Download - Notes: Module 2, Lesson 2
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What elements of Civilization do you see in this picture?
Geography Promotes Civilization*Note: text in yellow represents a fill-in.
Fertile area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers became site of world’s first civilization. Today we call this area Iraq.
Fertile Crescent well suited for agriculture
Farming in Mesopotamia posed challenges:
If water levels too high, crops washed away
If water levels too low, crops died
People developed methods to control water:
Basins, canals, and dikes
Organization: assigning jobs, allocating resources
Summarize
What factors influenced the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia?
Answer:
Summarize
What factors influenced the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia?
Answer: fertile land; plentiful food; need to organize people for jobs
Sumer
The Cities of Sumer• Large cities developed by 4000 BC
• Structures made of mud bricks
• Ziggurat: pyramid-shaped temple
• Massive wall encircled each city
• Each city and its land formed a city-state, with its own government
Religion and Government• Shaped life in city-states
• Polytheism Shaped life in city-states
• Polytheism: worship of many gods
• Priests had high status and were the first rulers
• War chiefs began to rule as kings
• Dynasty: series of rulers from one family
Sumerian Culture
Writing
• Cuneiform: Sumerian writing
• Business accounts and records
• Law, grammar, literature
• Scribes
Math and Sciences
• System based on number 60 • Geometry• May have been the first to use the wheel• Invented the plow• Basic surgery
The Arts
• Arches, ramps, columns
• Sculpture
• Cylinder seals
Trade and Society
• Traded for wood and metals
• Social hierarchy
• Distinct male/female roles
Draw Conclusions
Why was the Sumerians’ development of cuneiform a major turning point in history?
Answer(s):
Draw Conclusions
Why was the Sumerians’ development of cuneiform a major turning point in history?
Answer(s): After the development of cuneiform, humankind moved from prehistory into the historical age.
Empires in Mesopotamia• Each conquering invader adapted aspects of Sumerian culture. • Thus Sumerian civilization continued to influence life in Mesopotamia.
• Sargon I:– Around 2330 BC, created first
permanent army– Conquered Sumer and northern
Mesopotamia– Established world’s first empire,
which lasted about 100 years• Sumerian culture spread far beyond
Tigris and Euphrates valleys
Sargon’s Empire• Hammurabi became king in 1792 BC• United all of Mesopotamia • Able ruler and administrator• Hammurabi’s Code:– 282 laws covering everything
from trade to murder– Written for all to see– Babylon became Mesopotamia’s
greatest city
The Babylonian Empire
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