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World History Social Studies Unit: 01 Lesson: 02 Ancient Mesopotamia and the Tigris-Euphrates Suggested website for more information: http://www.britishmuseum.org/search_results.aspx?searchText=ancient+me sopotamia Mesopotamia/Fertile Crescent (3500 BC – 1600 BC) • Settlement on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers around 4500 BC • Sumerians arrive in 3500 BC and begin irrigation • Sumerian city-states established around 3000 BC • Polytheistic religion – ziggurat (temple) the center of each city-state • Scientific achievements: wheel, sail, plow, bronze, cuneiform • Hammurabi (1792 BC-1750 BC) establishes a written, uniform code of laws (Hammurabi’s Code) • Babylonian Empire ends around 1500 BC and other civilizations in this area – Assyrians, Phoenicians, and Hebrews – adopt ideas first developed by early Sumerians • Monarchies – Military leaders who commanded soldiers displace priests as rulers; power passed on to their sons, who in turn passed it on to their sons; this leads to formation of early dynasties in river valley civilizations, (e.g., Sumerian city-states) • Hammurabi's Code: Political impact – By developing a single code of laws from the customs of his day, Hammurabi made law something objective and less personal and therefore more stable and predictable • Judaism – (historical origins and the central ideas of), including: o Abraham, Moses, David o Ethical monotheism ©2012, TESCCC 05/07/12 Page 1 of 2 World History Social Studies Unit: 01 Lesson: 02 o 10 commandments o Torah o “Promised Land” o Messiah o Jewish Ten Commandments: Moses the Lawgiver; high standard of moral conduct; covenant between God and the Hebrew people – God’s protection in exchange for keeping God’s commandments • Mesopotamia o Plow o Pottery o Bronze o Wheel o Arch o Sail o Cuneiform writing o Number system based on 60 and 360 degree circles o Phoenicians - Alphabet ©2012, TESCCC 05/07/12 Page 2 of 2