Transcript Mesopotamia, the First Civilization

Mesopotamia, the First
Civilization
Lesson 2
The First Civilization
• Mesopotamia (land between rivers)
– Oldest of the early civilizations
– Located in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers
– Began c. 3500 B.C.E
• Location in the Modern World
– In the Middle East, in Iraq
The Fertile Crescent
• Mesopotamia located between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers
• Part of the Fertile Crescent
• Fertile means “good for plants to grow in”
The Fertile Crescent
• Rich farmland that reached fro the eastern
shore of the Mediterranean Sea north to the
Syrian Desert and south to the Persian Gulf
• 5000 B.C.E, people call Sumerians settled in
southern Mesopotamia
– Became known as Sumer
The Fertile Crescent
• Sumerians built cities out of mud and clay
• 3500 B.C.E, Sumerian cities of Ur, Nippur, and
Eridu had thousands of people living in them
Check for Understanding
Match each term with a description from below.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Site of the earliest civilization
Rivers in Mesopotamia
Cities in Sumer
Rich farmland on the Mediterranean Sea
Settlers in southern Mesopotamia
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Fertile Crescent
Mesopotamia
Sumerians
Ur and Eridu
Tigris and Euphrates
Sumerian Achievements
• When we refer to the earliest Mesopotamian
civilization, we are actually referring to the
Sumerian civilization
• Sumerians were very inventive…they added 3
great achievements to early human history
The Wheel
• Before people had to move objects by hand or
logs
• Sumerian wheels were made by attaching
wooden planks together in a circle
– Then they could be added to carts
Irrigation and Flood Control
• Sumerians needed a way to keep crops
watered during dry summers. Also needed
protection from river floods.
• Sumerians dug canals and built dams to water
crops and to control flooding.
Written Language
• Earliest writing used pictures to stand for words
– Not effective way of expressing thoughts
• Sumerians invented cuneiform
– Wedge-shaped marks
• A scribe used a sharp stick and pressed it into a
tablet of wet clay to make their marks
– Tablet then left in the sun to dry
Other Inventions
• Number system based on 60
• Lunar calendar based on the phases of the
moon
• Sail
• Plow
Check for Understanding
• True of False
1. The Sumerians invented the calendar
2. The Sumerians invented the wheel
Sumerian City-States
• 12 cities in Sumer
– Each city is referred to as a city state
• City-states often grew quite large
– City of Ur, 2500 BCE had about 20,000 people
• 2000 BCE had about 200,000 people
• The most important building in each city-state
was the ziggurat
Check for Understanding
True or False
• Sumerian city-states were not very large
• City-states often went to war with other citystates
• A city-state included the land around the city and
any nearby villages
Life in Sumer
• Highest ranking class was the noble class
– King, king’s family, priests, and priestesses
• Most Sumerians were commoners
– Merchants, scribes, farmers, and skilled workers
– Below commoners were labors
• Class of people who worked for the nobles
Life in Sumer
• Men had most of the power
– Women were allowed by law to own property, start
new businesses, or take over their husbands’ business
– Could also hold important positions
• School day was long
– Beginning at sunrise, ending at sunset
– Students were beaten if they were late, talked when
they shouldn’t, and even if their clothes were messy
The City of Akkad and the First Empire
• City-states sometimes warred with each other
• Akkad
– City north of Sumer
– People = Akkadians
– Came to Mesopotamia from the deserts at the
edge of the Fertile Crescent
– Learned Sumerian writing, followed the Sumerian
religion and the Sumerian law
The City of Akkad and the First Empire
• Famous king names Sargon the Great
– Wanted LOTS of power
• By 2350 B.C.E, Sargon ruled all the Akkadian
cities
– Went on to control all the cities of Sumer
– By doing this he set up the world’s first empire
– His empire lasted for about 200 years
Check for Understanding
• What was Akkad?
• Describe who King Sargon was.
The City of Babylon: A New Empire
2000 B.C.E, Mesopotamia was invaded by
the Amorites
• C.
– Built village on Euphrates river called Babylon
• Great ruler of Babylon was Hammurabi
– Power hungry
– By 1790, conquered other city-states and formed
the Babylonian Empire
The City of Babylon: A New Empire
• Hammurabi’s greatest contribution was the
Code of Hammurabi
– Single set of laws for every person in his empire
• Code of Hammurabi contains over 280 laws
• http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worl
dhistory/sumerians/