Download city-state.

Name: _____________________________
Binder Number: _____
Sumerian City-States
Main Idea: Farming communities continued to grow in size until they became a city-state.
Sumer had many different city-states, but they all shared a common culture. These citystates also had similar layouts, buildings, and professions.
The Formation of City-States
Sumerian cities were isolated from each other by geography. Beyond the areas of
settlement lay many different barriers like deserts and mudflats. This terrain made travel
and communication difficult. Due to this each Sumerian city and the land around it
became a separate city-state.
Define: City-state
Sumerian city-states often
went to war with one another.
They fought to gain glory and
to control more territory. For
protection, each city-state
surrounded itself with a city
wall. Since Mesopotamia did
not have a wealth of natural
resources, Sumerians used
dried river mud as their main
building material. They
mixed the mud with crushed
reeds, formed bricks, and left
them to dry in the sun. The
hard waterproof bricks were
used for walls, as well as
home, temples, and other
buildings.
The
Sumerian
city-states of
Southern
Mesopotamia
.
Sumer’s first city-states and the land surrounding them were independent of each other and
they all had their own ruler. Although these cities shared the same culture, they developed
their own governments, each with their own rulers. A city-state functioned much like an
independent country does today. Even though these city-states may be different, they all had
some common items like a city wall and a ziggurat in the middle.
Major City-States
Define: City Wall
1.
2.
3.
4.
Building Materials
Mesopotamia had little stone or wood so people learned to use river mud to make things.
They used mud to make bricks for buildings, for making pottery for storing and serving
food, and for clay tablets for writing on.
A
reconstruction
of the ancient
city wall of
Kish. This city
wall was made
out of mud
bricks. How
strong does it
look?
Case Study: Ur
Ur, one of the earliest cities in Sumer, stood on the banks of the Euphrates River in what is now Southern
Iraq. Some 30,000 people once lived in this ancient city. People in Ur worked many different jobs. Priests
and kings wielded great power. Wealthy merchants profited from foreign trade. Artists and artisans created
extraordinary works such as jewelry, musical instruments, and gold helmets and daggers.
An Agricultural Community
Imagine a time nearly 5,000 years ago. Outside the mud brick city wall surrounding Ur, domesticated oxen
pulled plows to cultivate the fields. People are working barefoot in the canals and reservoirs that help water
the farmlands. With stone hoes, the workers widen the canals. The canals carry water into their fields from
the reservoirs a mile away. The people of Ur have developed this irrigation system to provide Ur with food
surpluses, which keep the economy thriving. The government officials who plan and direct the upkeep of the
irrigation systems make sure the system runs smoothly
A Glimpse Into City Life
A broad dirt road leads from the fields up to the city’s wall. Inside the city gate, the city dwellers go about
their daily lives. Most people live in small, windowless, one-story, boxlike houses packed tightly together
along the street. However, a few wealthy noble families live in two-story houses with an inner courtyard.
Down another street, accomplished artisans work full-time in their shops. A metalworker makes bronze by
carefully mixing molten copper with just the right quantity of another metal called tin. Later he will hammer
the bronze to make sharp spears—weapons to help Ur’s well-organized army defend the city. As a potter
spins his potter’s wheel, he expertly shapes the moist clay into a large bowl. These artisans and other craft
workers produce trade goods that help the city of Ur prosper
Ur’s Thriving Trade
The narrow streets open out into a broad avenue where merchants squat under the awnings and trade
farmers’ crops and artisans’ crafts. This is the city’s bazaar, or market place. People do not use coins to
make purchases because money has not been invented yet. However, merchants and their customers
know roughly how many pots of grain a farmer must give to buy a jug of wine. This way of trading goods
and services without money is called barter. More complicated trades require the service of a scribe. He
carefully forms cuneiform signs on a clay tablet. The signs show how much barley one farmer owes a
merchant for a donkey.
The Temple: Center of City Life
Farther down the main avenue stands Ur’s tallest and most important building—the ziggurat.
The ziggurat, which means “mountain of god,” was a pyramid-shaped monument with a
temple on top of it. On the exterior of the ziggurat, a flight of 100 mud brick stairs leads to
the top. At the peak, priests conduct rituals to worship the city god who looms over Ur. The
Sumerians were polytheistic; they worshiped many different gods. Each city-state had its
own patron god that they citizens worshiped. Ur was the earthly home of the moon god,
Nanna. Every day, priests with shaved heads climb up to the top of the ziggurat. They often
drag a sheep or a goat for a sacrifice. The temple also houses storage areas for grains,
woven fabrics, and gems—offerings to the city’s gods.
Temple
This is how the ancient ziggurat of Ur would have once looked. However,
over thousands of years, the original ziggurat no longer stands. The
ziggurat of Ur has since been reconstructed by the Iraqi Government and
can be visited by tourists.
Name: ________________________
Daily life in Mesopotamia
http://www.sophia.org/tutorials/mesopotamia-from-nomads-tofarmers
New Beginnings, New Ideas
1. What were her ancestors’ two biggest problems?
2. What helps Sumerians plant crops?
3. The Sumerians invented writing. What was it called?
4. What was perhaps the best invention from Sumer?
My City-State
5. Describe a ziggurat. Where does a God live?
6. What are two ways someone can become a slave?
7. Besides the King and his family, who are the people with the highest position?
Priests and Kings
8. How many great Gods are there? Why do you think they are all named after
natural elements?
9. Where do the kings and priests work?
10. What are some things people pay taxes on?
11. Where does the tax money go to?
Directions: Read “Case Study: Ur.” After you have completed the reading, complete the graphic organizer by providing
evidence that each feature of a civilization existed in Ur. To receive credit for this assignment, you must provide clear,
and fully explained answers. No partial credit will be awarded for this assignment.
Feature of a Civilization
A Stable Food Supply
Evidence of this in Ur