Transcript Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Growth of City-States:
Sumer, Akkad, Uruk, Babylon
Religion and Government
A system of writing
Legends
Life in Sumer, Akkad and
Uruk
The Sumerians and the Akkadians were
very similar. They both farmed, and had
similar customs. Wars occurred
frequently over control of land and water.
Uruk was a very large city-state holding
up to 50,000 people.
Each city-state was surrounded by a
mudbrick wall for protection.
At the highest point of each city-state,
was the city’s temple called a ziggurat.
A ziggurat consisted of a series of stacked rectangular platforms
that formed a huge pyramid shaped structure.
Reaching up to 290 feet, ziggurats were believed by
Mesopotamians to link heaven and earth.
Religion
Religion and government were closely linked.
The Sumerians and the Akkadians practiced
polytheism- the worship of many gods.
Each city-state believed to be under the
protection of a particular god who looked after
its interests.
If the people in a city state were peaceful and
prosperous, they believed it was because the
gods were pleased.
They worked hard to keep the gods happy by
making offerings everyday.
Government
The Sumerians believed that kings were
chosen by the gods to carry out the god’s
wishes.
This was called divine kingship- the belief that
the right to rule was god-given.
The Sumerians also believed that the right to
rule could be passed from father to son.
Sumer also had a class system where society
was divided into classes.
Writing
The Sumerians were great traders and made
many business deals.
Sumerians invented a writing system to keep
track of all of their business dealings called
cuneiform.- A system of wedge-shaped
writing.
A professional writer or scribe would press
reeds into wet clay leaving markings that stood
for objects, activities or sounds.
The clay tablet was left to dry creating a
permanent record to use for reference.
Cuneiform Writing
Time to Review
How does a system of writing make it
easier to conduct business?
Why were most city-states surrounded by
a wall?
What is the belief in many gods called?
What does divine kingship mean?
How are city-states different from villages
in the New Stone Age?