Transcript No Slide Title

Sumer
City-States Form
City-states formed along the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Had own form of
government
Worshipped different gods
and goddesses
Had their own kings
The region where the two
rivers meet was called
Sumer.
Sumerians.
Mesopotamian Cities
Due to the fertile soil in
people were able to create
surpluses of food.
People could stop farming
and begin doing other
things, like building a city.
Mesopotamia built walls around
their cities.
Sumerians
Writing first began in Sumer.
Sumerian schools taught boys
the new invention of writing
Professional writers called
scribes
Kept records for the kings and
priests
Sumerian Writing
Cuneiform
Etched into clay tablets using a stylus
Sumerian Cities
Sumerian city
streets were narrow
Sumerian houses
faced onto
courtyards where
families ate and
children played
Courtyard Area
Sumerian Cities
Sumerians burned oil lamps
Sumerians had plumbing!
Clay pipes were buried
underground to carry waste away
Sumerian Religion
Worshipped
many gods
Polytheism
Poly= many
Theism= gods.
Ziggurats were the main temples used to
worship the gods of a city
Built in the center of the cit
Had steps and ramps
believed that the gods descended to the Earth
The Downfall of the Sumerians
Sumerian kings began fighting
over use of river water and land
By 2000 BC, Sumer was a
weakened area
1759 BC, Sumer was conquered
by another group of people - the
Babylonians, who were from the
north.