Transcript Mesopotamia
Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved. Why River Valleys? • Offered rich soil for agriculture • Water was plentiful • Often located in places that could offer protection from invaders The Fertile Crescent • Arc of land between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea in Southwest Asia One Land…Two Rivers • Mesopotamia means = “land between the rivers” – Tigris and Euphrates Rivers • Both rivers flooded once a year and left thick bed of silt. – Silt: rich, new soil farmers could plant and harvest enormous quantities of wheat and barley Political Power of the Priests • Sumer’s earliest governments were controlled by temple priests – Farmers believed they needed blessings for success of their crops – Priests were the “middle man” for the gods – Priests demanded portion of farmer crops as tax Political • Later followed hereditary rulers: when the power is passed down to family members Sargon Economy • Metal tools and weapons (bronze, iron) • Increasing agricultural surplus due to better tools, plows, and irrigation • Increasing trade along rivers - traded with Egypt • Development of the world’s first cities • Specialization of labor Religion • Polytheism: belief in many gods (3,000+) • Gods could be angered at any moment and to keep them happy, the Sumerians built impressive ziggurats or temples to sacrifice food, wine and animals On the top was the temple to the god of that city. Around the base were other temples and priests’ private rooms. Sumerian Society Kings and Priests Wealthy merchants Ordinary Sumerian people Slaves Women • Could hold property • Join lower ranks of priesthood • There were few women scribes – Scholars think that girls were not allowed to attend schools Intellectual Epic of Gilgamesh • Myths and legends recorded in this epic (a long poem • One of the earliest works of literature in the world Sumerian Proverbs • “Wealth” is hard to come by but poverty is always at hand. • “The poor man nibbles at his silver.” “Gilgamesh, whither are you wandering? Life, which you look for, you will never find. For when the gods created man, they let Death be his share, and withheld life In their own hands” The Epic of Gilgamesh Achievements Science & Technology • Invented the wheel, the sail, and the plow • First to use bronze to make tools • System of writing called cuneiform (wedgeshaped writing) • Built irrigation systems, buildings, surveyed flooded fields. Pictures Cited • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Slide 1 - http://www.mayfairgames.com/mfg-shop/phalanx/pics/pha6016-cl.jpg Slide 3 - http://www.hawaii.edu/ahead/Iraq%20General/mesopotamia.jpg Slide 4 – http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~patters/culinary/media/fertilec.jpg Slide 5 – http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/a/a5/288px-Tigr-euph.png Slide 6 – http://individual.utoronto.ca/CLA160Y/Images/TellAsmarFig.jpg Slide 7 – http://www.mysteriousworld.com/Content/Images/Journal/2003/Autumn/Osiria/Sargon180.gif Slide 8 – http://www.cetis.ac.uk/members/accessibility/meetings/2006/sig14/sig14images/ah5jpg Slide 9 – http://questgarden.com/52/41/5/070613164641/images/ziggurat1.gif Slide 10 – http://www.meridianmagazine.com/ideas/images/ur3.jpg, http://todoweb2002.iespana.es/ceramica/mesopotamia/ziggurat.jpg Slide 11 – Made by Clara Kim Slide 12 – http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/m/images/mesopot_sumer_asmarfigs_lg.jpg Slide 13 – http://www.allaboutarchaeology.org/images/epic-of-gilgamesh.jpg Slide 14 – www.archaeology.org Slide 15 –http://siteresources.worldbank.org/NEWS/Images/071506-Mtwango-Irrigation.JPG