before invaders conquered it

14. The First Empires (pgs. 86-87)
The Amorites:
Lived in the region west of Mesopotamia
Conquered Mesopotamia in the 1800s B.C. and built their own cities
Babylon was the grandest of those cities:
Where- along the eastern bank of the Euphrates Rivers in what is now Iraq

15. The First Empires (pgs. 86-87)
Who was Hammurabi?
The Babylonian king who led his army to start conquering surrounding Amorite cities around 1792 B.C.
This created the Babylonian Empire, which stretched north from the Persian Gulf through Tigris-Euphrates valley all the way to the Mediterranean Sea
He was known to be a just (fair) ruler
Best known for creating a set of laws for his empire known as The Code of Hammurabi
Code: a set of official laws

16. The First Empires (pgs. 86-87)
The Code of Hammurabi:
This code dealt with almost every area of life: crimes, farming, business, marriage, and the family
It listed a punishment for each crime
Stricter than old Sumerian laws
Known for the famous “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” concept—this means that the punishment for a crime should match the seriousness of the crime
The purpose was to limit crimes by making people less likely to commit them if they knew the punishment
It also protected the less powerful (for example: protected wives from abusive husbands)
Influenced later law codes, such as those of Greece and Rome

17. Why was Hammurabi’s Code important?
Progress Check
Why was Hammurabi’s Code important?

18. The Assyrian Empire (pgs. 87-89)
Arose about 1,000 years after Hammurabi’s empire
A large empire that includes four present-day countries: Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq
Had a large and powerful military
Assyrian Army:
Used about 50,000 soldiers in battle
Robbed people, set crops on fire, and destroyed towns and dams
Brutal force—sometimes people were so afraid of them that they would surrender without a fight

19. The Assyrian Empire (pgs. 87-89)
Tribute:
Forced payments
The Assyrian army would take tribute from conquered people
Think of it like a tax
Key factor: iron weapons
The Assyrians learned from the Hittites, a people to the north, about using iron. The Hittites had mastered iron production, which was much stronger than tin, copper, or bronze

20. The Assyrian Empire (pgs. 87-89)
The Assyrian Empire extended from the Persian Gulf in the east to the Nile River in the west
The capital was located at Nineveh along the Tigris River
Area was too large for one king to successfully rule over—divided land into provinces
Province:
A political district of a country or empire
The government built roads to connect these provinces
The king chose officials to govern, collect taxes, and carry out the laws in each province
Stations along the road where soldiers would guard and messengers would stop to rest and change chariot horses (like a modern day rest area!)

21. The Assyrian Empire (pgs. 87-89)
Assyrians had law codes too, but their punishments were even harsher!
Writing was based on Babylonian writing
Worshipped many of the same gods as the Babylonians
Large temples and palaces filled with carvings and statues
An ancient Assyrian king named Ashurbanipal built one of the world’s first libraries in Nineveh, which held 25,000 tables of stories and songs to the gods
This library has helped historians to learn a lot about these ancient civilizations
Farming and trade were very important to the Assyrians
Traded for wood and metal to build and make tools and weapons

22. The Assyrian Empire (pgs. 87-89)
Empire lasted about 300 years
Because they had such harsh rulers, people often rebelled, which caused turmoil
In 650 B.C., fighting broke out over who would be the next Assyrian ruler
This weakened their empire, and made it possible for another group—the Chaldeans—to take over power.

23. The Chaldean Empire (pgs. 89-93)
Chaldeans were originally a small group living in Mesopotamia that had been conquered by the Assyrians
They hated being under the Assyrians, although they were never fully under their control
Nabopolassar was a Chaldean king who decided to lead a revolt against the Assyrians—within a year, he had forced the Assyrians out of the city of Uruk and was crowned king
The Medes were another nearby group who wanted to break free from the Assyrians, so they joined forces with the Chaldeans to defeat the Assyrian army.
They burned Nineveh to the ground

24. The Chaldean Empire (pgs. 89-93)
Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar created a new empire
Most of the Chaldeans were actually descendants of the Babylonians (Hammurabi’s empire from 1,200 years earlier)
Babylon served as their capital once again
The Chaldean Empire is sometimes called the New Babylonian Empire
Babylon became one of the richest cities in the world, with huge brick walls surrounding the city
Soldiers kept watch in towers that were built into the walls
Inside of the city had palaces, temples, and a huge ziggurat—when the sun shone, the gold roof could be seen for miles

25. The Chaldean Empire (pgs. 89-93)
The king’s palace had a giant staircase of greenery known as The Hanging Gardens—known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World!
A complex irrigation system brought water from the Euphrates River to water the gardens
Water flowed from the top down from one level to the next to water the plants
It is believed that Nebuchadnezzar built the gardens to please his wife because she missed the mountains and plants from her homeland
A beautiful street made of limestone and marble with walls of blue glaze tile was built near the palace so that people could visit

26. The Chaldean Empire (pgs. 89-93)
Each Spring, thousands of people crowded into Babylon to watch a gold statue of the god Marduk as it was wheeled along the street
Chaldeans believed the ceremony would bring peace and bigger crops to their empire
They build many new canals to make the land even more fertile
These things were expensive, so the king collected very high taxes (or tributes)
Caravan:
A group of merchants traveling together for safety, usually with a large number of caravan
This empire was wealthy from trade, unlike Assyrian Empire which had been poor

27. The Chaldean Empire (pgs. 89-93)
The made many scientific advancements
They believed the gods showed their plans in the changes in the sky
Astronomer:
A person who studies planets and stars
Chaldeans invented one of the first sundials to measure time
First to follow a 7 day week
After Nebuchadnezzar died, many weak kings ruled, causing poor harvests and slow trade to weaken the empire
This led to eventually the Persians conquering and taking over—however, they did not destroy all the Chaldeans had done because it was all good.

28. Which wonder of the ancient world was located in Babylon?
Progress Check
Which wonder of the ancient world was located in Babylon?