Mesopotamia The Land Between Two Rivers Mesopotamia between

Mesopotamia

The Land Between Two Rivers • Mesopotamia (between the rivers) is a region in SW Asia • Tigris and Euphrates Rivers • Rich soil • Drew people in to become farmers and city builders • Sumer was a region inside of Mesopotamia • Schools • System of writing (cuneiform) • Scribes

Rivers of Life and Death • Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were the source of life for all people in Mesopotamia • Positives • Annual floods provided rich fertile soil for crops • Supplied fish, clay, transportation • Negatives • Floods did not happen at the same time each year • Without warning, crops, homes, animals, and people could be swept away Tigris River

The First Cities • As farming succeeded in Mesopotamia, communities began to rise due to surplus of food. • Earliest cities rose in Sumer along the rivers by around 3500 BC • City-States shared a common culture and language, but had their own rulers, gods, and army (a city, but also an independent state) • Public squares were popular places where merchants would sell good and various forms of entertainment would occur.

Sumerian Religion • Polytheistic- the belief in many gods • Ziggurats were temples to the main god or goddess of the city. It was believed that the temple provided the gods a stairway down to earth.

The Fall of Sumer • Sumerian city-states fought each other over land use of the rivers • Around 2300 BC, Sumer was conquered by neighboring Akkad. • King Sargon of Akkad, united all Sumerian city-states for 100 years • Eventually independent city-states formed again. • After 2000 BC, Sumer was no longer a major power.