1. Similarities amongst the Mesopotamians So what should I have learned?

2. Politics (How they were Governed) Leadership – Monarchies (Kings and Queens) or Theocracies (Leadership related to the Gods)

3. Economic (How they made money) Farming and trading –Grown materials, raw materials or manufactured goods

4. Social Systems (How they lived) Military state –Group was always prepared for war

5. The Code of Hammurabi Developed by the Babylonians Oldest known system of codified law Written in Cuneiform, the written language of Mesopotamia Origin of “Eye for an Eye” Different punishments for different social classes. “If any one steal the property of a temple or of the court, he shall be put to death, and also the one who receives the stolen thing from him shall be put to death.” “If any one steal cattle or sheep, or an ass, or a pig or a goat, if it belong to a god or to the court, the thief shall pay thirtyfold; if they belonged to a freed man of the king he shall pay tenfold; if the thief has nothing with which to pay he shall be put to death.”

6. Environmental Interaction Reliant on Tigris and Euphrates for agriculture –Flooding of the rivers was unpredictable –Didn’t know when it would happen or how much Either used or traded minerals from the earth (Copper, Iron, etc)