Download ancient mesopotamia- “the land between the rivers”

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA“THE LAND BETWEEN TWO
RIVERS”
Goal 2
The learner will assess the
relationship between physical
environment and cultural
characteristics of selected
societies and regions of Asia.
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAGEOGRAPHY
LOCATED BETWEEN THE TIGRIS
and EUPHRATES RIVERS
BOTH RIVERS FLOW INTO THE
PERSIAN GULF
LOCATED IN PRESENT DAY IRAQ
Fertile Crescent
Mesopotamia
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAGEOGRAPHY
POSITIVE
abundant amount
of clay
easy till-able soil
water supply from
Tigris and the
Euphrates Rivers
NEGATIVE
few natural
resources
minimal protection
from deserts and
mountains
Persians
Akkadians
Babylonians
Sumeria
Hittites
Mesopotamian
Civilization
Chaldeans
Lydians
Phoenicians
Assyrians
City-States
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIADEFINITIONS
CITY STATES- self-governing unit
made up of a city and its surrounding
villages and farmland.
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIASUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
HELPED DEVELOP THE FIRST
ORGANIZED RELIGION
CREATED THE EARLIEST FORMS OF
WRITING
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIASUMERIAN CITY-STATES
ALWAYS IN CONFLICT
OVER WATER AND LAND
CREATED WALLS FOR
PROTECTION, WITH A
MOAT ON THE OUTSIDE
FARMS WERE LOCATED
ALONG THE OUTSIDE
OF THE CITY
Sumerians invented:
TO NAME A FEW:
Wheel
arch
Ramp
swords
Religion
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIASUMERIAN RELIGION
Ziggurats: pyramid
structure that was a
“center for learning and
religion”
– Each city-state had their
own gods and goddesses
Believed in life after
death
Ziggurat – Holy Mountain
Ziggurat
Religion
Monotheism:
worshiping one god.
– “Mono” – means one
Polytheism: worshiping
many gods.
– “Poly” – means many
Writing:
Cuneiform
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIASUMERIAN WRITING
Written on clay
tablets
created by pressing a
pointed tool into a
clay tablet
Cuneiform
Economy
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIASUMERIAN ECONOMY
Make, sell or barter (trade) goods
Trade helped expand cities
Development of money over time
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIASUMERIAN ECONOMY
RICH
government
officials
religious leaders
traders
POOR
Farmers
Craftsman (middle
class)
The invention of Agriculture
changed the way people lived.
Agriculture (Farming)
Growth of Cities
Division of Labor
(Specialization)
Trade
Writing and Mathematics
Babylonians
King Hammurabi
Hammurabi’s Code
– Earliest code of law
– Based on equal
retaliation.
Hammurabi’s Code
282 total laws
Harsh punishments
Based on equal consequence
– If you kill, you will be put to death
– “ If a man bring an accusation against a man
and charge him with a capital crime, but
cannot prove it, the accuser, shall be put to
death”
– “If the slave of a freed man strike the body of
a freed man, his ear shall be cut off”
Laws were varied for the wealthy and
powerful.
What do you think?
– “If a man bring an accusation against a man
and charge him with a capital crime, but
cannot prove it, the accuser, shall be put to
death”
– “If the slave of a freed man strike the body of
a freed man, his ear shall be cut off”
– “If a man strike a free-born woman so that she
lose her unborn child, he shall pay ten shekels
for her loss.”
– “If the woman die, his daughter shall be put to
death.”