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MESOPOTAMIA
By: Ricardo Yruegas
Pd. 8th
MESOPOTAMIA
• Mesopotamia meaning land between the rivers, specifically the Tigris and the
Euphrates, was the worlds first civilization
• The Tigris and Euphrates allowed people to succeed in farming, providing the basis
for Cities, and allowing for trade
• Lasted approximately 3,000 years
GEOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS
• Little rainfall
• Unpredictable floods occurred during spring
• Hot and dry climate
• Floods left fertile land great for agriculture
HISTORY OF MESOPOTAMIA
• Over time various people lived in Mesopotamia creating independent states.
• Sumer was the first city of Mesopotamia (3500-2000 BCE)
• Akkad was established by Sargon the Great after conquering the Sumerians (23402180 BCE)
• Babylonia where the two regions, Summer and Akkad, were unified (1830-1500 BCE
and 650-500 BCE)
• Assyria was created after Babylonia fell apart (1100-612 BCE)
MESOPOTAMIA POLITICALLY
• Government was an early form of democracy
• They had city-states that each had their own governments and were ruled by a king
• Each city-state was believed to belong to a god and the kings were the ones who
spread the gods word to the people
ECONOMY
• Throughout most of Mesopotamian history most of its economy was based on
agriculture as well as wool/cloth
• Most trade came from the middle and lower classes trading with neighboring regions
(grain, wheat, and farm animals)
• Economy finally became more organized following edicts of king and his officials by
the time the Bablyonian empire began.
RELIGION
• Mesopotamia was polytheistic meaning that they believed in more than one god
• Each god controlled different things and different cities were ruled by different gods
• The kings and priests were interpreters because they told people what the god
wanted for them to do
• The gods were worshiped in huge temples called ziggurats
SOCIAL
• At the bottom of the social class were slaves which had no rights, were owned by the
wealthy, and were identified by a specific haircut
• Next were the Commoners or the working class. They had no education and the
children were taught their parents trades
• Following them were Merchants and Artisans who made civilization possible. They
created cuneiform the earliest form of writing to document trade deals
• Scribes were the educated class and were sons of the wealthy they were the only
ones allowed to read and write and also held government jobs
• Priests were the upper class. They controlled the distribution of land and ran the
schools
• At the top was the king who could also be a priest and were considered divinely
ordained individuals
INNOVATIONS
• The Sumerians are credited to having created the first form of writing known as
cuneiform to record laws like Hammurabis Code as well as the first major piece of
literature, The Epic of Gilgamesh
• Sumerians also created the first wheel for pottery and eventually chariots
• They also used a number system with a base of 60 (60sec, 60min, 360 degrees)
• They used irrigation systems to supply water for crops
• Lastly they used bronze, eventually iron, to create tools and weapons
• Mesopotamians also made a prosperous living based on large scale agriculture
CUNEIFORM
HAMMURABI’S CODE OF LAWS
• They were inscribed on a stone pillar for everyone to see
• The origin of “eye for an eye”
• The most extensive law code from the ancient world
• They were both social and criminal laws
EPIC OF GILGAMESH
• First known work of great literature
• Tablet containing a story of how humans, animals, cities, kings, etc. were created