Transcript 3.2 The Rise of Sumer PPT

Chapter 3
Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent
3.2 The Rise of Sumer
An Advanced Society
Southern Mesopotamia – Sumerians
developed the world’s first
civilization
No one knows where they came
from
Settled in Mesopotamia – land they
called Sumer
The City-States of Sumer
Most people – farmers – lived mainly in
rural – or countryside areas
Center of Sumerian society – urban – or
city – areas
Basic political unit of Sumer – combined
the two parts – city-state –which consisted
of a city and all the countryside around it
The City-States of Sumer
Continued
Amount of countryside controlled
by each city-state depended on its
military strength
Sumer city-states fought each other
for more farmland
Uruk’s king – Gilgamesh –
legendary figure in Sumerian
literature
Rise of the Akkadian Empire
Akkadians created a society along
the Tigris and Euphrates rivers–
north of Sumer
Not Sumerians/spoke a different
language
Rise of the Akkadian Empire
Continued
Peace was broken between the
Akkadians and Sumerians when
Sargon wanted to extend the
Akkadian territory
Rise of the Akkadian Empire
Continued
Built a new capital – Akkad on the
Euphrates River- near what is now
the city of Baghdad
Rise of the Akkadian Empire
Continued
Sargon – first ruler to have a
permanent army
Defeated city-states of Sumer and
conquered northern Mesopotamia
Rise of the Akkadian Empire
Continued
Entire region under Sargon’s
rule/establishing the world’s first
empire – or land with different
territories and people’s under a
single rule
Akkadian Empire – stretched from
the Persian Gulf to the
Mediterranean Sea
Rise of the Akkadian Empire
Continued
Sargon was emperor or ruler of his
empire for more than 50 years
Religion Shapes Society
Religion important in every aspect
of life
Religion basis for all of Sumerian
society
Sumerian Religion
Sumerians practiced polytheism –
the worship of many gods
Each city-state considered one god as
its special protector
Sumerian Religion Continued
Sumerians believed their gods had
powers
Believed that success in every area of
life depended on pleasing the gods
Sumerian Religion Continued
Sumerians had a duty to serve and
to worship the gods
Priests – people who performed
religious ceremonies
Sumerian Social Order
Priests occupied a a high level in
Sumer’s social hierarchy – the
division of society by rank or class –
they were just below kings.
Sumerian Social Order
Continued
Social hierarchy
Kings – chosen by the gods
Priests
Skilled craftsman, merchants, and
traders
Sumerian Social Order
Continued
Farmers and laborers – made up
the large working class
Slaves – bottom of the social order
Men and Women in Sumer
Men
Held political power
Made laws
Education reserved for men/and
some upper class women
Men and Women in Sumer
Continued
Women
Took care of the home/children
Some educated women were
priestesses in Sumer’s temples
Men and Women in Sumer
Continued
Enheduanna
Daughter of Sargon
Wrote hymns to the goddess
Inanna
First known female writer in
history