Transcript City-States in Mesopotamia - East Aurora School District #131

Sumer
The Cradle of Civilization
Mesopotamia is located in the Middle East, which is located
in Southwest Asia. The first civilizations and examples of
writing were found in Southwest Asia. These things began in
Mesopotamia.
When a newborn baby begins life, he or she is placed in a
cradle. Mesopotamia is called the cradle of civilization
because the first civilizations began there, about 5,500 years
ago in 3500 B.C.
USA
Mesopotamia was
located in the
Middle East.
Mesopotamia
was located in
what is now the
country of Iraq.
Mesopotamia - The Land
Between Two Rivers
Mesopotamia was a place where many cities began to grow. As
its name suggests, Mesopotamia was located between two
rivers. The two rivers were the Tigris River and the Euphrates
River.
Mesopotamia was located in the Middle East, and surrounded
by desert. People came to Mesopotamia because the silt (soil)
between the two rivers was very fertile.
Mesopotamia was part of a larger region called the Fertile Crescent.
This area, that stretched from the eastern edge of the Mediterranean
Sea down to the Persian Gulf, had fertile soil and was where many
civilizations started. The shape is somewhat similar to a crescent
(think of a crescent roll, or a crescent-shaped moon).
City-States in Mesopotamia
I. GEOGRAPHY
A. Mostly dry desert climate in SW Asia (Middle East)
1. Except in region between Tigris / Euphrates rivers
2. a flat plain known as Mesopotamia lies between the
two rivers
3. Because of this region’s shape and the richness of its soil,
it is called the Fertile Crescent.
- the rivers flood at least once a year,
leaving a thick bed of mud called silt.
SW Asia
(the Middle East)
Fertile
Crescent
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
City-States in Mesopotamia
I. GEOGRAPHY
B. Three Disadvantages / Environmental Challenges
1. Unpredictable flooding / dry summer months
2. No natural barriers for protection
- small villages lying in open plain were defenseless
3. Limited natural resources (stone, wood, metal)
C. Solutions
1. Irrigation ditches
2. Built city walls with
mud bricks
3. Traded with people
around them
for the products
they lacked.
Initiated Bronze Age.
Sumerian innovations in achieving civilization
set example others would follow.
But to arrive at these solutions,
required organized government.
Let’s now look at the type of government the
Sumerians had. PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
City-States in Mesopotamia
II. The City-State Structure of Government
A. Although all the cities shared the same culture
B.
… Each city had its own government / rulers, warriors,
it’s own patron god, and functioned like an
independent country
C. includes within the city walls and also the
surrounding farm land
D. At center of each city was the walled temple with a
ziggurat – a massive, tiered, pyramid-shaped
structure.
Define
type of
government
City-States in Mesopotamia
II. The City-State Structure of Government
A. Powerful priests held much political power in the
beginning.
B. Military commanders eventually became ruler /
Define
monarch
type of
- then began passing rule to their own heirs,
government
creating a new structure of government called a
Dynasty – a series of rulers descending from a single
family line.
Historians wonder…
Did the Sumerians develop this new type of
government on their own, or did they learn and
adopt it only after contact with other peoples –
cultural diffusion?
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
City-States Formed Along the Rivers
Many city-states formed
along the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers in
Mesopotamia. They each
had their own form of
government, and the people
worshipped different gods
and goddesses. Eventually,
they each had their own
kings. The region where
the two rivers meet was
called Sumer. The people
who lived in the Sumer
region were called
Sumerians.
Why Did These Cities Develop?
Due to the fertile soil in
Mesopotamia, farming was
very successful. In fact,
people were able to create
surpluses of food. This
meant that some people
could stop farming and
begin doing other things,
like building a city.
As cities began to develop, people
began to worry about others who
might come and invade their city.
They wanted to protect themselves
from enemies, so people in
Mesopotamia built walls around
their cities.
Sumerians
Remember, Sumer is the
region where the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers
meet.
Writing first began in Sumerian
cities. The first schools were set
up in Sumer over 4,000 years
ago. Sumerian schools taught
boys the new invention of
writing. Those who graduated
became professional writers
called scribes. Scribes were the
only people who could keep
records for the kings and priests.
Boys that wanted to be scribes
had to attend school from the
age of 8 to the age of 20.
Sumerian Writing
Scribes used a sharp point called a stylus to etch words
into clay tablets. These tablets have been discovered by
archaeologists and looked at by historians.
A Sumerian City
Sumerian city
streets were so
narrow that you
could hardly get a
cart through them.
Sumerian houses
faced away from
crowded streets.
Instead, they faced
onto courtyards
where families ate
and children played.
Narrow Streets
Courtyard Area
Sumerian Cities
On hot nights,
people slept
outdoors on the top
of their house’s flat
roof.
Sumerians had a form of light
at night. They burned oil
lamps.
Sumerians even had plumbing!
Clay pipes that were buried
underground carried their waste
away. Inventions like plumbing
wouldn’t come around for
another thousand years in other
parts of the world!
Sumerian Religion
Sumerians
worshipped
many gods, not
just one. This
belief in many
gods is called
polytheism.
“Poly” means
many and
“Theism”
means gods.
The picture above shows a ziggurat.
Ziggurats were the main temples used to
worship the gods of a city. Ziggurats were
built in the center of the city. They had steps
and ramps, and it was believed that the gods
descended to the Earth using the ziggurat as a
ladder.
The Ziggurat at Ur was first excavated by British archaeologist
Woolley in 1923.
Sumerian Mythology
Sumerian myths, or stories, explained people’s
beliefs. Sumerians believed that a person must keep
the gods happy by going to the ziggurat and praying
to them. They believed that the gods would reward
them for good service. They also believed that the
gods would punish the people who made them angry.
ziggurat
Gods
DID YOU KNOW…
Like many ancient civilizations, the Sumerians also had
“a flood story.” That’s not surprising given their
challenging environment sitting between two
unpredictable rivers…in their view, such a cataclysmic
event did, indeed, destroy their “entire world.”
The Epic of Gilgamesh is, perhaps, the oldest written story
on Earth. It comes to us from ancient Sumeria, and was
Tablet XI
originally written on 12 clay tablets in cuneiform script.
It is about the adventures of the cruel King Gilgamesh of Uruk (ca. 2750 and 2500
BCE).
In tablet XI we read about a man who built a boat and was saved from a great flood
brought about by angry gods.
GILGAMESH
The Downfall of the Sumerians
Each of the Sumerian city-states
had a ruler, and these city-states
began fighting each other. They
fought over land and the use of
river water. Since the Sumerians
were constantly at war with each
other, they became weak. By
2000 BC, Sumer was a weakened
area, and by 1759 BC, Sumer was
conquered by another group of
people - the Babylonians, who
were from the north.