Chapter 3 Mesopotatmia
Study Guide
v The earliest known civilizations developed along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
v Today, the land between the two rivers is part of Iraq.
v In ancient times, that area was called Mesopotamia, the land between two rivers.
v This area has also been called the “the cradle of civilization”
Section 1: The Rise of Sumer
v Sumerian civilization is the earliest known on Earth started around 3500BC. Area was called Sumer.
v Levees: raised areas of soil used to help keep back the flood waters
v Chief crop of Sumerians: barley. (They also grew wheat, sesame, flax, fruit trees, date palms and vegetables)
v A greatest Sumerian city: Ur.
v
City- States
1. Each Sumerian city- state was made up of a city and the farmland around it. They had a wall made of sun-dried brick that surrounded the city. The wall had a bronze gate (keep out lions and bandits).
2. Artisans, skilled workers, and Shopkeepers were members of the middle-class.
3. Each state had its own god and government.
Religious and Family Life
1. At the center of each Sumerian City, there was a temple called a ziggurat. Ziggurat means “mountain of god” or “hill of heaven”. (looked like step-pyramids)
2. There were more than 3000 Sumerian gods.
3. Cuneiform was the Sumerian system of writing made up of hundreds of wedge-shaped markings.
v A scribe, or writer, might work for the temple, the palace, the government, the army, a merchant, or in his own business.
Priests and Kings
v One of the most famous Sumerian priest-kings was Gilgamesh. He was known as a hero figure. Part of the story about Gilgamesh tells about a great flood that covered the whole world.
SUMERIAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Levees to control flooding, systems of irrigation canals, construction of brick cities, organization of city-states, development of a writing system, creation of literature such as the story of Gilgamesh.
Section 2 Later Mesopotamian Empire
Sargon I
v Sargon I built the world’s first empire (group of states under one ruler) by conquering city-states and uniting them.
v Babylonians borrowed from the culture of other people by adopting the language of city-states and worshiping some of the same gods
Hammurabi of Babylon
v Culture: way of life
v Reform: improvement
v Hammurabi unified the Babylonian Empire by setting up a single code of law and by raising the god of Babylon above all others
v Hammurabi is best known for his reform of law
Section 3 Contributions
1. The Sumerians developed the first known civilization in the world
2. Mesopotamia has been called “the cradle of civilization”
3. The oldest known written records are Sumerian
4. Sumerians were the first people to write down their laws
5. Cuneiform, Sumerian writing, became the model for other people’s writing
6. Sumerian inventions: the wheel, the plow, the sailboat, a 12 month calendar, a number system based on 60, a clock
7. The Sumerians controlled their environment by using levees to control the rivers.