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CHAPTER 6 MESOPOTAMIA
Lesson 1: The Land Between Two Rivers:
MAIN IDEA: THE DRY, FLAT SUN BAKED LAND AROUND THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES RIVERS
WAS A HARSH LANDSCAPE. BUT, WITH HARD WORK AND THE RIGHT
KNOWLEDGE THE EARLY SUMERIANS USED IRRIGATION AS THE KEY TO
DEVELOPING ONE OF THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS IN THE WORLD.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Explain the relationship between the land of Mesopotamia and the ways of life that developed there.
2. Describe some of the important advances that the Sumerians made in Government and Technology.
3. Explain how irrigation helped give rise to the Sumerian civilization.
The Mesopotamian Plain:
A. Mesopotamia includes the lands of NOW IRAQ, and parts of SYRIA and TURKEY.
B. Mesopotamia is Greek for “the land between two rivers”
C. The RIVERS are the TIGRIS and EUPHRATES.
a. Northern Mesopotamia is a PLATEAU
b. Southern Mesopotamia is a PLAIN
D. The PLAIN area is SUMER (SOO-mur) the world’s first cities developed here. Like UR and KISH.
E. The PLAIN had HOT summers, Little Rain, FEW RESOURCES, Dry Land, Floods in Spring and
Fall.
F. The rivers were higher than the Plains and Sumerians used irrigation with Dams, Canals, and Gates.
G. Due to UNPREDICTABLE FLOODING the Sumerians also built Lakes and Ponds to hold water.
***THE REMARKABLE SUMERIANS: THEY ALSO BUILD A GREAT CIVILIZATION.
The Sumerian City-State:
A. Great Cities and Complex Civilization Developed around 3500BCE.
B. Many CITY-STATES were spread around Sumer and they were INDEPENDENT.
C. PRIESTS ruled the Early City-States, Religion and Government were combined.
D. PRIESTS oversaw the construction of irrigation systems, stored surplus grain in the Temples.
E. In return they received Grain, Animals, and other Farm products as TAXES.
F. They also prayed and made Sacrifices to please the Sumerian Gods.
The Typical City-State: Examples UR and KISH
A. City-States were made up of small mud-brick windowless houses with narrow streets, closely packed.
B. Some Larger homes for the Wealthy had two floors with a courtyard.
C. City-States also had Public buildings like Temples.
D. City-States also had a Market-Place here people from all over came to trade.
E. Around 2700 BCE. Some city-States had a huge Royal Palace.
Builders of Civilization:
A. ADMINISTRATORS organized the Irrigation system and Building projects.
B. Sumerians TRADED for Stone, Wood and Metals with people from IRAN and INDIA.
C. As Trade grew Sumerians made Jewelry, Pottery, Musical Instruments, Colorful Fabrics and Board
Games.
D. ARTISANS made the goods.
THE BEGININGS OF WRITING and NEW TECHNOLOGY:
A. Sumerians first used small clay TOKENS of various shapes representing different items to keep track
of trades.
B. TOKENS were put into a BULLA; a clay container and sealed while wet.
C. After time they began to mark the BULLA to show what was inside it.
New Technology
A. To break the hard Clay they invented the PLOW
B. To transport goods they INVENTED the WHEEL and the SAILBOAT.
C. They became great metal workers mixing Tin and Copper to make a stronger Bronze for weapons and
tools.
Lesson 2: The Contributions of the Sumerians:
MAIN IDEA: IN EARLY SUMERIAN CITIES PRIESTS RULED. BUT, AFTER TIME THE PRIESTS
BEGAN TO SHARE POWER WITH KINGS AROUND 3000 BCE. THESE CHANGES CAME
ABOUT BECAUSE THE SUMERIANS HAD ENEMIES AND NEEDED STRONG LEADERS
TO HELP PROTECT THEM.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Describe the conditions and events that led to the rise of kingship in Mesopotamia.
2. Describe the religion of the Sumerians, especially its relation to their need for security.
3. Trace the development of cuneiform writing.
GOVERNMENT: PRIESTS and KINGS:
A. The earliest Sumerian cities were ruled by PRIESTS not Kings.
B. By about 3000 BCE Priests began sharing power with Kings Because they had ENEMIES.
C. Now most city-states had Royal Palaces as well as Temples.
THE RISE of KINGSHIP:
A. As the populations grew people in Sumer had to COMPETE for LAND and WATER.
B. NOMADS began attacking city-states to steal food and their land near water.
C. City-States began building walls around their cities, this was not always enough.
D. Strong military leaders began to help protect city-states; they became KINGS.
E. These fulltime KINGS took over many of the Priests jobs
a. Managing irrigation and building projects.
b. Stored surplus grain.
c. Became chief judge.
THE SUMERIAN RELIGION:
A. Sumerians practiced a type of POLYTHEISM; a belief in many gods.
B. Their gods controlled everything.
C. The gods protected them from Enemies, Drought, Famine and Disease.
THE BEGININGS OF WRITING: The Earliest writing was done with the marks on the Bullae.
A. Writing changed to PICTOGRAPHS symbols used to show things that were traded, like grain or a
bull.
B. Eventually the PICTOGRAPHS began to stand for syllables for a SOUND. Like a BEE and a LEAF.
C. Now writers could express ideas. Like “BELIEF”.
SIMPLIFYING PICTURES:
A. By 2500 BCE picture writing became CUNEIFORM (KOO-nee-uh-fawrm) or “wedge-shaped”.
B. CUNEIFORM had 600 symbols, ranging from a single wedge to patterns of 30 or more.
C. The people who learned to read and write Cuneiform were called SCRIBES.
D. This type of writing was used for about 2000 years in Sumer.
USING SYMBOLS FOR SOUNDS:
A. PHOENICIANS lived on the East Coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
B. Around 900 BCE they invented a writing system with only 22 symbols, each stood for a sound.
C. YES… the Phoenicians invented the alphabet that we have adapted to today.
Section 3: The First Empires
MAIN IDEA: POWERFUL RULERS BEGAN TO ATTACK INDEPENDENT CITY STATES AND BRING
THEM UNDER ONE RULER TO FORM SOME OF THE FIRST EMPIRES IN
MESOPOTAMIA.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Define Empire as it refers to AKKAD, ASSYRIA and Babylonia.
2. Evaluate Sargon’s success in reaching his goals.
3. Describe the contributions and advances made by Shamshi-Adad in Assyria and Hammurabi in Babylonia.
4. Explain the Importance of Hammurabi’s code.
SARGON of AKKAD: He created the WORLD’S FIRST EMPIRE… HOW?
A. Sargon was from northern Sumer and was probably a goat herder and spoke Akkadian.
B. Sargon was a servant for the King of Kish THEN KILLED HIM and usurped (took by force) his
throne.
C. He then raised an army and founded the Capital at Akkad, then conquered Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Umma
in Sumer.
D. He then conquered northern Mesopotamia, east to Iran and west to the Mediterranean Sea.
WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS EMPIRE?
A. Sargon Ruled for 55 yrs. until 2279 BCE. Then his sons and Grandsons took over for 60 more years.
B. Problems developed that eventually ended the Empire of AKKAD.
a. Rebellion: people never accepted the rule of central government.
b. Invasions by 2250 the Gutians invaded Akkad and ruined the city and the Empire fell apart.
SHAMSHI-ADAD of ASSYRIA 1813-1781 BCE: Held lands together by TRADE and FORCE… HOW?
A. A great conqueror who moved west to Lebanon
B. Overthrew the King of the MARI and made his son King of the City, creating the ASSYRIAN
EMPIRE.
C. He traded fine cloth for valuables like; Tin, Copper, and Silver.
WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS EMPIRE?
A. Eventually the Assyrians were attacked and defeated by HAMMURABI’S Army.
HAMMURABI of BABYLONIA: Unified All of Mesopotamia
A. Hammurabi conquered lands east to the Zagros Mountains, and South to URUK
B. He finally Marched north and defeated and claimed all of Mesopotamia including ASSYRIA.
IMPORTANCE of HAMMURABI:
A. Ruled all of Mesopotamia
B. Had a Strong Central Gov.
C. Sent out Governors, Judges, Tax Collectors, Military Commanders to all his lands.
D. Wrote the CODE of HAMMURABI and made it public. 282 laws for the empire.
WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS EMPIRE:
A. Babylonia began to split apart after the great King died.
Section 4: New Empires
MAIN IDEA: AFTER ABOUT 1000 BCE TWO NEW EMPIRES AROSE IN MESOPOTAMIA THAT
WOULD REACH MUCH FARTHER THAN ANY EVER BEFORE.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Explain how Tiglath-Pileser’s policies helped to bring about the fall of the Assyrian Empire.
2. Evaluate Nebuchadnezzar’s policies as they affected Babylonia and the world.
THE NEW ASSYRIAN EMPIRE RULED BY: King Tiglath-Pileser III.
A. King Tiglath-PileserIII was from Assyria in Northern Mesopotamia.
B. He gained New Territory by conquering Babylonia in Southern Mesopotamia.
C. He Treated the people he conquered cruelly, taking their Gold, Iron, Crops, Animals and Slaves.
D. He forced Rebellious people to move far from their homes to break their spirit and control them.
E. Tiglath Pileser’s Empire eventually extended from the Persian Gulf to Egypt and Turkey, including
all of Mesopotamia, The Zagros Mountains and the Eastern Shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
F. Eventually The Chaldeans who ruled Babylonia defeated the Assyrians in 612 BCE.
THE NEW BABYLONIAN EMPIRE RULED BY: King Nebuchadnezzar
A. Nebuchadnezzar lived and ruled from the Capital city of Babylon in southern Mesopotamia.
B. He Gained Territory by capturing Jerusalem, the City of Tyre and driving Egyptians out of Syria and
Phoenicia.
C. He Treated the people harshly, charged high taxes, plundered wealth to build grand projects in
Babylon.
D. He used Troops to put down Rebellions, Conquered Judah’s rulers, Forced Jews to march to
Mesopotamia, Burned Jerusalem and took Jews as Slaves to Babylon.
E. His EMPIRE spread from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf including, Syria, Babylonia,
Phoenicia and Assyria.
F. Nebuchadnezzar also built the famous HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON, known as one of the
seven wonders of the ancient world.
G. Babylonia was eventually Conquered by Cyrus the Great of Persia.
BABYLONIAN ACHIEVEMENTS in Mathematics, Science and Architecture:
A. In Mathematics the Babylonians introduced the concept of PLACE VALUE, or the relation of one
numeral to another.
B. In Science early Babylonian Astronomers developed a Calendar based on the Phases of the Moon,
and later made it much more Accurate.
C. Another Scientific Achievement was the division of the Hour into 60 Minutes.
D. The Babylonian Architects built great Ziggurats and the Hanging Gardens as well as Massive Walls
and Fortifications to protect their cities.