Chapter 4

Mesopotamia

The First Civilizations

• The first civilizations

developed in the river valleys

of Mesopotamia, Egypt,

India, and China.

• The need for water greatly

influenced where people

settled.

The Land Between the Rivers

• Mesopotamia means “the

land between the rivers” in

Greek.

• The civilization began

between the Tigris and the

Euphrates rivers.

The Fertile Crescent

• Mesopotamia is located inside what is known as the Fertile Crescent, which includes parts of the modern countries of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.

• Why do you think this area was called the fertile crescent?

Early Valley Dwellers

• Historians believe the first people to settle in Mesopotamia around 7000 B.C. were hunters and herders.

• By 4000 B.C. some of these settlers moved to the plains of the Tigris-Euphrates valley and built farming villages along the two rivers.

• Think Agricultural Revolution!!!

Taming the Rivers

• Farmers depended on water

from rivers to water their

crops.

• In the summer there was little

rain and the rivers became

very low. Because of this,

farmers did not have enough

water for their crops.

Taming the Rivers

• In the spring, rain and melting

snow from the northern

mountains caused these rivers to

overflow. At times, violent floods

swept away crops, and homes.

• BUT these floods could also be

helpful. Floodwaters left behind

silt, or small particles of soil, which

were good for farming.

Irrigation is Developed

• People in Mesopotamia

learned to build dams and dig

canals to allow the water

source into their fields. This

method of watering crops is

called irrigations.

Irrigation Leads to Surplus

• Irrigation allowed farmers to

grow a surplus of food.

• What are the effects that a

surplus of food would have

had on one of these ancient

communities?

Surplus brings change

• Surplus of food meant not all men

were needed to work at farming,

allowing them to pick up other

trades and crafts.

• As artisans made more goods,

people’s lives changed. People

began to live together in areas that

favored trade and several cities

developed in Sumer, a region of

Southern Mesopotamia.

Sumer

• People of Sumer were known as Sumerians (Cradle of Civilization).

• Sumerians built the first cities in Southwest Asia, which became centers of civilization and controlled the lower part of the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley.

City-States

• Mudflats and patches of

scorching deserts surrounded

Sumer’s cities.

• Because of this natural

isolation from one another,

these cities became

independent, and formed

their own governments.

City States

• In gaining political and economic control over the individual cities and the lands around them, city-states were formed.

• Archaeologists believe each city-state was protected by high walls built from mud from the rivers as their main building material.

• Often city-states went to war with one another over resources and political borders, but in times of peace, they traded with one another and formed alliances.

Gods, Priests, and Kings

• Sumerian people worshipped

many Gods, a practice known

as polytheism.

• They believed different gods

guided various aspects of their

lives, and honored the

specific god they thought

would help with that activity.

Ziggurats

• To honor their gods,

Sumerians built large

temples called ziggurats

in their city-states.

• In the early days, the priests

of the ziggurat ruled the city

states.

• Later, Sumerian kings

claimed they received the

power to rule from the gods.

• The rule of the king was

hereditary, meaning after he

died, his son would take over.

Priests and Kings

Social Groups

• Sumerian people were divided into social classes from the time they were born.

• Top: Kings, priests, government officials

• Middle: Merchants, farmers, fishermen, artisans

• Low: Enslaved people

Roles of Men and Women

Men:

• Head of the household

• Boys attended school

• Trained for specific jobs

Women:

• Ran household

• Had few civil rights

Farmers and Traders

• The major crops in Sumer were wheat, barley, and dates.

• Dams and waterways ran through the farmland to water crops.

• Sumerians traded for metal and timber.

• Trade routes linking Sumer to places such as Turkey, India, and Egypt.

Writing

• Earliest known system of writing in

the world was developed.

• This system was called cuneiform.

• Cuneiform was written on clay.

• Characters represented names,

numbers, and objects.

Writing

• Few people learned to write

cuneiform – mostly boys from

wealthy families.

• Scribes , or official record keepers,

wrote documents recording

important aspects of everyday life.

• Some were judges or government

officials.

Technology

• Sumerians were the first people to use the wheel.

• Carts were pulled by donkeys.

• The chariot was used in warfare.

Technology

• For river travel, Sumerians

invented the sailboat.

The wooden plow , potters wheel, and bronze (combining of

copper and tin) were other technological advancements.

Astronomy and Mathematics

• 60 minute hour, 60 second minute, and

360 degree circle.

• 12 month calendar based on the cycles of

the moon.

• The planting season was based on the

positions of the stars.

Chapter 4.2 Mesopotamia

The First Empires

As the strength of Sumer faded, powerful kingdoms arose in Northern Mesopotamia and built empires.

An empire is a group of lands controlled by one ruler.

Who was Sargon?The kingdom of Akkad developed in Northern Mesopotamia and was ruled by Sargon.

Sargon conquered the remaining Sumerian cities. In doing so, he built the world’s first empire.

Eventually, his empire would extend to include all people of Mesopotamia.

Who was Hammurabi?

West of Mesopotamia, was a city called Babylon.

Their king, Hammurabi, began conquering the lands north and south, creating the Babylonian Empire.

Hammurabi’s Code

Hammurabi was best known for creating a set of laws for his empire.

These laws dealt with crime and established “an eye for an eye” system of punishment.

The laws also protected the less powerful, for example it protected wives from their abusive husbands.

The Assyrian Empire

Assyria was an empire which arose about 1,000 years after the empire of Hammurabi and extended into four present day countries: Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq.

The Assyrian Empire

The Assyrians built a large and powerful military to defend their territory.

The army was made of infantry (foot soldiers), cavalry (horse soldiers) and charioteers.Weapons consisted of slingshots, bows and arrows, swords, and spears. The Assyrians robbed people, set crops on fire, and took tributes or forced payments from conquered people. One of the keys to the success of the Assyrian army was iron weapons. The Hittites, who were located to the North of the Assyrian Empire, mastered the production of iron and shared this technology with the Assyrians.

Kings and Government

Assyrian Kings divided their empire into provinces, or political districts.

Roads were built to connect each province and the king chose officials to collect taxesand carry out laws in each province.

Life in AssyriaLifestyles were built based on what they learned from Mesopotamian people.

They had law codes with harsh punishments and theirwritings were based on Babylonian writing.

They worshipped many of the same gods.

Assyrians wrote and collected stories and built one of the worlds first libraries.

Farming and trade were both very important. They brought in wood and metal from war away to supply their empire with building materials.

The Chaldean Empire

In about 650 B.C., fighting broke out to determine who would be the next Assyrian ruler.While Assyria was in turmoil, the Chaldean’s took power with the help of the Medes.

The New Empire

About 1000 B.C., the Chaldeans moved to Southern Mesopotamia and were immediately conquered by the Assyrians. The Chaldeans hated their new rulers and never fully submitted to the Assyrian Empire.

Around 627 B.C. another group who wanted to break free from Assyrian rule, the Medes, joined the Chaldeans. In 612 B.C., together they burned the Assyrian capital. The Assyrian empire quickly crumbled.

Most of the Chaldeans were descendants of the Babylonians.The city of Babylon was chosen to serve as their capital, and because of this, the Chaldean Empire is sometimes called the New Babylonian Empire.

New Babylonian Empire/Chaldeans

King Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldeans rebuilt Babylon making it the largest and richest city in the world. Babylon featured:• Grand Palaces and temples, • A 300-foot ziggurat with a gleaming gold

roof. • Gardens built like huge steps made up the

Hanging Gardens, considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

• Many new canals, making the land more fertile.

• To pay for all these building projects, and to maintain his army, Nebuchadnezzar had to collect very high taxes.

• Merchants came to the city in caravans to buy Babylonian goods: pottery, cloth, baskets, and jewelry. Trade made Babylon wealthy.

• Advancements under the Chaldeans included the invention of the sundial to tell time, and being the first civilization to follow the seven-day week.

Fall of the Empire

After Nebuchadnezzar died, a series of weak kings ruled the empire.

Poor harvests and slow trade further weakened the empire.

In 539 B.C. The Persians took advantage and captured Babylon and made Mesopotamia part of their empire while allowing the Chaldeans to maintain their culture.