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The Mesopotamians
When They Lived
• The Sumerians lived
from 3500 B.C. –
2000 B.C. ,although
other sources say
that the civilization
started as early as
3000 B.C.
Where They Lived
• The Sumerians lived in
Mesopotamia or the
Fertile Crescent.
This area is between the
Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers and runs along
the eastern side of the
Mediterranean Sea.
The word Mesopotamia
is a Greek word
meaning “Land
between the Rivers.”
What They Were Like
The Sumerians were
very inventive and
worked hard. They
were mostly farmers
and had well
organized communal
(community) life.
Their Jobs
The Sumerians were also
skilled in the use of such
metal as copper, gold,
silver and had developed
by 3000 B.C. fine
artistry as well as
considerable knowledge
about technology.
They were not only
craftsman and farmers,
but scribes, scholars,
priests, priestesses, and
merchants also.
Worshipping
The Sumerians built
temples called ziggurats
in the center of their
cities. They were used
as a house for the cities’
gods. The temple was
raised on a platform, and
was made of thousands
of mud bricks.
Gods
Some of the gods that they worshipped were
Anu, the heaven god, Ea, the water god , and
Enki, the god of wisdom.
Cuneiform
At first, scribes used
writing to record
business
transactions. But
then, its use quickly
grew to include the
recording of
mythology, poetry,
mathematics, and
literature.
Gilgamesh
• The ancient Sumerians were great
story tellers. Thousands of years ago,
they created the story of Gilgamesh,
an epic, a long story about a hero
• Gilgamesh is one of the oldest
recorded stories in the world. It's
about an ancient King of Uruk who
may have actually existed and whose
name - Gilgamesh - is on the
Sumerian King List.
• According to the epic, Gilgamesh
was not just a hero. He was the first
superhero! He was part god and part
human. He had many special powers.
Inventions
The Sumerians made many
contributions to modern
civilization.
They invented the sail.
This allowed them to trade
up and down the Tigres
and Euphrates
More Inventions
The Sumerians invented
the wheel.
They developed
mathematics.
They established the citystate as a way to govern
people.
They invented irrigation.
The Number Six
The Sumerians had a counting
system based on the number
six, and they made a system
of tracking time based on
this system. This is why our
modern system of time uses
numbers that are divisible by
six: 60 seconds, 60 minutes,
24 hours.
Living
The Sumerians built
small square houses
built of mud.
Cities
Some of the most well
known cities in the
Sumerian civilization
were Uruk, Ur, Kish,
Evida, Lagash,
Nippur, and Sumer.
Leaders
The Sumerians first
leaders were the wise
elders, but as they
started to go to war
with other civilization,
strong army generals
became king. The
Sumerians called their
kings Lu-gal-gals,
which means “big man”
Code of Hammurabi
»
»
»
laws
An eye for an eye; a
tooth for a tooth
282 laws
Influenced later
civilizations’
Code Of Hammurabi
• What should be done to the
carpenter who builds a house
that falls and kills the owner?
• If a builder builds a house for
a man and does not make its
construction sound, and the
house which he has built
collapses and causes the death
of the owner of the house, the
builder shall be put to death.
Why Did The Civilization
End?
• The Sumerians
civilization ended
because of many reasons
• One, because Sargon
of Akkad from northern
Mesopotamia took
control.
• Two, the water supply
was scarce.
• Three, cities and states
were fighting among each
other.