Mesopotamian Civilization Chapter 1, Section 2 Mesopotamia Means “the land between the rivers” A land that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Mesopotamian Civilization

Chapter 1, Section 2

Mesopotamia

• Means “the land between the rivers”• A land that lies between the Tigris

and Euphrates Rivers• Earliest civilization. Arose in what is

now Southern Iraq.

Tigris River in Iraq

What is a Civilization?

• Complex societies that have…- cities- organized governments- art- religion- class divisions- writing system

Why were river valleys important?

• Good farming conditions• Provided fish and freshwater to

drink• Provided easy transportation

routes for trade

FARMING• Floods often ruined crops.• Farmers built irrigation systems to

control floods.

IRRIGATION• Farmers built walls, waterways and

ditches to bring water to their fields.• Helped food growth

An ancient irrigation system

Modern irrigation

Rise of Sumer

• A region in southern Mesopotamia• Many cities formed there by 3000

B.C.• Sumerian cities were isolated from

each other because of Geography • Each Sumerian city became a

separate City-State with its own government.

City-State

ANY REGION THAT HAS ITS OWN GOVERNMENT AND IS NOT PART OF

A LARGER UNIT.

Sumerians at War

• Sumerian city-states often went to war with each other.

• Fought for glory and control of territory.

• To protect their lands, each city-state surrounded itself with a strong brick walls made of river mud and crushed reeds.

Sumerian Beliefs

• Believed in many gods.• Each god had power over natural

forces or human activity (flooding, basket weaving)

• Each city-state built a temple called a ziggurat to honor its chief god.

• Ziggurat means “mountain of god”

Ziggurat

Life in Sumer

• Kings lived in palaces• Ordinary people lived in mud-brick

houses.• Some people were artisans. Artisans

are skilled workers who make metal products, cloth or pottery.

• Most people farmed and others worked as merchants or traders.

Social Classes in Sumer

• People were divided into three classes.

• Rarely could one move up in class.

Upper Class

• Kings• Priests• Warriors• Government Officials

Middle Class (the largest class)

• Artisans• Merchants• Farmers• Fishers

Lower Class

• Enslaved people who worked on farms or in the temples

• Forced to serve others

Men and Women in Sumer

• Men headed the households• Men decided whom their children

would marry.• Only males could go to school.• Women could buy and sell

property.• Women could run businesses.

Sumerians invented writing!

• Their writing was called cuneiform.• Only a few people learned how to

write, mostly boys from wealthy families.

• These boys became scribes, or record keepers.

Sumerian cuneiform tablet

Sumerian Literature

• Oldest known story comes from Sumer

• Epic of Gilgamesh• An epic is a long poem that tells

the story of a hero.

Other Inventions

• Wagon Wheel• Plow• Sailboat• Geometry• Number system based on 60• 12 month calendar

Sumerian City-States Lose Power

• The Akkadians from Northern Mesopotamia launched attacks on Sumerian City-States.

• Sargon, king of Akkadians, conquered all of Mesopotamia and created the worlds first empire.

• An empire is group of many different lands under one ruler.

• Sargon’s empire lasted 200 years.

Babylon

• A new group of people took over Mesopotamia in 1800s B.C. and built the city of Babylon.

• The Babylonian king was Hammurabi.

• Hammurabi created the Babylonian empire.

Code of Hammurabi

• Hammurabi is best known for his law code, or collection of laws.

• The code covered crimes, farming and business activities, and marriage and the family.

• Hammurabi’s code influenced later law codes, including those of Greece and Rome.

Statue of King Hammurabi