ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA 3000 BC 1700 BC The Fertile

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA 3000 BC – 1700 BC

The Fertile Crescent • The Fertile Crescent is in the modern day Middle East. It includes Kuwait, Iraq, and Syria. • It is bordered by two rivers: the Euphrates and the Tigris. • Because of the two rivers, the land in between has soil that is very good for growing crops. • This meant it was very easy for people to build permanent settlements here.

Background of Sumeria • Sumer began around 3000 BC. Historians are not quite sure what people came before them. • Sumer was composed of several city-states, or independent cities that controlled the land around them. • These were Eridu, Ur, and Uruk. • Sumerians had strong religious beliefs – they felt that everything in life was controlled by the gods

Sumerian Society • Sumerian society was based on agriculture. Most people in Sumeria were farmers. • The three main social groups were Nobles, Commoners, and Slaves.

Writing and Literature • Sumerians made one of the earliest known forms of writing. It was called cuneiform. • Cuneiform was created by making impressions into clay tablets, then leaving those tablets out to dry. • Cuneiform was used primarily to keep records, but also in schools to train scribes.

Why was the invention of writing so important?

Technology • Sumerians are remembered for their significant technological contributions. • Wheel • Sundial (primitive watch or clock) • Created bronze by combining copper and tin • Created a number system based on 60 • Why do you think our time-keeping today is based on 60 seconds, 60 minutes, etc?

Fall of Sumer • Despite their significant achievements and long existence, Sumerian city-states began fighting amongst themselves for control of land water. • In 2340 BC, the Akkadians took over the Sumerian city-states and created an empire • Empires are large countries that control many different people. They are difficult to maintain.

Akkad and Babylon • In 2100, the Akkadian Empire collapsed because of attacks from neighboring countries • There were no empires from 2100 BC to 1792 BC • In 1792 BC, Hammurabi, King of Babylon, took over most of Akkad and Sumer and created a new empire • This lasted only until approximately 1700 BC

Timeline Sumer, 3000 BC – 2340 BC Akkad, 2340 BC – 2100 BC Babylon, 1792 BC – 1700 BC

Hammurabi’s Code • The most lasting acheivment of the short- lived Babylonian empire was Hammurabi’s Code. • This was a set of rules and laws that regulated people’s relationships with one another. • It influenced law for many centuries afterwards. See if you can spot the similarities in the next slides.

Are these rules similar to what we have today? • “If anyone commits a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death. ” • “If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out. ” • “If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn off. ”