Download Unit 1 Lesson 2 Mesopotamia Terms and Early Law Codes

Mesopotamia
“The Land between Two Rivers”
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
River Civilization
With your elbow partner discuss:
1. Why would people group up and settle
near rivers? what challenges might they
face?
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
Mesopotamia
“land
between two rivers” - the
Tigris and Euphrates
the Fertile Crescent - area of rich
soil in the Middle East where the
agricultural revolution took place
Tigris and Euphrates had
unpredictable flooding
2.
With a partner list some positives and
negatives to living in the Fertile Crescent.
3.
What do you think the words cultural
diffusion mean?
cultural diffusion
process
of a new idea or a
product spreading from one
culture to another culture as
trade began to develop from
one city-state to another
city-state
vs.
empire
city and all its surrounding lands
that function as an independent
political unit
City-states evolved into empires
Empire- controlled by a single
ruler aka a monarchy
Contributions of
Mesopotamian
Cultures
Major Groups in
Mesopotamia
Sumerians
Hebrews
Babylonians
Phoenicians
Chaldeans
Assyrians
Persians
Sumerians
Technology
 arch, wheel, plow, & sail
 astronomy
& fortune telling
 number system - 6’s & 12’s
 concept of city-state
 Ziggurat – Temple “Mountain of
 Cuneiform – Form of
writing using stylus
and wet clay tablet
God”
Babylonians
Hammurabi’s
Law Code
–1st written code of laws
imperial
government
first to build Babylon
Iron,
Hittites
chariots, hunters.
Phoenicians
alphabet
& writing with
phonetic symbols
commerce & shipbuilding,
sailing, trade
dyes and other products
–murex
Hebrews
(Israelites, Jews)
Monotheism
– One God
Old Testament
concept of human dignity
Judaism
Assyrians
warfare:
weapons, armor,
cavalry, tactics, catapult
and other siege tools
postal service
some roads
built city of Ninevah
improved writing
Assyrian Treasures
The Bronze Age
time
when a people use
bronze (mix tin and copper)
rather than stone, bone, or
copper
begins in 2500
BCE in Mesopotamia
polytheism
monotheism
a
a
belief in
many gods
belief in
one god
(originated with
the Hebrews –
Judaism)
EARLY LAW
CODES
Think - Pair - Share
4.
5.
6.
What governmental systems were
established in early civilizations and why?
What legal ideas can be traced to ancient
civilizations?
How were religious philosophies
integrated into these ancient systems?
HAMMURABI’S
CODE OF LAWS
 first
set of written/codified laws (282)
– In cuneiform
 deal
with what Mesopotamians value:
family relations, crime, and property issues
 follow “eye for an eye” philosophy
 Emphasizes
society
government responsibility for
Hammurabi’s Code of Laws
7.
How would these strict laws better the
community as a whole?
This document made the laws more
consistent and predictable.
LAW OF MOSES
Includes
Ten Commandments
LAW OF MOSES cont.
Transcribed
by Moses on Mt. Sinai
Sometimes resembles “eye for an
eye”
strict justice softened by
expressions of God’s mercy
Goal: moral life in accordance with
God’s laws