Download Ancient Mesopotamia PPT

Ancient Civilizations:
Mesopotamia
Geography &
Environment
“the land between the rivers…”
The Geography
• On which
continent was
Mesopotamia
located?
• Asia; in what is modern day Iraq,
Syria & Turkey
The Geography
• On which rivers
did the ancient
Mesopotamians
settle?
• Between the Tigris
& Euphrates Rivers; in an area known
as the Fertile Crescent
The Geography
• Flooding provided rich soil for farming
The Geography
• Three Environmental Challenges:
• Unpredictable flooding
• No natural barriers for protection
• Limited natural resources
Predict how Mesopotamians
overcame each of these
challenges…
Early
Mesopotamian
Kingdoms
Mesopotamian Cultures
• Mesopotamia did NOT represent a
unified kingdom, instead it was made
up of a series of kingdoms that
occupied a
specific
geographical
space
Mesopotamian Cultures
• Sumer (c. 3500 – 2300 BC)
• Akkad (c. 2300 -2200 BC)
• Babylonia (1790-1590 BC)
• Assyria (1360-620 BC)
• Neo-Babylonia (629-540 BC)
Sumer
3500 – 2300 BCE
The first civilization
Sumerian Geography
• Geography:
• Located at the
southern end
of Mesopotamia
• Near the mouths of the Tigris &
Euphrates
Sumerian Geography
• City-state:
• A city + its surrounding lands
• Independent political units that
competed for trade & boundaries
• i.e. Uruk, Kish, Ur, Lagash
Sumerian Geography
• Same culture,
BUT each had its own:
• Ruler, special god, and army
Sumerian Religion &
Government
• Polytheism:
• The worship of more than one god
• Believed gods were immortal & all
powerful; humans were to serve the
gods
Sumerian Religion &
Government
• Ziggurat:
• Centralized
temples where
sacrifices and offerings were made to
the gods
• Animals, food, wine, etc.
Sumerian Religion &
Government
• City-states were
ruled by priestkings who were
viewed as
powerful agents
of the gods
• Theocracy – gov’t based on religious
authority
Sumerian Religion &
Government
• Despite their religious practices,
Sumerians had little, if any, belief in an
afterlife
• Believed that the souls of the dead
went to the “land of no return”
Sumerian Economy
• Economy based on farming & trade
• Traded with places as far away as
Egypt and India
• At first barter only
• Used barley for
money, then
switched to coins
Sumerian Culture &
Knowledge
• Developed a form
of written language
known as cuneiform
• Wedge shapes scratched into clay
tablets
Sumerian Culture & Knowledge
• Invention of the wheel (3000 BC)
Sumerian Culture
& Knowledge
• Other notable contributions:
• System of irrigation
• Invention of the sail & plow
• The usage of bronze
• Development of a number system
based on 60
• Architecture: arches, columns, ramps
Sumerian
Kings/Priests
Landholders
Society
Wealthy
Merchants
Field Laborers & Artisans
Slaves
Sumerian Society
• Most Sumerians worked with their
hands in fields and workshops
• Houses were made of mud brick and
clay
Sumerian Society
• Roles of Men/Women:
• Men could sell wife/kids into slavery to
pay off debt
• But women could obtain a divorce and
buy/sell property
• Scribe Schools: Edubbas
• For rich boys only
Babylonia
1790 – 1590 BCE
The first system of justice
The Babylonian Empire
• In 1792 BC a new empire took control
of Mesopotamia
• Babylonia
• Reached its
height during
the reign of
King
Hammurabi
The Babylonian Empire
• Hammurabi’s Code:
• 1st known code of law
• Stressed responsible
behavior
• Capital punishment
The Babylonian Empire
• “an eye for an eye, a tooth
for a tooth”
• Punishments based on
SOCIAL CLASS
• Laws focused on ALL
aspects of society