Transcript Mesopotamia PPT

Mesopotamia
The First River
Valley Civilization
4 River Civilizations
Mesopotamia (3500 BC- 1600 BC)
 Mesopotamia = “Land between two rivers”
 Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
 Flooding = fertile soil
 Sumerians arrived and begin irrigation
1A 2A 16AB
16ABC
The Fertile Crescent
16ABC
Agriculture
 Irrigation= water diverted to the land
 Farming and settlement flourished
 Food supply increased
 allowed for activates other than farming
 Potters, weavers, metal workers, warriors, priests
1A
Religion
 Polytheistic = believing in many gods
 2,000 gods
 World’s oldest faiths
 Sumerian rulers = priests
 Theocracy = society governed by religious leaders
2AB
Religion
 Ziggurats = stepped-pyramid temple
 Temple to please the gods
 Center of each city
2AB
16ABC
Achievements
 Sumerians
 the wheel and sailboat
 Tools and weapons of copper and bronze
 12-month calendar
2AB 16B 27A
Achievements
 Cuneiform = world’s earliest writing system
 Symbol writing on clay tablets
 The elite could read and write in cuneiform
 Priests and scribes
2B 16B 27A
Sumerian Society Pyramid
Kings and Priests
Wealthy merchants
Ordinary Sumerian people
Slaves
King Hammurabi 1792-1750 BC
 Babylonian Empire reaches its peak
 number system based on “60”
 Code of Hammurabi = a written, uniform code
of law
 Ensure justice and protect the weak
 stable and predictable
 Judiciary system as part of govt
1A 2A 20B