Transcript Mesopotamia
Answer Questions on your index card • Why do we have laws? • Write down one law you would change or one law you add to our current list of laws. • What would be the consequences of changing or creating this law (positive, negative, or both)? Ancient Mesopotamia How do we know it was a civilization? They had advanced cities…. • City-states grew along the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers • Mesopotamia = “land between the rivers” • This area is also called the Fertile Crescent • City-states – city and the surrounding land it controls • City planning: Irrigation ditches for water, city walls for defense Where Mesopotamia is today… Tigris River Now Euphrates River Now They had complex institutions… • Government – Earliest governments were controlled by temple priests – As wars became frequent, military leaders became rulers – Dynasty – series of rulers from a single family • Religion – Sumerians believed in many gods/goddesses (polytheism) – Believed gods controlled every aspect of life – To keep the gods happy, Sumerians built ziggurats temple Hammurabi •Hammurabi collected and established a 282 section code of laws dealing with daily life. •“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (instead of fines) •Hammurabi rose to power by using his military might to put down other rulers. •Hammurabi created a strong government by reorganizing the tax system and building roads, buildings, and irrigation. They had specialized workers… King, priests, nobles Artisans, merchants, scribes, farmers Slaves •Most people were peasant farmers •Women had legal rights; some owned property, but they could be controlled, divorced and sold by men. They had record-keeping… • Cuneiform – earliest form of writing They had advanced technology… • Used dams and irrigation to control rivers • Developed basic algebra and geometry • Made accurate calendars (based on moon and stars) • Invented the plow • Made the first wheeled vehicles, potter’s wheel, arch, and sundial I need volunteers…anyone? • Let’s explore Hammurabi’s Code… • You are the judge... • You will need to be able to answer these questions after the skit and decide what will happen to the builder: – What is the problem in this case? – How did the builder know the nobleman was satisfied with the house he had built for him? – What happened to the nobleman’s house? – What did the nobleman lose in his house? – Who was killed in the accident? Your next task • You were just appointed to head of the travel bureau in Mesopotamia and you must create a billboard trying to draw people to Mesopotamia. • You must create a visual that makes travelers want to come your civilization. • You must include at least four vocabulary words or key ideas in your billboard.