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Mesopotamia
The Heart of Civilization
Where was Mesopotamia?
Mesopotamia is Greek for land between the rivers. It
was located between the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers in present day Iraq, and at the center of
an Area known as the FERTILE
CRESCENT.
People began to form early settlements in this
region around 4500 BCE (before common era.)
Why did civilization begin in the
Fertile Crescent?
Civilization began in the Fertile Crescent for the same
reasons that we observe later in the course. Civilization
arises where it is easier or more efficient to live.
As mankind moved from the hunter gatherer, to the
stable farmer, who raised crops and domesticated
animals, the need for a certain set environmental
characteristics was needed.
ALL civilizations that arose are based on the need for 2
things:
A.) Proximity to Water – Rivers Primarily
B.) Fertile Soil
What do Rivers Do?
Rivers provided early civilizations with:
A.) Water to Drink & Bathe In
B.) Irrigation source for Agriculture
C.) Transportation
D.) Fertilization of the soil
Without the knowledge on how to develop the means to fertilize
the soil, early civilizations relied on annual flooding to bring in
silt (new soil) every spring. This silt renewed the soil every year
and therefore ensured that a surplus of crops could be grown
annually. This surplus resulted in a LARGE jump in population
which in turn resulted in the formation of cities.
The Earliest Civilizations were…
Three civilizations arose in Mesopotamia
beginning around 4500 BCE, making them the
Oldest Civilizations in World History. The three
are:
A.) Sumerians
B.) Akkadians
C.) Assyrians
We will begin examining the oldest of the three –
the Sumerians.
The Sumerians
The Sumerians invented the worlds first cities.
The first city in the world was called Ur, and was located
along the Euphrates river in present day Iraq. The
Sumerians also founded other cities including Uruk and
Erido. Both had populations in the thousands. ALL
Sumerian cities were organized into a system that they
invented known as a “city state” or an area of land
around a city, which is also controlled by that city. The
individual city has its own government, laws, army and
religion. Most city states were ruled by Kings and
Priests.
Sumerian City State Physical
Organization
Duties of a Sumerian King
Sumerian Kings were responsible for:
A.) Leading and Training the Armies
The king lead the army into battle; constructed the
battle plans; planned the training schedule for the army.
B.) Supervised Construction of Public Works
A king was responsible for ensuring that public works
such as irrigation canals, city water supplies, storage
facilities were constructed correctly and were properly
maintained.
Sumerian Social Structure
Sumerian Social Structure Cont…
Kings ruled the Sumerian city states, but they shared a measureable
amount of power with the Priests of the city.
Kings were believed to need the support of the gods, so it was
important for a King to stay closely tied with the priests. Kings
only could rule with the support of the gods according to the
Sumerians
Priests needed to share power with the Kings of the Sumerian city
states because the King controlled the Army and ultimately was
the ONLY protection a priest could depend on in a time when
short wars were common.
Farmers and crafts people made up the highest percentage of the
social structure in the Ancient Sumerian city states.
Slaves formed the bottom social group but were also the smallest
grouping.
Ziggurat’s
Sumerian Economics:
Sumerian Economics was based chiefly on
Agriculture. Later trading and industry came to
be important.
The Sumerians were the first people on earth
to make Bronze Artifacts in large numbers. The
Sumerian provided the tools, weapons and
household items such as eating utensils (spoons
and knives) to the other inhabitants of
Mesopotamia.
Sumerian Economics:
Sumerians imported: Copper, Tin and Timber
Sumerians exported: dried fish, wheat, barley, and
metal tools and weapons.
The Akkadians
To the North of the Sumerians lived a Semitic
speaking people known as the Akkadians.
Semitic is a language family that includes many
languages including but not limited to the
following which are still spoken today: Hebrew,
Arabic, Hindi, and Greek.
The Akkadians
The reason these languages are ALL Semitic
languages is because they ALL come from an
older common origin… i.e. the areas known as
the Fertile Crescent and Mesopotamia.
Around 2340 BC – the Akkadian King Sargon
overran most of the area controlled by the
Sumerian city states and formed the worlds first
empire.
Order from Chaos
To Maintain ORDER… we require….
LAW
The first Law on Planet Earth in ANY civilization was the Code of Hammurabi, and was
made possible by the Sumerian invention of Cuneiform or wedged shaped writing.
See page 44 in the resource textbook