Download Chapter 4 Mesopotamia

Chapter 4
Mesopotamia
The First Civilizations
• The first civilizations
developed in the river valleys
of Mesopotamia, Egypt,
India, and China.
• The need for water greatly
influenced where people
settled.
The Land Between the Rivers
• Mesopotamia means “the
land between the rivers” in
Greek.
• The civilization began
between the Tigris and the
Euphrates rivers.
The Fertile Crescent
• Mesopotamia is located inside
what is known as the Fertile
Crescent, which includes parts
of the modern countries of
Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon,
Israel, and Jordan.
• Why do you think this area was
called the fertile crescent?
Early Valley Dwellers
• Historians believe the first people
to settle in Mesopotamia around
7000 B.C. were hunters and
herders.
• By 4000 B.C. some of these settlers
moved to the plains of the TigrisEuphrates valley and built farming
villages along the two rivers.
• Think Agricultural Revolution!!!
Taming the Rivers
• Farmers depended on water
from rivers to water their
crops.
• In the summer there was little
rain and the rivers became
very low. Because of this,
farmers did not have enough
water for their crops.
Taming the Rivers
• In the spring, rain and melting
snow from the northern
mountains caused these rivers to
overflow. At times, violent floods
swept away crops, and homes.
• BUT these floods could also be
helpful. Floodwaters left behind
silt, or small particles of soil, which
were good for farming.
Irrigation is Developed
• People in Mesopotamia
learned to build dams and dig
canals to allow the water
source into their fields. This
method of watering crops is
called irrigations.
Irrigation Leads to Surplus
• Irrigation allowed farmers to
grow a surplus of food.
• What are the effects that a
surplus of food would have
had on one of these ancient
communities?
Surplus brings change
• Surplus of food meant not all men
were needed to work at farming,
allowing them to pick up other
trades and crafts.
• As artisans made more goods,
people’s lives changed. People
began to live together in areas that
favored trade and several cities
developed in Sumer, a region of
Southern Mesopotamia.
Sumer
• People of Sumer were known as
Sumerians (Cradle of
Civilization).
• Sumerians built the first cities in
Southwest Asia, which became
centers of civilization and
controlled the lower part of the
Tigris and Euphrates River
Valley.
City-States
• Mudflats and patches of
scorching deserts surrounded
Sumer’s cities.
• Because of this natural
isolation from one another,
these cities became
independent, and formed
their own governments.
City States
• In gaining political and economic control
over the individual cities and the lands
around them, city-states were formed.
• Archaeologists believe each city-state was
protected by high walls built from mud
from the rivers as their main building
material.
• Often city-states went to war with one
another over resources and political
borders, but in times of peace, they traded
with one another and formed alliances.
Gods, Priests, and Kings
• Sumerian people worshipped
many Gods, a practice known
as polytheism.
• They believed different gods
guided various aspects of their
lives, and honored the
specific god they thought
would help with that activity.
Ziggurats
• To honor their gods,
Sumerians built large
temples called ziggurats
in their city-states.
Priests and Kings
• In the early days, the priests
of the ziggurat ruled the city
states.
• Later, Sumerian kings
claimed they received the
power to rule from the gods.
• The rule of the king was
hereditary, meaning after he
died, his son would take over.
Social Groups
• Sumerian people were divided
into social classes from the
time they were born.
• Top: Kings, priests,
government officials
• Middle: Merchants, farmers,
fishermen, artisans
• Low: Enslaved people
Roles of Men and Women
Men:
• Head of the household
• Boys attended school
• Trained for specific jobs
Women:
• Ran household
• Had few civil rights
Farmers and Traders
• The major crops in Sumer were
wheat, barley, and dates.
• Dams and waterways ran through
the farmland to water crops.
• Sumerians traded for metal and
timber.
• Trade routes linking Sumer to
places such as Turkey, India, and
Egypt.
Writing
• Earliest known system of writing in
the world was developed.
• This system was called cuneiform.
• Cuneiform was written on clay.
• Characters represented names,
numbers, and objects.
Writing
• Few people learned to write
cuneiform – mostly boys from
wealthy families.
• Scribes , or official record keepers,
wrote documents recording
important aspects of everyday life.
• Some were judges or government
officials.
Technology
• Sumerians were the first
people to use the wheel.
• Carts were pulled by
donkeys.
• The chariot was used in
warfare.
Technology
• For river travel, Sumerians
invented the sailboat.
The wooden plow , potters wheel, and bronze (combining of
copper and tin) were other technological advancements.
Astronomy and Mathematics
• 60 minute hour, 60 second minute, and
360 degree circle.
• 12 month calendar based on the cycles of
the moon.
• The planting season was based on the
positions of the stars.
Chapter 4.2 Mesopotamia
The First Empires
As the strength of Sumer faded, powerful kingdoms arose in
Northern Mesopotamia and built empires.
An empire is a group of lands controlled by one ruler.
Who was Sargon?
The kingdom of Akkad developed in
Northern Mesopotamia and was ruled
by Sargon.
Sargon conquered the remaining
Sumerian cities. In doing so, he built
the world’s first empire.
Eventually, his empire would extend
to include all people of Mesopotamia.
Who was Hammurabi?
West of Mesopotamia, was a city
called Babylon.
Their king, Hammurabi, began
conquering the lands north and
south, creating the Babylonian
Empire.
Hammurabi’s Code
Hammurabi was best known for
creating a set of laws for his empire.
These laws dealt with crime and
established “an eye for an eye”
system of punishment.
The laws also protected the less
powerful, for example it protected
wives from their abusive husbands.
The Assyrian Empire
Assyria was an empire which arose about 1,000 years after
the empire of Hammurabi and extended into four present
day countries: Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq.
The Assyrian Empire
The Assyrians built a large and powerful military to defend their territory.
The army was made of infantry (foot soldiers), cavalry (horse soldiers) and
charioteers.
Weapons consisted of slingshots, bows and arrows, swords, and spears. The
Assyrians robbed people, set crops on fire, and took tributes or forced
payments from conquered people.
One of the keys to the success of the Assyrian army was iron weapons.
The Hittites, who were located to the North of the Assyrian
Empire, mastered the production of iron and shared this
technology with the Assyrians.
Kings and Government
Assyrian Kings divided their empire into
provinces, or political districts.
Roads were built to connect each province
and the king chose officials to collect taxes
and carry out laws in each province.
Life in Assyria
Lifestyles were built based on what they learned from
Mesopotamian people.
They had law codes with harsh punishments and their
writings were based on Babylonian writing.
They worshipped many of the same gods.
Assyrians wrote and collected stories and built one of the
worlds first libraries.
Farming and trade were both very important. They brought
in wood and metal from war away to supply their empire
with building materials.
The Chaldean Empire
In about 650 B.C., fighting
broke out to determine
who would be the next
Assyrian ruler.
While Assyria was in
turmoil, the Chaldean’s
took power with the help
of the Medes.
The New Empire
About 1000 B.C., the Chaldeans moved to Southern Mesopotamia and were immediately
conquered by the Assyrians. The Chaldeans hated their new rulers and never fully
submitted to the Assyrian Empire.
Around 627 B.C. another group who wanted to break free from Assyrian rule, the Medes,
joined the Chaldeans. In 612 B.C., together they burned the Assyrian capital. The Assyrian
empire quickly crumbled.
Most of the Chaldeans were descendants of the Babylonians.
The city of Babylon was chosen to serve as their capital, and because of this, the Chaldean
Empire is sometimes called the New Babylonian Empire.
New Babylonian Empire/Chaldeans
King Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldeans
rebuilt Babylon making it the largest and
richest city in the world.
Babylon featured:
• Grand Palaces and temples,
• A 300-foot ziggurat with a gleaming gold
roof.
• Gardens built like huge steps made up the
Hanging Gardens, considered one of the
seven wonders of the ancient world.
• Many new canals, making the land more
fertile.
• To pay for all these building projects, and to
maintain his army, Nebuchadnezzar had to collect
very high taxes.
• Merchants came to the city in caravans to buy
Babylonian goods: pottery, cloth, baskets, and
jewelry. Trade made Babylon wealthy.
• Advancements under the Chaldeans included the
invention of the sundial to tell time, and being
the first civilization to follow the seven-day week.
Fall of the Empire
After Nebuchadnezzar died, a series of weak
kings ruled the empire.
Poor harvests and slow trade further weakened
the empire.
In 539 B.C. The Persians took advantage and
captured Babylon and made Mesopotamia part
of their empire while allowing the Chaldeans to
maintain their culture.