Transcript Early Civilizations Ch 2

Early Civilizations
Ch 2
Mesopotamia
Lesson 2
Sumer and Akkad
 Mesopotamia
 Akkad:
consisted of city states
north
 Sumer: south
 Similar farming and business
methods and had similar customs,
but spoke different languages
 Akkadian and Sumerian languages
 Wars occurred often between the two
to control land and water
 Sumer was the most powerful
 Outside
of the cities were vast,
irrigated farms
 Mudbrick wall surrounded most citystates
 Protection from unfriendly nomads &
armies of enemy city-states
 White painted mudbrick houses of
one or two stories
 Temple complex at the highest point
 Largest and most impressive temple
structures were the ziggurats
 Ziggarauts
were
stacked
rectangular
platforms that
formed a huge pyramid-shaped
structure
 Believed to link Earth with the
heavens
Ziggurat of Ur
Religion and Government
 Temples
were built as earthly homes
for the gods
 Structures reflect the importance of
religion to society
 Sumerians and Akkadians practiced
polytheism
 Worship of many gods
 Believed gods and goddesses were
responsible for the well-being of the
people and the fertility of the land
 Anu
the god of the heavens
 Enlil the god of wind
 Enki the god of water
 Ninhursag the mother of the gods
 They also believed in many lesser
gods
 If the city state was peaceful it was
because the gods were pleased
 Temple priests made offerings to the
gods to keep them happy
 Religion
and government were
closely linked
 Sumerians believed that kings were
chosen by the gods to carry out the
gods’ wishes
 Divine kingship
 The right to rule was god-given
 Also believed the right to rule could
be passed from father to son
 Sumer
had a class system:
 Kings
 Wealthy
businesspeople, landowners,
and government workers
 Artisans and farm workers
 Slaves
Writing
About 3200 B.C.
the Sumerians
invented a writing
system to keep
track of business
dealings
 Simple pictures that
stood for objects or
actions

2400 B.C. this picture
writing was simplified
 Cuneiform: wedge-shaped writing
 Professional writers are scribes

 Akkadians
adopted cuneiform
 Cuneiform was used for centuries
 It was used to record the exchange
of goods
 Was also used to tell stories (Epic of
Gilgamesh-legendary Sumerian king)
 Medical texts, law codes, letters,
arguments & debates, and wise
sayings
The Rise and Fall of the Akkadian
Empire
 Sargon
led the Akkadians to defeat
the Sumerians around 2334 B.C.
 He united all the city-states of
Mesopotamia under his rule
 Forming the world’s first empire
 A large territory, consisting of many
different places, all under the control
of a single ruler
 Stretched from “the sunrise to the
sunset”
 Sargon’s
practice of appointing his
daughters as high priestesses as
followed by many other kings
 He also passed his empire on to his
son
 Akkadian dynasty was constantly
threatened by revolts
 Was only powerful for only about 150
years
Sumer’s Final Days
 2100
to 2000 B.C., the city-state of
Ur in Sumer held control of
Mesopotamia
 Last and most successful dynasty
was under king Ur-Nammu and his
son, Shulgi
 Business, literature, and the arts did
well
 Oldest known written law code was
from this time period
 Sumerians
used writing, religion, and
technology in their daily lives to help
them advance their civilization
 The first wheel appeared in
Mesopotamia more than 5,000 years
ago