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Daily Lecture and Discussion Notes
Chapter 2, Section 1
Did You Know? One of the most interesting objects discovered
by archaeologists in the Mesopotamian city of Ur was the so-called
“Standard of Ur,” a wooden box decorated with images of peace on
one side and images of war on the other. The box’s beauty testifies
to the artistic talent of the Sumerians.
I. The Impact of Geography (pages 37–38)
A. Mesopotamia is at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent, an arc of land from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.
B. Mesopotamia (“between the rivers”) is the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers. These rivers often overflow and leave silt, which makes the soil rich for a
flourishing agricultural economy. Mesopotamian civilization was one of history’s
important early civilizations to grow in a river valley.
C. Developing consistent agriculture required controlling the water supply. People in
Mesopotamia, therefore, developed a system of drainage ditches and irrigation works.
The resulting large food supply made possible significant population growth and the
emergence of civilization in Mesopotamia.
D. Ancient Mesopotamia covered three general areas: Assyria, Akkad, and Sumer. Several
peoples lived in these areas.
E. Mesopotamian civilization involved many peoples. The Sumerians developed the first
Mesopotamian civilization.
Discussion Question
Consider the area where you live. What roles has geography played in how your area
has developed physically, commercially, and culturally?
II. The City-States of Ancient Mesopotamia (pages 38–40)
A. By 3000 B.C. the Sumerians had formed a number of city-states centered around cities
such as Ur and Uruk. These states controlled the surrounding countryside politically
and economically. City-states were the basic political unit of the Sumerian civilization.
B. The Sumerians built largely with mud bricks. Using them they invented the arch and
the dome and built some of the largest brick buildings in the world.
C. The most important building in each city was the temple. Often it was built on top of a
massive stepped tower called a ziggurat. Sumerians believed gods and goddesses
owned and ruled the cities. The Sumerian state was a theocracy, then—a government
by divine authority.
D. Priests and priestesses were important figures politically as well as religiously.
Eventually, ruling power passed more into the hands of kings, who traced their
authority back to the divine.
E. The Sumerian economy was principally agricultural, but manufacturing, for example
of metalwork, and trade, for example of wheat, were important. The invention of the
wheel around 3000 B.C. facilitated trade.
F. The Sumerian city-states had three classes: nobles, commoners, and slaves. Nobles
included the royal family, royal officials, priests, and their families. Commoners
worked for large estates as farmers, merchants, fishers, and craftspeople. Around
90 percent of the people were farmers.
G. Slaves principally worked on large building projects, wove cloth, and worked the
farms of the nobles.
Discussion Question
The Sumerian city-states were theocracies (theo meaning “god” and cracy meaning
“rule”). In a theocracy, government authority is founded upon divine authority. The
United States is a democracy. On what authority is its governmental power based?
III. Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia (pages 40–41)
A. The Akkadians lived north of the Sumerian city-states. The Akkadians are called a
Semitic people because they spoke a Semitic language.
B. Around 2340 B.C. the leader of the Akkadians, Sargon, conquered the Sumerian citystates
and set up the world’s first empire.
C. An empire is a large political unit that controls many peoples and territories. The rise
and fall of empires is an important part of history.
D. In 1792 B.C. Hammurabi of Babylon, a city-state south of Akkad, established a new
empire over much of both Akkad and Sumer.
Discussion Question
Building empires is a constant feature of history. What might have motivated Sargon to
create the first empire? Compare and contrast that with the motivations for the British
Empire and the attempt by the Nazis to build an empire.
IV. The Code of Hammurabi (pages 41–42)
A. The Code of Hammurabi is one of the world’s most important early systems of law. It
calls for harsh punishments against criminals. The principle of retaliation (“an eye for
an eye, a tooth for a tooth”) is fundamental in Hammurabi’s code.
B. Punishments varied according to social status. A crime committed against a noble
brought a harsher punishment than the same crime committed against a commoner.
C. Hammurabi’s code punished public officials who failed in their duties or were corrupt.
It also had what we would call consumer protection provisions, for example, holding
builders responsible for the quality of their work. If a building collapsed and killed
someone, the builder was executed. Damages had to be paid to people injured.
D. The largest group of laws in the code covered marriage and the family. Parents
arranged marriages, and the bride and groom had to sign a marriage contract to be
officially married.
E. Hammurabi’s code expresses the patriarchal nature of Mesopotamian society. Women
had fewer privileges and rights than men. The code also enforced obedience of children
to parents. A father could cut off the hand of a son who had hit him, for example.
Discussion Question
Hammurabi’s code was applied differently to different classes of people. Where in the
U.S. Constitution is this practice forbidden? Give reasons for why the unequal application
of the law is unjust. If you think it is just, explain why.
V. The Importance of Religion (page 42)
A. Due to the harsh physical environment and famines, Mesopotamians believed that the
world was controlled by often destructive supernatural forces and deities.
B. The Mesopotamians were polytheistic because they believed in many gods and goddesses.
They identified three thousand of them.
C. Human beings were to serve and obey the gods and goddesses. Sumerians believed
that human beings were created to do the manual labor the gods and goddesses were
not willing to do. As inferior beings, people could never be sure what the deities might
do to help or hurt them.
Discussion Question
How did Sumerians view their place in the world? (They were at the mercy of unpredictable
forces.)
VI. The Creativity of the Sumerians (pages 42–43)
A. The Sumerians were important inventors. They created a system of writing called
cuneiform (“wedge-shaped”). They used a reed stylus to make wedge-shaped markings
on clay tablets, which were then baked in the sun.
B. Writing was used for record keeping, teaching, and law. A new class of scribes (writers
and copyists) arose. Being a scribe was the key to a successful career for an upper-class
Mesopotamian boy. Writing also passed on cultural knowledge from generation to
generation, sometimes in new ways.
C. The Epic of Gilgamesh, the most important piece of Mesopotamian literature, teaches
the lesson that only the gods are immortal. Gilgamesh is wise and strong, a being who
is part human and part god. Gilgamesh befriends a hairy beast named Enkidu. When
Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh feels the pain of his friend’s death, and he searches for the
secret of immortality. He fails.
D. The Sumerians invented important technologies, such as the wagon wheel. In mathematics
they invented a number system based on 60, and they made advances in
applying geometry to engineering.
E. In astronomy, the Sumerians charted the constellations using their number system of 60.
Discussion Question
What tool of measurement based on 60 do we use today?