1. Warm Up: Key Terms Fertile Crescent (p. 33) Mesopotamia (p. 33)
City-state (p. 34)
Polytheism (p. 34)
Dynasty (p. 35)
Cuneiform (p. 35)
Indo-Europeans (p. 40)

2. Chapter 2.1
The Ancient Near East

3. Objectives: Day 3, 1/25/11
Understand how the first known civilization in Mesopotamia influenced later civilizations in the region
Explain how Indo-European invaders both shaped the cultures of the Fertile Crescent and adapted to the civilizations they encountered there

4. Mesopotamia
Watch the following video clip about the rise of civilizations in Mesopotamia and copy the questions to answer during the video:
Video: From Nomads to Farmers
1. What does the word “Mesopotamia” mean?
2. What two rivers was it located between?
3. How did Mesopotamian’s control the river water?
4. How did people become slaves in Mesopotamia?
5. What group has the highest/most important job in Mesopotamian society?

5. Mesopotamia and Sumer
The Cradle of Civilization

6. Geography Promotes Civilization
The Fertile Crescent
a band of fertile land that forms an oasis in the midst of deserts and mountains between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf
Mesopotamia
Area between Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Means “between the rivers”

9. Sumer Developed the first civilization
Large cities appeared by B.C.
Eventually formed city-states
A political unit with its own government
Religion shaped life in city- states
Sumerians practiced polytheism
The worship of many gods

10. Sumerian Writing
Sumerians developed the world’s first known writing system
Known as cuneiform
Produced using sharp tools called stylusses to make wedge-shaped symbols on clay tablets
Used to keep business accounts and other records
Paid scribes to create written documents

11. Hammurabi’s Code
Tribe called Amorites settled in Babylon on the Euphrates River near modern day Baghdad, Iraq
Hammurabi became king in B.C.
Most famous for his code of laws
Important because it was written down for all to see
No one could lie about it or make up laws

12. Fertile Crescent Empires
Hittites, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Phoenicians

13. The Hittites
As the Babylonian Empire declined, Indo- Europeans took over
Several tribes from the north that spoke related languages
The Hittites
Warlike Indo-European tribe
Settled in Asia Minor, present day Turkey
Used horse-drawn chariot

14. The Assyrians
Originally from northern Mesopotamia, near the city of Assur along the upper Tigris River
Built a large empire that included all of Mesopotamia, some of Asia Minor, and Egypt
Relied on military strength
Produced great cultural achievements such as library at Nineveh

15. The Chaldeans Took over after Assyrian collapse
Made Babylon their capital
Nebuchadnezzar II became king
Rebuilt Babylon
Famous for building the Hanging Gardens (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world)

16. The Phoenicians Built a wealthy trading society
Founded trading colonies, including Carthage
Greatest achievement was their alphabet
Consisted of 22 letters
Later modified by the Greeks to create their own alphabet on which our own is based