Transcript Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia
Ch. 2, Sec. 1 (pp. 29 - 34)
SSWH1a: Describe the development of
Mesopotamian societies: include the religious,
cultural, economic, and political facets of
society, with attention to Hammurabi’s law
code.
Geography & Background
• In the modern Middle East are
the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
– The land between these rivers
and the land that lies along the
eastern coast of the
Mediterranean Sea form an arc
of very fertile soil (known as the
Fertile Crescent)
– The land between the Tigris &
Euphrates rivers is called
Mesopotamia (which literally
means “land between rivers”)
• Remember, the city of Ur was
located in Sumer, which itself
was in Mesopotamia
Environmental Challenges
• Unpredictable flooding
– So they created irrigation ditches
• No natural barriers for protection
– So they built walls around their cities
• Few natural resources
– So they traded with their neighbors
Ancient Irrigation Ditches
Sumerians Create
City-States
• Sumerians built many cities
– Cities each had their own government & rulers (similar to modern
countries)
– Cities & the surrounding lands were known as city-states (because
they operated independently of one another)
• Sumerian govt was usually led by both religion & military leaders
– Leaders would often come from the same families (dynasties)
• Sumerian ideas often spread to neighboring cultures (this
process is called cultural diffusion)
– In other words, if I’m worshipping a “Rain God” & my neighbor sees
me doing this & starts worshipping the “Rain God” then cultural
diffusion has occurred
City-States in Sumer
Sumerian Culture
• Sumerians were polytheistic (they believed in more than one
god)
– These gods were anthropomorphic, yet all-powerful & immortal
– The afterlife was seen as very dismal
• Social classes
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(Highest class) kings, landholders & priests
Wealthy merchants
Manual laborers (field & workshop)
(Lowest class) Slaves (debtors & prisoners)
• Technology
– Base 60 number system
– Architecture (arches, columns, ramps, etc.)
– Cuneiform
Empire Building
• From 3000 - 2000 B.C., Sumerians were almost constantly at
war with one another
• ~2350 B.C., Sargon (an Akkadian from the north) conquered
Sumer & united northern & southern Mesopotamia for the first
time
– This union lasted ~200 years
• ~2000 B.C., the Babylonian Empire (with its capital at Babylon)
dominated Mesopotamia
– The greatest ruler of Babylon was Hammurabi who created a
single set of common laws for Mesopotamia
• Hammurabi’s Code dealt with property issues, family issues, crime,
etc.
• The Code applied to everyone, but dealt differently w/ the rich & the
poor
• The Code frequently applied the principle “an eye for an eye & a tooth
for a tooth”
A Hammurabi Stele & an Inscription of
the Code of Hammurabi
The Fall of the Babylonians
• ~1500 B.C., the Babylonian Empire fell
to the neighboring Kassites
– Many groups would later come to dominate
Mesopotamia (Assyrians, Hebrews,
Phoenicians, etc.)
• While all this was going on, other
people such as the Egyptians, Chinese
& people of the Indus River Valley were
experiencing the rise & fall of civilization