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Mesopotamia
Growth of City-States:
Sumer, Akkad, Uruk, Babylon
 Religion and Government
A system of writing
Legends
Life in Sumer, Akkad and
Uruk
 The Sumerians and the Akkadians were
very similar. They both farmed, and had
similar customs. Wars occurred
frequently over control of land and water.
 Uruk was a very large city-state holding
up to 50,000 people.
 Each city-state was surrounded by a
mudbrick wall for protection.
 At the highest point of each city-state,
was the city’s temple called a ziggurat.
A ziggurat consisted of a series of stacked rectangular platforms
that formed a huge pyramid shaped structure.
Reaching up to 290 feet, ziggurats were believed by
Mesopotamians to link heaven and earth.
Religion
 Religion and government were closely linked.
 The Sumerians and the Akkadians practiced
polytheism- the worship of many gods.
 Each city-state believed to be under the
protection of a particular god who looked after
its interests.
 If the people in a city state were peaceful and
prosperous, they believed it was because the
gods were pleased.
 They worked hard to keep the gods happy by
making offerings everyday.
Government
 The Sumerians believed that kings were
chosen by the gods to carry out the god’s
wishes.
 This was called divine kingship- the belief that
the right to rule was god-given.
 The Sumerians also believed that the right to
rule could be passed from father to son.
 Sumer also had a class system where society
was divided into classes.
Writing
 The Sumerians were great traders and made
many business deals.
 Sumerians invented a writing system to keep
track of all of their business dealings called
cuneiform.- A system of wedge-shaped
writing.
 A professional writer or scribe would press
reeds into wet clay leaving markings that stood
for objects, activities or sounds.
 The clay tablet was left to dry creating a
permanent record to use for reference.
Cuneiform Writing
Time to Review
 How does a system of writing make it
easier to conduct business?
 Why were most city-states surrounded by
a wall?
 What is the belief in many gods called?
 What does divine kingship mean?
 How are city-states different from villages
in the New Stone Age?