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Mesopotamia Notes

Nomadic tribes from Arabia and Turkey migrated to the fertile lands between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers known as the Fertile Crescent around 4000 BC. Here they established the first cities and developed irrigation techniques using the rivers for farming. One of the earliest civilizations to emerge was the Sumerians in Mesopotamia around 3500 BC, consisting of 12 city-states including Ur and Uruk. The Sumerians invented writing, wheeled vehicles, law codes, and the first system of mathematics. Later empires rose and fell in Mesopotamia, including the Akkadian and Babylonian empires under rulers such as Sargon and Hammurabi, who issued some of

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1K views2 pages

Mesopotamia Notes

Nomadic tribes from Arabia and Turkey migrated to the fertile lands between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers known as the Fertile Crescent around 4000 BC. Here they established the first cities and developed irrigation techniques using the rivers for farming. One of the earliest civilizations to emerge was the Sumerians in Mesopotamia around 3500 BC, consisting of 12 city-states including Ur and Uruk. The Sumerians invented writing, wheeled vehicles, law codes, and the first system of mathematics. Later empires rose and fell in Mesopotamia, including the Akkadian and Babylonian empires under rulers such as Sargon and Hammurabi, who issued some of

Uploaded by

Matt Hasquin
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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THE FERTILE CRESCENT

Nomads from Arabia & Turkey move into Fertile Crescent Area
- Modern countries of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, & Iraq
- Many chose Mesopotamia – Eastern Fertile Crescent
- Located between Tigris & Euphrates Rivers “Land between the Rivers”

Tigris & Euphrates used for farming


- Rivers were unpredictable & flooding was dangerous
- Not as predictable as the Nile
- Farmers built dams & channels to control flooding
- Producing an abundance of grain by 4000 bc

Sumerian Civilization
- 3500 bc, people settle in Southern Mesopotamia – Sumer
- Believed to be home of first cities.
- 12 city states in T-E valley by 3000: UR, Uruk, Eridu
- Poplulation range from 20,000 – 250,000
- Shared common language, culture & religion
- Each city had a ziggurat
- -Ziggurats were raised temples to the sky
- Each city-state was independent
- Council – military leaders – kings – hereditary
- King – Military leader & Priest
- Laws involved fines not punishment
- Commerce & Trading important to Sumerians
- Developed writing – cuneiform
- - Wedge shaped marks made with stylus on wet clay
- Sumerians went to school to be writers
- Works still exist
- Poem “Gilgamesh” was written in 1850 bc.
- Similary to Hercules.
- Polytheistic Religion
- Gods represent nature
- Each city-state had its own special god
- Believed gods were vengeful
- Belived that afterlife was grim & had little control of their daily lives
- Sumerians invented wagon wheel, arch, potter’s wheel, sundial
- Number system based on 60 & 12 month calendar

Mesopotamian Empires

- 2000 BC – city-states begin to fall to invaders


- Sargon I leads Akkadians – 2300 BC
- Mother abandons him in a reed basket on the Euphrates river
- Rescued and raised by farmer
- Established kingdom in North Mesopotamia – Akkad
- Sargon wants to expand empire
- Unites city state 800 years before Egyptian new kingdom
- Akkadian language replaces Sumerian

Amorites
- Expanded into Syria
- Overrun Sumerian city-states and capture city of Babylon
- Babylon becomes capitol and Hammurabi becomes king
- Hammurabi strengthens government
- Babylon becomes major trade center – Egypt to China
- Produced grain & cloth
- “To make justice appear in the land”
- Collected laws of different city-states
- 282 law sections dealing with daily life
- Penalized wrongdoers severely
- “eye for an eye”
- Laws were written to protect the less powerful
- Three classes of Babylonian social classes – Kings, priest, nobles- artisans,
farmers – slaves
- Most slaves were captured in war
- Used cuneiform for writing
- Babylonian empire declines after Hammurabi’s death
- Hittites break empire apart

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