Civilization Begins in

Mesopotamia
Glencoe World History pages 37-44

Standards
SSWH1: The student will analyze the origins,
structures, and interactions of complex
societies in the ancient Eastern
Mediterranean from 3500 BCE to 500 BCE.
a. Describe the development of
Mesopotamian societies: include the religious,
cultural, economic, and political facets of
society, with attention to Hammurabis law
code.

Essential Questions

What are the building blocks of culture?

How did early cultures develop?
How did the earliest societies create civilizations?
How did the physical features of a region affect
the development of the beliefs, customs, and
traditions of that society?
What was the impact of religion on the
development of early societies?
What was the role of the earliest governments?

Key Terms

City-state
Ziggurat
Theocracy
Empire
Patriarchal
Polytheistic
Cuneiform

People to Identify

Sumerians
Akkadians
Sargon
Hammurabi

Places to Locate

Tigris River
Euphrates River
Mesopotamia
Fertile Crescent
Uruk
Babylon

The Six Traits of Civilizations

Rise of Cities
Growth of Governments
Role of Religion
A New Social Structure
Use of Writing
Art

** For more information see text p. 30-31

Impact of Geography
The valley between the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers known as Mesopotamia to the ancient
Greeks.
Means land between the rivers
At the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent
A region with little rain, but rich soil due to
flooding in the late spring
Irrigation and drainage ditches made it possible
to grow crops on a regular basis
3 general areas Assyria, Akkad, and Sumer

Mesopotamia

The Fertile Crescent

The Sumerians
Created the first Mesopotamian civilization
By 3000 BC established a number of
independent cities in Southern
Mesopotamia including Ur, Uruk and Eridu.
As cities expanded they formed city-states,
the basic unit of Sumerian civilization.

Sumerian Cities
Surrounded by walls
Uruk was enriched by a wall 6 miles
long with defense towers
The Sumerians used sun dried bricks to
build their homes
Invented the arch, dome, and built
some of the largest brick buildings in
the world.

Gods, Goddesses, and Rulers

Most prominent building in a Sumerian
city was the temple.
The temple was often built atop a
massive stepped tower called a
ziggurat.
Believed the gods and goddesses ruled
the cities

Ziggurats

Gods, Goddesses, and Rulers

Due to the importance of religion in their
government, they were a theocracy- a
government by divine authority
Eventually the ruling power passed into the
hands of worldly figures or kings
Believed kings derived their power from the
gods
Army, government, priests, and priestesses
all aided the kings in their rule.

Economy and Society

Based chiefly on farming
The people of Mesopotamia were well
known for their metalwork
Invention of the wheel led to wheeled carts
3 major social groups: Nobles, commoners,
and slaves
90% were farmers (commoners)
Slaves belonged to palace officials and were
used in building projects

Empires in Ancient
Mesopotamia
As the Sumerian city-states grew and
expanded new conflicts arose
To the north of Sumer were the Akkadians.
Around 2340 BC, Sargon, the leader of the
Akkadians overran the Sumerian city states
and set up the first empire.
By 2100 BC, the Akkadian Empire had fallen
and city states were warring for control

New Leadership in
Mesopotamia
By 1792 BC leadership
came from Babylon, a
city-state south of
Akkad, where
Hammurabi came to
power.
He gained control of
Sumer and Akkad and
created a new
Mesopotamian
kingdom.

Hammurabis Code
Hammurabi is remembered for his law
code, a collection of 282 laws.
The most complete of ancient law codes
Based on a system of strict justice
Penalties were severe and varied
according to the social class
Retaliation an eye for an eye was a
fundamental part of this system

Hammurabis Code
Continued
The largest category of laws focused on
marriage and the family.
Marriages were arranged by the parents
Without a contract, no one was considered
legally married
Society was patriarchal- dominated by men;
women had far fewer privileges and rights
Fathers ruled the children and their wives

Importance of Religion
To the Mesopotamians, powerful spiritual
beings gods and goddesses- permeated all
aspects of the universe.
Approximately 3000 gods and goddesses
Polytheistic- Believed in many gods
Humans were inferior to the gods and could
never be sure what the gods might do to help
or hurt them.

Writing of the Sumerians

The Sumerians are credited with inventing
the oldest form of writing, cuneiform.
Cuneiform means wedge shaped.
Used primarily for record keeping
Texts of cuneiform used to train scribes
Scribes came to hold the most important
positions in Sumerian society
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Sumerian writing

Sumerian Technology
The Sumerians are credited with
the following inventions

Wagon wheel
Potters wheel
Sun dial
Bronze (made from tin & copper)
Geometry
Charted the constellations
Time 60 min./hr. and 60 sec./ min.