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Mesopotamia Vocabulary
Mesopotamia- land between two rivers; land where hunters-gatherers first settled
Sumer-first city-state to develop a civilization in Mesopotamia
Sargon-built a Akkad into a military power; first ruler to have an army; established the world’s
first empire
Tigris and Euphrates River-physical features of Mesopotamia;
Silt-a mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks; made it ideal for farming in the Fertile Crescent
Fertile Crescent-large arc of rich, fertile soil farmland
Irrigation-a way of supplying water to an area of land
Canals-man-made waterways
Food surplus-more than needed
Division of labor-specialized jobs
City state-consist of a central city and all the countryside around it
Empire-land with different territories and peoples under a single rule
Polytheism-the worship of many gods
Priests-people who performed or led religious
Social hierarchy-the division of society by rank or class
Hammurabi’s code-a set of 282 laws governing daily life in Babylon; the earliest known
collection of written laws
Sumerian Achievements
Cuneiform
pictographs
Scribe
Epics
Architecture
Ziggurat
The Beginnings of Civilization
Advantages of a Settled Life
Farming and raising animals is much harder than hunting/gathering, but had
greater rewards
Producing food allowed people to have a steady supply of food year round; this
allowed people to stay in one place and creation of specialized jobs
People often had a food surplus (food could be stored and used at another time)
Population Growth
Surplus of food meant that people could have larger families which led
to large population growth
Growth of towns and cities
-Because of food surplus, not everyone had to work as a farmer
- Some could learn a different specialty (artisans)
- Examples: making jewelry, pottery, cloth, tools, weapons, etc.
- Not all farm settlements grew into cities
-Cities could develop where rich soil produced large surpluses of food.
There also had to be enough resources for water and shelter nearby.
Formation of Governments
As populations grew, so did the need for order
People developed government to create order and settle disputes
 Hammurabi’s Code
First Civilizations
A society that has cities, a central government run by official leaders, and workers
who specialize is various specific jobs.
These jobs lead to social classes (government officials, artisans, merchants, common
worker) (Poor, Middle, and Rich)
Develop a writing system, architecture, art, religion, etc.
Trade
-Development of the wheel and axle allowed trade between different cities.
-Use of ships to move goods over water.
-Spread of new ideas
Check for Understanding
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5.
What made civilization possible in Mesopotamia?
When and how were farming settlements established in Mesopotamia?
Why did the Mesopotamians create irrigation systems?
What effects did irrigation have on farming settlements?
In what ways did division of labor contribute to the growth of the Mesopotamia
civilization?
6. Why did the world’s first civilizations all develop in river valleys?
7. Where and how did most Sumerians live?
8. What were city-states, and how did they get along with each other?
9. How was Sargon able to build the first empire?
10. Why did priests gain high status in Sumer?
11. Who made up the middle class of Sumer?
12. How did Sumerians write?
13. What was one of the most important developments of Sumer?
14. In Hammurabi’s code, an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, and a life for a life meant
what?
15. Why was it important that Hammurabi had his code posted outside of a temple?
16. The goal of Hammurabi’s law was to provide what?