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Learning Center #1: Mesopotamia
The Sumerians increased the value of their land by the construction of irrigation systems to spread out
the floodwaters. Irrigation projects required planning and cooperation. More advanced agricultural
method and the construction of city buildings were made possible by the discovery of the wheel and
bronze tools about 4000 BC. As more food was available, population increased, giving rise to the first
cities around 3500 BC. The characteristic architectural form of the Sumerians was the ziggurat, a
multi-tiered temple whose height was designed to bring glory to the gods and to its builders.
The most significant contribution of the Sumerians was their system of writing, called cuneiform,
which was formed by pressing a wedge-shaped stylus (pen) into wet clay. Necessary for a people
whose increasing trade required the keeping of accurate records, cuneiform consisted of pictographs to
represent ideas, then later, sounds. Other major contributions were a lunar calendar and the
development of principles of geometry and trigonometry. A number system based on 60 gave the
world the time measurements of 60 seconds to a minute and 60 minutes per hour. Later Mesopotamian
societies would expand the sixty-based number system to measure the circumference of a circle as 360
degrees.
Sumerian religion was polytheistic, with many gods who were feared for their control over nature.
Much of what we know about Sumerian religion comes from accounts in the Sumerian Epic of
Gilgamesh, the first epic poem in world literature. In addition to describing the relationship between
the Sumerians and their gods, it contains accounts of the creation of man and a Great Flood which were
strikingly similar to those found in the Judeo-Christian Book of Genesis.
Sumerian society was made up of several classes, including kings, priests, nobles, and government
officials in the upper part; traders, artisans, and farmers in the middle; and slaves in the lowest part.
Slaves were usually prisoners of war or persons sold into slavery by those unable to pay their debts.
Women could participate in business under their own name, but usually under male supervision.
Trade, both local and long-distance, became an essential part of the Sumerian economy. Sumerians
traded glass and pottery with the Persian Gulf, Mediterranean, and Indus River Valley.
About 2300 BC, the Sumerian city-states were united by a Semitic invader known as Sargon the
Great. The Akkadian empire (named after its capital Akkad) endured less than 100 years but served to
spread Sumerian culture throughout the Fertile Crescent. After the decline of the Akkadian empire, a
number of other peoples such as the Babylonians, Hittites, Assyrians, and Chaldeans overran the fertile
unprotected land of the ancient Sumerians.
Of particular significance were the Babylonians, whose emperor, Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), wrote
down (codified) the laws of Mesopotamia, basing them in part on earlier Sumerian codes. The Code of
Hammurabi dealt with issues of family, business, and criminal law. A key characteristic of the code
was its concept of retaliatory punishment- “an eye for an eye.” The wealthy, however could satisfy the
law by paying a fine as punishment. Women were also subjected to more severe punishments than men
for the same code violations. Hammurabi's Code had a lasting impact because it started the idea that
governments had a responsibility to control society.