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Mesopotamia
Civilizations of the Ancient Middle East arose between two rivers. In fact, the word
Mesopotamia means “between the rivers” in Greek. These two rivers were the Tigris and Euphrates
River. We call this area of land the “Fertile Crescent,” because the rivers produced land that was
excellent for farming. Not only was this land good for farming, but it was also a great spot for trade
and travel. Everyone wanted to live in this land, and people were willing to fight for it. That is why
throughout history there have been a few civilizations that lived in Mesopotamia.
The first civilization that emerged was Sumer around 3200 B.C. Sumerian cities were in the
southern part of Mesopotamia. Sumerians learned that by planting seeds and plowing their land,
they were able to grow crops. They learned to domesticate, or tame animals to help them plow their
lands. The Sumerians learned to use irrigation. Irrigation is a system of watering crops to grow
more food.
Sumer was composed of several city-states, or nations the size of cities. Walls around each
city-state protected the citizens from outside invaders. Farmland was usually outside the city walls,
and people would seek protection from the walls of the city when under attack. Rival Sumerian
city-states often battled for control of land and water. For protection, people turned to courageous
and resourceful war leaders. Over time, these war leaders evolved into hereditary rulers. In each
city-state, the ruler was responsible for maintaining the city walls and the irrigation system.
Each Sumerian city-state had a distinct social hierarchy, or system of ranks. The highest class
included the ruling family, leading officials, and high priests. A small middle class was made up of
lesser priests and scribes. The middle class also included merchants and artisans. The majority of
people were peasant farmers. Some had their own land, but most worked on land belonging to the
king or temples.
The Sumerians were polytheistic, which means they believed in many gods. They worshiped
their gods at huge pyramid temples they called ziggurats. Each ziggurat soared towards the
heavens, and was dedicated to a specific god, whom the Sumerians believed ruled over their city.
To win the favor of the gods, the people prayed and offered sacrifices of animals, grain, and wine.
When one city was conquered, the invaders would force the conquered people to accept their gods.
(Ziggurat)
(Wheel)
Sumerians invented what may be the earliest form of writing. It was later called cuneiform
because it means “wedge” in Latin. It is named this because the Sumerians would use the stem of a
plant to make wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets. The clay tablets were then baked to make them
hard. The Sumerians also made a very important invention--the wheel. The invention of the wheel
made it possible to pull heavy loads and create the first wheeled vehicles.
Armies of conquering peoples swept across Mesopotamia and overwhelmed the Sumerian
city-states. The newcomers settled in the region and adopted ideas from the Sumerians. About
2300 B.C., Sargon, the ruler of the neighboring Akkad, invaded and conquered the city-states of
Sumer. He built the first empire known to history. This was an amazing achievement, but it did not
last long. After he died, other invaders swept into the land between the rivers and destroyed his
empire.
Following Sargon’s idea of creating one empire instead of many city-states, Hammurabi, the
king of Babylon, brought much of Mesopotamia under his control. Hammurabi’s best and most
important contribution was his set of laws called the Code of Hammurabi. He carved nearly 300
laws onto a stone pillar for all to see. Hammurabi required that people be responsible for their
actions. Some of Hammurabi’s laws were based on the principle “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a
tooth.” This was the first attempt by a ruler to codify, or arrange and set down in writing, all of the
laws that would govern a state.
(Code of Hammurabi for all to see)
(Hittites making iron)
After Hammurabi and Babylon, the Hittites took over Mesopotamia. They were not as
advanced as the other civilizations but they did have one important contribution. They learned how
to make iron from ore (a metal-bearing rock). The tools and weapons they made with iron were
harder and had sharper edges than those made out of bronze or copper. Because iron was plentiful,
the Hittites were able to arm more people at less expense. They tried to keep this a secret, but
eventually ironsmiths migrated and the knowledge spread across the world.
One civilization that copied this idea of iron tools and weapons was the Assyrians. They
were the next civilization to live in Mesopotamia. They created many iron weapons and were great
warriors. Warfare was what they lived for. They were known for being fierce and mean. The
Assyrian Empire conquered all of Mesopotamia and even reached as far as Egypt. Besides being
mainly known for warfare, Assyrian King Assurbanipal created one of the first libraries. He
ordered his men to collect cuneiform tablets from all over the Fertile Crescent.
One Assurbanipal died, neighboring people joined forces to crush the hated Assyrian armies.
An aggressive and ruthless king, Nebuchadnezzar, revived the power of Babylon. He was most
famous for building the Hanging Gardens, one of the wonders of the ancient world. These were
plants and trees on the steps of a huge ziggurat. It was said that he built this garden to please his
sick wife. This civilization was also famous for its vast knowledge of astronomy.
(The Hanging Gardens of Babylon)
The thick walls built by Nebuchadnezzar failed to hold back new conquerors. In 539 B.C.,
Babylon fell to Persian armies. The Persian armies now controlled a large amount of land stretching
from modern day Turkey to India. This was the largest empire yet seen at this point in history. The
Persian emperor Darius set up a different type of government to help him rule all this land. He
divided the land into different provinces (or territories), each ruled by their own governor. The
governor would take care of each province and Darius would just travel from each one making sure
everything was going okay. Darius was also responsible for encouraging the use of coins. Instead
of people trading goods or services for other goods or services, people now used coins to pay for
goods or services. This is called a money economy. By setting up this coin system in the entire
empire, he was able to create economic links to all his subjects.
One of the final civilizations we see emerge in Mesopotamia, was the Phoenician Sea traders.
While the powerful rulers controlled the large empires, some smaller states were making important
contributions to the rest of the world. The Phoenicians occupied a string of cities along the
Mediterranean coast. Phoenicians traded with people all around the Mediterranean Sea. They were
called the “carriers of civilization” because they spread Middle Eastern civilization around the
Mediterranean. Besides trading, what the Phoenicians are probably most famous for is the creation
of the alphabet. Unlike cuneiform or hieroglyphics, in which each symbol represents a word or
concept, an alphabet contains letters that represent spoken sounds. They had a system of 22
symbols for consonant sounds. Later, the Greeks adapted this alphabet and added symbols for the
vowel sounds, and this is where we get our modern alphabet today.
Mesopotamia continued to be a vital crossroads, where warriors and traders met, clashed,
and mingled. It remained a region where diverse peoples came into close contact. Though these
people lived thousands of years ago, some of their beliefs and ideas survived to shape our modern
world.
(Persian coin)
(Phoenician Alphabet)
Name: __________________________
Mesopotamia Questions
Date:
Global 9R
1. What does the word Mesopotamia mean in Greek?
2.
Mesopotamia is also called the “_____________ _______________.” Why is it called this?
3.
The first civilization that emerged in Mesopotamia was ______________ around 3200 B.C.
4.
DESCRIBE Sumerian city-states.
5. The Sumerians were _____________________ which means they believed in many gods. How
did they worship their gods?
6. Sumerians had TWO major inventions that were important to the rest of the world. NAME AND
DESCRIBE THEM BOTH:
7. The Sumerians were eventually conquered by _____________, ruler of ______________________.
He built the first _________________ known to history.
8.
After Sargon, Mesopotamia was then conquered by _________________________, king of Babylon.
9. Hammurabi’s best contribution was his set of laws called the _____________ _____
________________________. This required that people be responsible for their actions, and was based
on the principle of “an eye for an ____________, a tooth for a __________.”
10. After Hammurabi and Babylon, the _______________ took over Mesopotamia.
11. The Hittites most important invention was _____________. WHY was this so important?
12. The Assyrians were the next civilization to occupy Mesopotamia. What type of people were they?
And what were they most known for?
13. Assyrian King Assurbanipal created one of the first ______________________.
14. After the Assyrians fell, King _______________________, revived the power of Babylon. His
people were most known for their knowledge of _____________________________. He built the
________________ ________________ for his wife.
15. After Babylon fell, the ______________ armies took over.
16. The Persian emperor Darius set up a different type of government. EXPLAIN this government.
17. Darius was also responsible for encouraging the use of ________________. People used these to
pay for goods or services and this was called a ________________ ______________________.
18. One of the final civilizations to occupy Mesopotamia was the ________________ sea traders.
19. EXPLAIN WHY the Phoenicians were called the “carriers of civilization.”
20. Describe the Phoenicians most important invention.