Mesopotamia

By Joshua JensenPeriod: 3

Political The Mesopotamians had written laws that everyone in the

empire had to follow There were 282 laws created by King Hamurabi Known as Hamurabi's Code, the laws were written in stone

and placed in a public location The Mesopotamians believed the gods called the king to

establish justice and order. Whoever disobeyed the king disobeyed the gods

Based on the principle “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

The King held military powers. The Governors governed each individual city. They

were generals and judges at the same time. The aristocracy were priests and traders. The peasants worked the land.

Economic

The Mesopotamian plain was lacking in resources such as metals, timber, stone, and grapevines, so the Sumerians had to trade to get them

At first, the Sumerians traded extra barley for these goods

Later, the Sumerians began to manufacture trading goods that they could transport more easily. Like cloth and bronze ornaments

The Mesopotamians made written contracts, loans and created a credit system

They used a barter system

Religion The people of Mesopotamia were polytheistic

(believed in many gods) They worshiped their gods at huge temples

called ziggurats Each ziggurat was dedicated to a specific god,

who the Sumerians believed ruled over their city. When one city was conquered, the invades would

force the conquered people to accept their gods. Each town was protected by its own, unique deity

or god The temple was at the center of every city Around the year 2000 B.C., temple towers called

ziggurats were built to link heaven and earth

Social

Sports, games and entertainment were part of their everyday life

Boxing and wrestling were popular sports Board games were also popular The kings would hunt lions, elephants,

ostriches, wild bulls People liked to play harps and lyres

Intellectual

The system of writing was called cuneiform Cuneiform was wedge shaped symbols pressed into clay tablets The Mesopotamians wrote many myths The most famous was the epic poem called

Gilgamesh Writing allowed the people to keep records of their

transactions and pass on their gained knowledge to future generations

Area

Rise Flood control created a great agricultural economy,

made even better through manufacturing and foreign trade. Around 2350 BC the ruler of Erech, Lugalzaggissi, conquered all of Sumeria, creating a big empire.

Knowing how to read and write was the way to wealth and power.

Sumerian civilization was pretty stable for a long time. With culture and religion barely ever changing, some cities lasted for 2,000 years or more.

Fall

There were 3 main things that led to the fall: 1. Increased population growth led to pollution.

2. War-like tribes wanted geographic influence.

3. Too much irrigation. They irrigated all the way to the sea, thus the soil was ruined by the salt.