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Chapter 2: Ancient Middle East & Egypt 3200 B.C.- 500 B.C. Sumer, World's First Civilization Section 1: City-States of Ancient Sumer • Fertile Crescent curves from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea • Mesopotamia – It lies between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Sumer: World’s 1st civilization developed in southeastern Mesopotamia ~3300bc • Regular catastrophic floods – Need cooperation • Few resources – Used clay to build cities like Ur & Uruk • Trade brought riches • In Sumerian society, women held a higher social standing. However, women were still not treated equally. Sumerian Religion • Polytheistic – God’s & goddesses controlled every aspect of life Viewed afterlife as grim underworld, no escape – Especially nature • Highest duty was to keep Gods happy • Ziggurat – Large stepped platform topped by a temple dedicated to city’s main god or goddess Sumerian Writing • Cuneiform – Earliest form of known writing – Grew out of system of pictographs • A stylus was used on a clay tablet. – Myths, prayers, laws, contracts, and monetary exchanges Cuneiform • How was ancient Sumerian writing (the earliest known writing system) similar to English? • How was it different? • Would you have liked to have been a scribe in Sumerian times? – Why or why not? • Beginning around 2500 B.C., armies of conquering peoples swept across Mesopotamia and overwhelmed the Sumerian city-states. By 1900 B.C., the Sumerian civilization had been replaced by other civilizations and empires Sumer Legacy • Akkadians, Babylonians, & Assyrians adapt cuneiform to use with their own languages • Astronomy & mathematics • Sumerian knowledge passed on to Greeks & Romans The Epic of Gilgamesh • ~2000 bc – First great work of literature • Sumerian king of Uruk • Great flood First great work of literature Epic of Gilgamesh ~ 2000 bc Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, sought eternal life and obtained the plant of youth. However, a snake ate it, which, according to the legend, is why people do not live forever. Fertile Crescent today