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Today’s Essential Question:
How did geographic challenges
lead to the rise of city-states
in Mesopotamia?
Warm Up: Make a CONNECTION
Think about a time you experienced
a problem or challenge.
What did you do to solve it?
 Write one sentence explaining the problem.
 Write one sentence explaining your solution!
Mesopotamia Basics:
• Mesopotamia means “land between two
rivers.”
• Mesopotamia lies between the TIGRIS and
EUPHRATES Rivers.
• Cities started to develop in the southern part
of this land.
Early Cities in Mesopotamia:
• The earliest cities developed around 3500 BC.
• Each city was like a small, independent
country . They had their own rulers and
farmland.
• These cities were surrounded by walls made
of sunbaked bricks.
Why would the cities be surrounded by walls?
Life in the Fertile Crescent:
• The northern part of Mesopotamia was very
hilly and received a lot of rain.
• The southern part had low, flat land.
• The sun was very harsh.
• The river brought water to the valley during
the flood season, but the rest of the year the
soil was hard and dry.
Using Adjectives (Descriptive Words):
List 5 words you think best
describe the geography of
ancient Mesopotamia.
Why did you pick
those words?
Building in Mesopotamia:
• It was difficult to build shelter/homes in the
river valley.
• Building materials were hard to find.
• There were lots of reeds (weeds by the river).
• There were not a lot of trees for wood.
• Even stones were scarce.
What did the people build their home with?
4 Major Problems Facing
Mesopotamians:
#1 – food shortages in the hills
#2 – uncontrollable water supply in the plains
#3 – difficulties building and maintaining
systems to provide water across
village boundaries
#4 – attacks from neighboring communities
Problem #1 – Food Shortages
In early years (Neolithic Era), rolling foothills of
Zargros Mountains in northern Mesopotamia
had good conditions for growing crops:
• Mild weather
• Plentiful rains
• Fertile Soil
• Timber for building homes
Write about it:
Describe some ADVANTAGES to
living in the foothills of the
Zagros Mountains?
• Lots of people moved to this area and cities
grew dramatically.
• By 5000 BC, farmers didn’t have enough land
to grow food for all the people.
• As a result, villages suffered from food
shortages.
Cause = Population Grew
Effect = Food Shortages
Write about it:
Draw and label a simple
picture showing the
problem that occurred
around 5000 BC.
• Below the foothills to the south, the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers ran over flat plains.
• The plains were large and not many people lived
there.
• Most of the year, the land was hard and dry.
• There were few trees to build shelters.
• There were few stones to make tools.
BUT THE RIVERS FLOODED EVERY SPRING.
Could the floods make the
soil fertile for farming?
Think about it:
Based on what you’ve
learned, what is a possible
solution to the problem of
the shortage of land to
grow food?
Driven by the need to grow more
food, people moved out of the
foothills to the plains.
This region became known as SUMER
and the people were called the
SUMERIANS.
Who were the Sumerians?
Sumer
Video Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jQninQqu-Y
Think about it…
What factors impacted the
growth of the city of Sumer?
#2 – Uncontrollable Water Supply
• Farmers who moved to Sumer faced many
challenges.
• The biggest problem was the water supply!
• In the spring, the melted snow from the
mountains and rains caused the rivers to flood
the plains.
• No one knew exactly when the floods would
happen 
Impact of the Floods:
• Flooding after the crops were planted = loss
of baby plants and seeds.
• When it wasn’t flood season, the ground was
hard and dry. The wind blew lots of dust
around.
• The always had too little or too much water!
PROBLEM – how could they control the water
so they could use it year round?
Write about it:
Describe the seasonal weather
changes in Sumer.
Explain the impact the weather
changes had on the farmer’s
ability to raise crops.
Solution!!!
• The Sumerian farmers created IRRIGATION
systems.
• They built LEVEES by the rivers to prevent floods.
• When the land was dry, they poked holes in the
LEVEES and the water flowed into the fields.
Advancements in Irrigation:
Over time, the Sumerians learned other
ways to control the water supply.
1) They dug canals for the water to flow through.
2) They constructed dams to block the water.
3) The blocked water created reservoirs/pools.
Irrigation Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RP2KfewiJA
Describe how the Mesopotamian
farmers solve the problem of
uncontrollable water supplies?
Illustrate it:
Draw and label a picture illustrating
the problem caused by
uncontrollable water supplies.
Draw and label a picture showing the
Sumerian Irrigation System.
Problem #3 - Irrigation
Irrigation Systems are what allow the water
from the rivers and floods to be used by
farmers throughout the year.
BUT A PROBLEM AROSE:
How can irrigation systems cross over villages
to reach farmland?
What were the issues?
1) Irrigation systems had to pass through lots of
villages.
2) The systems constantly needed to be
repaired.
3) Canals became clogged with silt and had to
be cleaned out regularly.
4) A clogged canal stopped the flow of water to
all the farms along the track!
SOLUTION?
Farmers had to work together!
Villages became dependent on each other to
maintain the complex irrigation systems.
As Sumerians learned to work together to solve
their irrigation challenges, they created a
larger community.
Between 3500BC and 3000BC, villages became
towns and towns became Sumer cities 
Illustrate it:
Draw a simple picture of a map showing the
canals running between villages.
Label the map to explain the solution to the
irrigation challenges.
Problem #4 – ATTACK!!!
As Sumerian cities grew, they started to fight over the
right to use the water.
Sometimes people living closer to the water source
blocked the flow of the water!
To protect themselves from attack, cities started to build
walls around themselves.
They also dug moats around the walls to add extra
protection.
These walled cities became their own countries…
historians called them CITY-STATES.