Transcript The Civilization of Sumer Notes

The Civilization of Sumer
Agriculture in Mesopotamia
• Local people of southern Mesopotamia began
to solve the issues of the two rivers with new
technologies
• Used technology to irrigate (supply water to)
their crops
– The people dug many miles of irrigation canals to
bring water from the rivers to the fields
• They also developed a new way of planting
crops by attaching a funnel to a plow
City States of Sumer
• Better agricultural techniques helped the
people produce more food
• With a dependable food supply the
population began to grow
• Around 3400 B.C.E the first cities began to
emerge in Southern Mesopotamia
• The first civilization in the world became
known as Sumer
• Cities emerge
– Uruk, the first Sumerian city
• Sumerian cities emerge as city-states
– City-state= an independent state that includes a
city and its surrounding territory
– Each city-state had its own government, laws and
main god
– Sumerians and later Mesopotamians bulit walls
around their cities
• Trade
– Mesopotamia had little
wood or stone or metal
– Had barley, wheat,
dates, and cloth
• Trade was done by
barter
– Barter= people exchange
goods directly without
money
• Early traders used the
rivers to transport their
goods
Social Classes
• Sumerians developed a social order
• People of each class had a distinct role
Ruling Family/Priests
Merchants and Scribes
Farmers  Majority
Slaves
• The government and religion were firmly connected in the
city-states and helped support the social order
Religion and Afterlife
• Sumerians practiced
polytheism
• Their gods were thought to
control every aspect of life.
• Sumerians believed that
only priests knew how to
communicated with the
gods
• In larger Sumerian cities
temples were pyramid
shaped brick towers known
as ziggurats
Sumerian Writing
• Sumerian priests needed a
system to keep record of
their gods
• Sumerians invented the
earliest known form of
writing called cuneiform.
– using a reed pen to make
wedge-shaped marks on clay
tablets
– Triangular shaped symbols
– Thousands of symbols were
created
Sumerian Government
• As city-states grew people in different cities
began to argue with one another of the
control of land and water
• In times of war priests helped choose the best
person to lead the city-state into battle
• After the war the leader was expected to give
up his power and return to normal life
• But some kept control over the city-states
even after the war ended
• Military leaders became the first kings
• Written laws
– The earliest known law code was issued around
2100 B.C.E.
– The earliest laws included laws about marriage,
slavery, and causing harm to other people
• Achievements
– Plow
– Irrigation
– Wheel
– Sail
– One of the first cultures to make bronze
The First Empires
• As city-states began to fight one another they
began to take control of more land
• Empire= a state containing several countries
or territories
• Frequent fighting among each other made the
Sumerian city-states weak
Akkadians
• Sargon, King of Akkad,
conquered the city-states (2300
B.C.E.).
– This is the first known empire
• After his death, other invaders
swept into the wide valley
tumbling his empire into ruin
• Akkad were Semitic people, like
the Hebrews
The Babylonians
• A Semitic people who spoke Akkadian,
conquered Mesopotamia in about 2000 B.C.
Its capital, Babylon, was on the Euphrates
River.
• About 1790 B.C.E., the king of Babylon,
Hammurabi, brought the empire (much of
Mesopotamia) under his control.
Hammurabi’s Code
*First written laws
• Hammurabi was not the author of the code. Most
of the laws had been around since Sumerian Times,
but Hammurabi wanted everyone in his empire to
know the legal principles his government would
follow.
• He had artisans carve nearly 300 laws on a stone
pillar for all to see.
• This was the first time a ruler attempted to solidify
all of the laws that would govern a state.
Hammurabi’s Code
• Criminal laws dealt with offenses against
others.
• Civil Law dealt with private rights and
matters.
Law #196: “If a man put out
the eye of another man, his
eye shall be put out.”
Does this sound familiar?
Hittites
The Babylonian empire
fell to Hittite
invaders
• Hittites were warlike people
• Invaded sometime
in the 1600 B.C.E.
The Assyrians
• Warlike people from northern Mesopotamia,
the Assyrians began to consolidate a great
empire
• For 500 years, they earned a reputation for
being among the most feared warriors in
history
• After Assurbanipal’s death, people joined
forces to destroy the Assyrian armies.
The Assyrians
• They were fierce, effective
warriors
• Used chariots, and were the
first to use cavalry, soldiers
on horseback.
• In 700 B.C.E. the Assyrians
captured Babylon, looted it,
and destroyed it