Download Scrapbook text pg. Block I

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Mesopotamia lay in between the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers in an area called
the Fertile Crescent.
Flooding occurs on a regular basis and it
brings fertile soil onto the land.
Each city-state has their own god to pray
to and worship. This means it was
polytheistic civilization.
There is a god for every aspect of life
such as, a god of agriculture or weather.
People believed that the gods impacted
their daily.
Sumerians invented the wheel which
made it possible to move around on
chariots and carts.
Irrigation was invented to help get water
to the crops. This led to surplus and
specialization.
Hammurabi’s Code was the first King to
make laws and a justice system like we
have today.
Cuneiform was the first system of writing
which we based our system on.
Religious beliefs were very important to the people
of Mesopotamia. Each city-state had their own god
and a ziggurat located in the middle to worship that
god. A ziggurat is a huge structure used for religious
purposes. They also believed that their god
influenced their daily lives like sending the plague to
the people. A belief in many gods is called
polytheism. Priests were highly regarded and were
in charge of all activities in the ziggurat. Religious
beliefs helped Mesopotamia grow into a successful
civilization.
Mesopotamia’s inventions influence us today.
The Sumerians invented the wheel and we use
this today in our cars, bikes, and scooters. They
also invented the first written language. They
had 700 different symbols for letters called
cuneiform. Sumerians lived in city-states which
are a lot like our cities and states today. The
Sumerians also invented the first 12 month
calendar and seven day week based on the stars.
They invented pottery and weapons that we
have changed to meet our needs today. Many
Mesopotamian inventions are still used today.
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”
was the belief behind King Hammurabi’s
Code of Law. The code was designed to
protect the weak from the powerful.
Hammurabi’s Code was written over 2,000
years ago in Babylonia. There wer 282 laws
and those laws dealt with crimes relating to
all areas of life like farming, business,
marriage, family, and property. For every
crime there was an appropriate
punishment. For example, if a son slapped
his father, they boy’s had would be cut off.
Hammurabi’s Code of Law provided order in
a chaotic city-state and allowed the
civilization to grow.
The Land between
Two rivers