Download Chapter 2 Land between 2 Rivers

A Sumerian student once said about his
teacher “the teachers said to me there was
something missing” he then hit me with a
cane, he then said “you will not talk without
permission and kept hitting me
First Known schools were set up in the land
of Sumer (soomer) many who graduated
became scribes or writers and they wrote
down everything (kept track of history)
I. Geographic Setting

 Sumer was located in a region called Mesopotamia
 This place drew people in due to its rich soil and
large rivers
 Farmers and builders wanted to settle here especially
 This was centrally located in the middle of
everything

A. Location of
Mesopotamia

 Then name describes its location
 Mesopotamia= land between two rivers
 Those rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates
 This is known as the fertile crescent ???think about
what this name means
B. Rivers of life and
death

 These rivers were the source of life for many
 Flooding and melting down of the mountain snow
rushed down the mountains and provided rich
topsoil and fertilizer for farming
 Rivers also provided fishing, clay for building, and
tall strong reeds for twine used to build
 However flooding came at unexpected times which
could sweep away, kill, and destroy people, homes,
and animals

 Theses are roads
This was a farm
II. First Cities

 As Farming succeeded cities began to grow
 Many different areas grew but not every city or area
had same ruler??? So what does this mean????
 These were called city-states or a city that is also a
separate independent state and had its own leaders
A. A brief tour of a
Sumerian City

 Filled with markets, trade centers, churches, etc… all
the things we think of with an early city
 Also had musicians playing music, acrobats
performing, and scribes willing to write down things
for those who didn’t know how… this started the
idea of drawing for art and making money
III. Sumerian Religion

 At center of city was a huge temple called the
Ziggurat
 All activities from religion, economics, to social
events were done here
 It was the place to be
 Ziggurat’s were often temples built on top of each
other with ramps built up the next level with a huge
shrine at the top to praise the gods

 They thought the gods descended from the heavens
and used the ramps and the Ziggurat as a stairway
to earth
Ancient Beliefs

 The people of Sumer worshiped many gods and
goddesses
 This idea is known as Polytheism-belief in many
gods
Good way(our way)
bad way
Honoring the gods

 They honored gods with ceremonies filled with
music, burning of incense, and huge meals afterward
 But not before laying plates of food at the feet of the
gods statues
 They believed that it the gods didn’t eat first then the
gods would send bad luck with farming and life
which provided the food they ate
Fall of Sumer

 Sumer’s wealth became its downfall
 The cities in and around Sumer began to battle over the
rich fertile land use and the use of the rich fertile rivers
 Many rulers won and lost control, when they lost they
often died so it was a major loss
 Finally it was some neighboring cities that teamed up and
took over Sumer and took over the most fertile land in the
world
 Many even say this area was personally blessed by God
himself, still today its one of the best areas in the world
Mesopotamia Today

 Also believed that Osama Bin
Laden spent some time hiding out
Here before caught by United States