Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved. Why River Valleys? 1. Offered rich soils for agriculture 2. Provided water for crops. The Fertile Crescent • Arc of land between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea in Southwest Asia One land…Two Rivers • Mesopotamia means = “land between the rivers” – Tigris River and Euphrates River • Both rivers flooded once a year and left thick bed of silt. – Silt: rich, new soil farmers could plant and harvest enormous quantities of wheat Environmental Challenges • Floods are unpredictable. Between the floods there was often little or no rain • No natural barriers to protect villages from invaders • Limited natural resources • Create a chart with 4 rows and 3 columns • Label the first column “Environmental Challenges” • Label the second column “How I would solve” • Label the third column “ How the Sumerians solved” Environmental Challenges Floods are unpredictable. Between the floods there was often little or no rain No natural barriers to protect villages from invaders Limited natural resources How I would solve How the Sumerians solved Environmental Challenges How I would solve How the Sumerians solved Floods are unpredictable. Between the floods there was often little or no rain They dug irrigation ditches No natural barriers to protect villages from invaders Built city walls out of mud bricks Limited natural resources Traded their surplus agricultural products for needed raw materials Formation of City States • Sumerians stand out in history as one of the first groups of people to form a civilization • Later peoples built upon the innovations of the Sumerian culture. The process in which a new idea or a product spreads from one culture to another is called cultural diffusion. • City-State: A city, usually surrounded by farmland, that developed their own governments and rulers. (Functioned much like a independent country does today.) Political Power of the Priests • Sumer’s earliest governments were controlled by temple priests – Farmers believed they needed blessings for success of their crops – Priests were the middle man for the Gods – Priests demanded portion of farmer crops as tax Political • Later followed Hereditary rulers: when the power is passed down to family members • A series of rulers from a single family is called a dynasty. Sargon Economy • Metal tools and weapons (bronze, iron) • Increasing agricultural surplus (better tools, plows, irrigation) • Increasing trade along rivers – traded with Egypt • Development of the world’s first cities • Specialization of labor Religion • Polytheistic: Belief in Many Gods (3,000!!!) • Gods could be angered at any moment and to keep them happy Sumerians: – Built impressive ziggurats or temples to sacrifice food, wine and animals MORE ZIGGURATS!!! Sumerian Society Kings and Priests Wealthy merchants Ordinary Sumerian people Slaves Women • Could hold property • Women could join the priesthood • Some women were scribes Intellectual Epic of Gilgamesh • Myths and legends recorded in this long poem • One of the earliest works of literature in the world “Gilgamesh, whither are you wandering? Life, which you look for, you will never find. For when the gods created man, they let Death be his share, and withheld life In their own hands” Achievements Science and Technology • Invented the wheel, the sail, the plow • First to use bronze. • Developed system of writing • Built irrigation systems, buildings, surveyed flooded fields. First Empire Builders • Early city-states were almost constantly at war with one another, weakening the citystates and making them vulnerable to attacks from outsiders. • About 2350 BCE Sargon defeated the city states and formed an empire (An empire brings together several peoples, nations or independent states under the control of one ruler.) Babylonian Empire • Nomadic warriors invaded Mesopotamia. • Gradually the nomadic warrior overwhelmed the Sumerians and established their capital at Babylon. • The Babylonian Empire reached its peak during the reign of Hammurabi (about 1792 BCE – 1750 BCE) Hammurabi’s Code • Hammurabi recognized that a single, uniform code of laws would help to unify the diverse groups within his empire. • He collected existing rules judgments, and laws into the Code of Hammurabi. • Hammurabi had the code engraved in stone, and copies were placed all over his empire.