Download Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia
World History Core
Geography/Interaction with
Environment
 LOCATION
 Southwest Asia
 Iraq and Syria
 Dry, desert climate
Geography/Interaction with
Environment
 Fertile Crescent
 Curve shaped area of rich soil
Geography/Interaction with
Environment
 Mesopotamia
 Greek translated to “Land between the
rivers”
Geography/Interaction with
Environment
 Tigris and Euphrates River
 Flow southeast to Persian Gulf
 Flood annually, leaving rich soil
Geography/Interaction with
Environment
Challenges
Solutions
Unpredictable flooding Dug irrigation ditches
No rain
No natural boundaries Built mud brick walls
around cities
Scarce natural
resources
Traded grain for raw
materials
Power and Authority
 Sumerian City-States
 1st settled in 3300 BC
 City-state is a city and its surrounding
lands
Power and Authority
 Ziggurat
 Temple at the center of each city-state
Power and Authority
 Priest were Rulers
 Priests acted as go betweens for the
people and the Gods
 Priests demanded crops as a form of
taxation for their services
 People believed that the Gods were
responsible for all things in their lives
(crops, rich soil, rain, etc.)
Power and Authority
 Warriors become King
 In time of crisis Priests were not the
rulers
 A strong leader was needed in time of
crisis (ex. War)
 Wars were for extended periods of time
 Warriors would continue to rule
 Dynasty
 Series of rulers from a single family
(pass on to sons)
Power and Authority
 Social Classes:
Priest
King
Landholders
Wealthy Merchants
Farmers and Shopkeepers
2.
Slaves
1. Foreigners captured
Children sold to pay parental debt
Power and Authority
 Women’s Rights
 Most of the same as men
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Priest
Farmers
Artisans
Merchants
Religious and Ethical Systems
 Polytheistic
 Belief in more than one God
 Sumerians feared the power of their
Gods
 Blamed natural disasters, poor crops,
and illness on a persons social actions
 Enlil
 God of storms and air
Religious and Ethical Systems
 Afterlife
 Souls of dead went to “Land of No
Return”
 A dark, gloomy place
Religious and Ethical Systems
 Epic of Gilgamesh
 Long heroic poem
 Gives us an idea about Sumerian life
 See handout….
Cultural
Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
 Trading Surplus
 Allowed Sumerians to increase long distance
trade and develop new city-states
 Cultural Diffusion
 When a new idea or product spreads from one
cultural to another
 Trading surplus allowed for cultural
diffusion
Cultural
Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
 Empire
 Bringing together of several nations
under one ruler
Cultural
Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
 Sargon
 Created the 1st empire (Akkad)
 Akkadian Empire
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2350BC
Helped spread Sumerian idea
Lasted 200 years
Internal conflicts will lead to its future
breakdown
Cultural
Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
 Babylonian Empire
 Amorites: nomadic warriors
 Established empire along the Euphrates
River
 2000 BC
 Hammurabi
 Ruled during the peak of the B.E. from
1792 BC – 1750 BC
Cultural
Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
 Codified Law (Hammurabi’s Code)
 Single, uniform code of laws
 Unified a diverse empire
 Engraved on stone and place in various
cities around the empire
 282 laws
 Community, family relations, business, and
crime
 Principle of RETALIATION
 Set different punishments for rich, poor, and
women
Cultural
Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
 Hammurabi’s Code
 See handout
Science and Technology
 Arithmetic and Geometry
 Needed to build walls, plan irrigation,
and survey fields
 Number system based on 60
 Modern examples:
 60 sec. = 1 min.
 360*circle
Science and Technology
 Architecture
 Arches, columns, ramps, and pyramids
 Example: Ziggurat
Science and Technology
 Cuneiform
 Sumerian writing system on clay tablets