Download The Cradle of Civilization

Unit 2: Mesopotamia
The Cradle of Civilization
Step 1 Excite
History is His Story
What state do you live in? Have you ever talked to someone from another state or city and
compared differences? What about someone from another country? Do you know where New
York City and Washington, D.C. are located? Do you know the major Interstate nearest your
home?
Set a timer for ten minutes and role play. Someone in your family should pretend they are
from another country (they happen to speak English but they have never been to America).
Act as if you are describing the area you in which you live to that person. Limit your description to a ten-square-mile area from your home. Do not mention your state or the United
States. When your time is up, switch roles and change sides.
How well could you explain so that the other person understood America based on your
description? What about the governmental system? the religions? the customs? the geography? To truly understand a person, you need to look at the big picture.
You are about to study the very first civilizations of the world. The regions of Mesopotamia,
Egypt (the Nile Valley), and the Indus Valley are the three main areas for studying how people of the world first came together to create civilizations and empires. The history curricula
of American public schools focuses on how the civilizations began and the important contributions made by the Mesopotamians. This unit will include the beginnings of civilizations
and contributions, but with a focus on Bible location and events.
Pay close attention to the maps and time line in this unit. These visual graphs will help you
understand the chronology of Bible events and the geographical locations within the rise of
the ancient civilizations. You’ll get a grasp of the ancient Near East cultures, learning what
they tell us of the days in which Bible stories were written and of the events and conditions
which they relate or reflect. By the time you finish this unit , you will have completed several
maps, and you should be able to draw a map of the Fertile Crescent area, as well as understand the major events in this time period without any references.
Step 2 Examine
Mesopotamia is called the Cradle of Civilization. “Mesopotamia,” “the country between the
two rivers,” is the name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the region between the
Euphrates and the Tigris rivers (Genesis 24:10).
Resources recommended in dseveral lessons, sseveral units, hother HOW Units. k Key Resource (see beginning of unit or page 32).
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Ancient History: Adam to Messiah
Ancient Near East
Mesopotamia is a large part of the Fertile Crescent, a crescent-shaped area stretching from
the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf, through the Tigris and Euphrates valley. It
includes all of Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and western Iran. It is
called the “Fertile Crescent” because it is shaped like a crescent moon and because of the
rich, fertile soil found in the region.
The Fertile Crescent gave birth to, and sustained, many great civilizations, including those of
the Assyrian, Sumerians, Canaanites, Philistines, Phoenicians/Carthaginians, Hyksos,
Akkadians, Hittites, Hurrians, Mitanni, Kassites, Aramaeans, Amorites, Seleucids,
Nabateans, Lakhmids, Ghassanids, Ummayyads, and Abbasids. Lagash, Ur, Eredu, and Uruk
were the main cities of Sumer. Kish and Babylon were the major cities of Babylonia. The city
of Ur was the capital of the Mesopotamian civilization.
The fertile Mesopotamian river valleys and plains were desirable for settlement, but this was
the very thing that made Mesopotamia susceptible to attack. The richness of this area
attracted neighboring peoples who were ready and willing to become the occupants of this
area. But first they had to take it from those already living there. The early Mesopotamian
states needed self-defense as well as irrigation; this led them to build walled settlements for
protection and canals for irrigation.
Mesopotamia was the birthplace of the varied civilizations that developed writing, schools,
libraries, and written law codes. The Sumerians, Akkadians, Chaldeans, Hittites,
Babylonians, Israelites, Phoenicians, Lydians, Assyrian, and Persians established the foundaUnderlined text refers to Internet link at http://Homeschool-Books.com
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Unit 2: Mesopotamia
tions for future civilizations. Their contributions included brick cities, the wheel, glass, the
sail, coinage, calendars, bronze, iron, monotheism, epic poetry, mathematics, farming, and
irrigation.
Each Mesopotamian city-state was like a separate country. The ancient names of its cities
continue in the world today: Ur of the Chaldees, Babylon, and Nineveh. The Sumerians first
lived in southern Mesopotamia and Uruk (biblical Erech). The Babylonians came after them,
and for a time Babylon was the center of the world. For the Assyrians, Ashur was their most
ancient capital, Nineveh their royal residence, and Harran their final seat of royalty.
These civilizations that developed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are now Iraq and
Kuwait. The names of countries and cities change with the empires that move in and out, but
the names of the rivers stay the same. In the middle of Iraq lie the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's
Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world).
Mesopotamia had four dominant forces at different times throughout its history: the
Sumerians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and the Persians. Each influenced the Greek and
Roman civilizations that followed them.
Browse through library books and Web sites to find maps of this time period in the ancient
Near East. As you go through the books and sites, take notes of things you would like to
learn about. Use any resource from the “Mesopotamia Resources” section, or an encyclopedia, non-fiction book, historical novel, or the Internet.
Books
The Victor Journey through the Bible kh
Read: Skim stories and view maps on pages 18-54.
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BC
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Encyclopedia of the Bible (Nelson’s Illustrated) k h
Skim Part 2 “People and Empires” (50-67).
Exploring Ancient Cities of the Bible h
Read: “Mesopotamia: Home of the Empires” (18-20).
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Ancient History: Adam to Messiah
First Civilizations (Cultural Atlas for Young People) d
Read: “Introduction” (4-5); “Table of Dates” (6-7). Browse through “Part
2: Kingdoms and Empires” (52-91).
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Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent d
Read: “Introduction” (6-8); “From Hunters to Farmers” (9-15) (ignore dates);
“From Villages to Empires” (15-25).
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Internet Sources
Ancient Mesopotamia
A seventh-grade World History/World Geography unit designed
to be used by both students and teachers.
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The Fertile Crescent - Cradle of Nine Civilizations
An overview of the Fertile Crescent by high-school teacher Larry
Larsen. Includes quizzes and information on the following topics: geography,
Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Hittites, Phoenicians, Hebrews, Assyrian,
Chaldeans, and Persians.
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Introduction to Mesopotamia
Published for the British History National Curriculum, this site
was published to be a resource for primary-school educators who are teaching a
unit on ancient Mesopotamia. Includes time line, maps, facts, and more.
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Learning Family Studies - Ancient Mesopotamia
The Learning Family founders, the Reisers, share their field trip
adventures in Mesopotamia.
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Odyssey Online: The Near East
From Emory University, this award-winning educational Web site
aimed at middle-school students explores ancient Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek,
and Roman cultures. Includes puzzles, games, and worksheets.
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Step 3 Expand
Activity: Make a Map (Do not skip this activity.)
Make a map of the ancient Near East. Trace the one in this unit or print
one from our Web site: http://Heartofwisdom.com/maps.htm. You will need several
copies of this map for the remaining lessons, as you’ll be adding labels and coloring sections to indicate various civilizations.
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Unit 2: Mesopotamia
The Fertile Crescent
Memorize the bodies of water and color them blue (use colored pencils so you can
view the text through the shading): Tigris River, Euphrates River, Mediterranean
Sea, Sea of Galilee, Jordan River, Dead Sea, Nile River, Red Sea, and the Persian
Gulf. Memorize and mark each area of land: Mesopotamia, Canaan, Persia, Egypt,
Babylon, Assyria, and the city of Ur.
For this lesson you will review the last unit, Adam to Abraham. Place symbols
showing the the approximate locations (some of the exact locations are not known)
of: the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:10-14), the Tower of Babel (Gen. 2:11-14), where
the ark landed (Gen. 8:4), and Abraham’s journeys from Ur to Canaan and into
Egypt, then back to Canaan.
As you work through the Civilization lessons you will need a map for each lesson.
You will color or shade the empires that ruled Canaan and the surrounding areas.
Step 4 Excel
Share your map with a friend or family member. Point out the locations of the major events
you learned about in the last unit. Name all the bodies of water on your map. Correct written
work to demonstrate correct punctuation and spelling, and effective use of grammar. Add
corrected written work or any illustrations to your portfolio.
Resources recommended in dseveral lessons, sseveral units, hother HOW Units. k Key Resource (see beginning of unit or page 32).
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