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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