1. Early River Civilization
Mesopotamia
Early River Civilization

2. Geography of Mesopotamia
Hot, arid desert climate- Just like a DESERT!
Area between Mediterranean Sea & Persian Gulf
Lies between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
Flood at least once per year—leaves mud & silt deposits, which create rich soil for crops
Area known as “Fertile Crescent”
Mediterranean Sea
Zagros
Mtns.
Arabian Peninsula
Persian Gulf

3. Mesopotamia was a REGION
Mesopotamia was a REGION. Many different cultures lived within Mesopotamia.

4. Who Ruled When??? Within Mesopotamia different people/ cultures
Sargon of Akkad
took over all of Sumeria
and created the world’s
1st Empire:
Akkadian Empire.
Sumerians Ruled
Mesopotamia
from early settlements
to 2,350.
Babylonians take
Over the Akkadian
Empire by
2,000 B.C.E.
Within Mesopotamia different
people/ cultures
ruled at different times.
4,500 B.C.E.
Settlements
Began between
the Tigris and
Euphrates River
Till about
550 B.C.E.
Babylonians
rule over
Mesopotamia.

5. Sumerians Create the Model
Begin establishing settlements and cities around 4,500 B.C.E.
Sumeria or Sumer was the first River Civilization within Mesopotamia
Sumerians created city- states throughout the Tigris and Euphrates River Valleys

6. Sumerians Create the Model with: Specialized Workers
Kings, landowners, high priests
Wealthy Merchants
Farmers, Artisans
Slaves (Prisoners of War or children sold into slavery)
Social Classes

7. Example of a Specialized Worker
Priests
Acted as a go-between for the people and the gods
Managed Irrigation Systems
Collected a portion of farmer’s crops as tax
Controlled City-State Governments within the Ziggurat
A walled temple at the center of every city-state

8. Sumerians Create the Model with: Complex Organizations
Government
Controlled by the Temple Priests
Each City-State had their own Ruler or Priest
Military
Fought for security( protection)
Economic Gain= Land and Wealth
Taxed conquered people.
Took land
Took slaves for labor or prisoner’s of war
Religion
Priests had many jobs that dictated how people lived.

9. Sumerians Create the Model with: Advanced Cities
By 3,000 B.C.E. City-States develop
Ur, Umma, Kish, Lagash, Urak
By 2,500 B.C.E. many other cities develop within the Fertile Crescent
Trade Increases!
Trade Increases = Cultural Diffusion

10. Sumerians Create the Model with: Advanced Technologies
Architecture
Built city walls with mud bricks
1st to use arches, columns, ramps
Sciences
Irrigation ditches
Wheel, plow, sail, bronze tools
Math (Geometry)
Idea of 60 seconds= 1 minute
360 degrees in a circle

11. 1st Record Keeping in Mesopotamia Cuneiform
Cuneiform was a written language using pictograms (picture symbols)
Written on clay tablets using a reed stylus (like a pen)
Significant because they recorded their achievements in technology

12. Why do we group these cultures into one region???
Many different people settled throughout Mesopotamia and created their own cultures, subtle differences grew.
These different cultures are grouped together because as this region was taken over by different people and cultures, they continued to advance what they gained from other people that they conquered or traded with.
=Cultural Diffusion