1. Land between two rivers
Mesopotamia
Land between two rivers

2. Geography of Mesopotamia
Tigris and Euphrates
Fertile Crescent
Fresh water (mud)
Annual Floods
Modern Day Iraq
Began circa 3500 BC

3. Building materials like stone and wood were not available – what did the Mesopotamians use?
MUD

4. Sumer, Akkad, and Babylon
How did they adapt to this harsh climate?
In what ways did the rivers’ flooding provide advantages and disadvantages?

5. Sumerian Religion Polytheistic Gods controlled different parts of life
Offerings and prayers would win favor

6. Sumerian Ziggurats Center of religious activity
Contained a shrine for offerings
Rose high above other buildings
Pyramid shape

7. Why did Sumerians make offerings to their gods?
Why do you suppose the ziggurats were the tallest, grandest buildings in the city?

8. Sumerian Inventions Transportation: Wheel and sail
Farming: Irrigation systems
Use of Clay: pottery, houses, bricks
Use of bronze: plows, weapons, jewelry
Writing: Cuneiform
Numbers: based on 60
Calendar and time

9. Sumerian Writing Oldest written language Started as pictographs
Scribes and their tools
Changed to wedge-shaped symbols (cuneiform)

10. What were the first and final steps in the development of writing?
Why do you think, only scribes could write?

11. Sumerian Legends
Helped explain things
Passed down orally
Later recorded onto clay tablets

12. King Gilgamesh popular hero 2500 BC-1st recorded story
part human, part god
strongest most powerful person
explains society's values
flood story

13. Akkad

14. Civilization of Akkad Rose to power after Sumer
People of the surrounding desert
Borrowed many Sumerian ideas

15. Sargon the Great Ruled from c. 2334 BC to 2279 BC War leader
United all of Mesopotamia
First person to create an empire

16. What is an empire?
Why do think Sargon is called “Great”?
Is there a country today that is considered an empire?

17. Babylon
Southern Mesopotamia
Euphrates River
Tremendous wealth, power and size

18. The Glory of Babylon Borrowed Sumerian technology
Borrowed Sumerian Cuneiform
Lasted 1200 years
Began with Hammurabi and ended with Nebuchadnezzer
Hanging Gardens

19. GARDEN VARIETY TECHNOLOGY

20. In what ways were Sumer, Akkad and Babylon similar?
In what ways were they different?

21. ART LYRE CIRCA 2,600 BCE GATES OF ISTAR , GODDESS OF
BABYLON, CIRCA 600BCE
ART
CIRCA 2,600 BCE
SUMER
SUMER, CIRCA 2,100BCE

22. A B
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