SSE111- World History 1

CHAPTER 2 | Early River Valley Civilizations- 3500 B.C.- 450B.C

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City-States in Mesopotamia
Setting the Stage
Two rivers flow from the mountains of what is now Turkey, down through Syria and Iraq,
and finally to the Persian Gulf. Over six thousand years ago, the waters of these rivers provided
the lifeblood and allowed the formation of farming settlements. These grew into villages and then
cities.

Geography of the Fertile Crescent

A desert climate dominates the landscape between the Persian Gulf and the
Mediterranean Sea in Southwest Asia. Yet within this dry region lies an arc of land that provided
some of the best farming in Southwest Asia. The region’s curved shape and the richness of its
land led scholars to call it the Fertile Crescent. It includes the lands facing the Mediterranean
Sea and the a plain that became known as Mesopotamia. The word in Greek means “land
between the rivers.”
The rivers framing Mesopotamia are the Tigris and Euphrates. They flow southeastward
to the Persian Gulf. The Tigris and the Euphrates rivers flooded Mesopotamia at least once a
year. As the floodwater receded, it left a thick bed of mud called silt. Farmers planted grain in this
rich new soil and irrigated the fields with river water. The results were large quantities of wheat
and barley at harvest time. The surpluses from their harvest allowed villages to grow.
Environmental Challenges
People first began to settle and farm the flat, swampy lands in southern Mesopotamia
before 4500 B.C. Around 3300 B.C, the people called the Sumerians. However, there were three
disadvantages to their new environment.
 Unpredictable flooding combined with a period of little or no rain. The land sometimes
became almost a desert.
 With no natural barriers for protection, a Sumerian village was nearly defenseless.
 The natural resources of Sumer were limited. Building materials and other necessary items
were scarce.
Solving Problems Through Organization
Over a long period of time, the people of Sumer created solutions to deal with this
problems.
 To provide water, then dug irrigation ditches that carried river water to their fields and allowed
them to produce a surplus of crops.
 For defense, they built city walls with mud bricks.
 Sumerians traded their grain, cloth, and crafted tools with the peoples of the mountains and
the desert. In exchange, they received raw materials such as stone, wood and metal.
These activities required organization, cooperation, and leadership. It took many people
working together, for example for the Sumerians to construct their large irrigation systems.
Leaders were needed to plan the projects and supervise the digging. These projects also
created a need for laws to settle disputes over how land and water would be distributed. These
leaders and laws were the beginning of organized government- and eventually of civilization.
Sumerian Create City-States
The Sumerians stands out in history as one of the first groups of people to form a
civilization. As you learned in Chapter 1, five key characteristics set Sumer apart from earlier
human societies: (1) advanced cities, (2) specialized workers, (3) complex institutions (4)
record keeping and (5) improved technology. All the later peoples who lived in this region of
the world built upon the innovations of Sumerian civilization.
By 3000 B.C., the Sumerians had built a number of cities, each surrounded by fields of
barley and wheat. Although these cities shared the same culture, they developed their own
governments, each with its own rulers. Each city and the surrounding land it controlled formed
a city-state. A city-state functioned much as an independent country does today. Sumerian city-
states included Uruk, Kish, Lagash, Umma, and Ur. As in Ur, the center of all Sumerian cities
was walled temple with a ziggurat in the middle. There the priests and rulers appealed to the
gods for the well-being of the city-state.
Priest and Rulers Share Control
Sumer’s earliest governments were controlled by the temple priests. The farmers believed
that the success of their crops depended upon the blessings of the gods, and the priests acted
as go-between with the gods. In addition to being a place of worship, the ziggurat was like a
city hall. From the ziggurat the priests managed the irrigation system. Priests demanded a
portion of every farmer’s crop as taxes.
In time of war, however the priests did not lead the city. Instead, the men of the city chose
a though fighter who could comman the city’s soldier. At first, a commander’s power ended as
soon as the war was over. After 3000 B.C., war between cities became more and more
frequent. Gradually, Sumerian priest and people gave commanders permanent control of
standing armies.
In time, some military leaders became full-time rulers. These rulers usually passed their
power on their sons, who eventually passed it on to their own heirs. Such a series of rulers from
a single family is called a dynasty. After 2500 B.C., many Sumerian city-states came under the
rule of dynasties.
The Spread of Cities
Sumer’s city-states grew prosperous from the surplus food produced on their farms. These
surpluses allowed Sumerians to increase long-distance trade, exchanging the extra food and
other goods for items they needed.
By 2500 BC., new cities were arising all over the Fertile Crescent, in what is now Syria
northern Iraq, and Turkey. Sumerians exchanged products and ideas, such as living in cities,
with neighboring cultures. This process in which a new idea or a product spreads from one
culture to another is called cultural diffusion.
Sumerian Culture
The belief systems, social structure, technology, and arts of the Sumerians reflected their
civilization’s triumph over its dry and harsh environment.
A Religion of Many Gods
Like many peoples in the Fertile Crescent, the Sumerians believed that many different gods
controlled the various forces in nature. The belief in more than one god is called polytheism.
Enlil, the god of storms and air, was among the most powerful gods. Sumerians feared him as
“the raging flood that has no rival.” Demons known as Ugallu protected humans from the evil
demons who caused disease, misfortune, and misery.
Sumerians described their gods as doing many of the same things humans do- falling in
love, having children, quarreling, and so on. Yet the Sumerians also believed that their gods
were both immortal and all-powerful. Humans were nothing but their servants. At any moment,
the mighty anger of the gods might strike,sending a fire, a flood or an enemy to destroy a city.
To keep the gods happy, the Sumerians built impressive ziggurats for them and offered rich
sacrifices of animals, food and wine.
 Sumerians worked hard to earn the god’s protection in this life. Yet they expected
little help from the gods after death. The Sumerians believed that the souls of the dead went to
the “land of no return,” a dismal, gloomy place between the earth’s crust and the ancient sea.
No joy awaited souls there. A passage in a Sumerian poem describes the fate of dead souls:
“Dust is their fare and clay their food.”
Some of the richest account of Mesopotamia myths and legends appear in a long poem
called the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Life in Sumerian Society
With civilization came the beginning of what we call social classes. Kings, landholders
and some priest made up the highest level in Sumerian society. Wealthy merchants ranked next.
The vast majority of ordinary Sumerian people worked with their hands in fields and workshops.
At the lowest level of Sumerian society were the slaves. Some slaves were foreigners who had
been sold into slavery as children to pay the debts of their poor parents. Debt slaves could hope
to eventually buy their freedom.
Social class affected the lives of both men and women. Sumerian women could work as
merchants, farmers or artisans. They could hold property in their own names. Women could also
join priesthood. Some upper-class women did learn to read and write, though Sumer’s written
records mention few female scribes. However, Sumerian women had more rights than women in
many later civilizations.
Sumerian Science and Technology
Historians believe that Sumerians invented the wheel, the sail and the plow and they were
among the first to use bronze. Many new ideas and inventions arose from the Sumerians’
practical needs.
 Arithmetic and geometry- In order to erect city walls and buildings, plan irrigation systems,
and survey flooded fields, Sumerians needed arithmetic and geometry. They developed a
number system in base 60, from which stem the modern units for measuring time (60
seconds = 1 minute) and 360 degrees of a circle.
 Architectural innovations- Arches, columns, ramps, and the pyramid shaped the design of
the ziggurat and permanently influenced Mesopotamian civilization.
 Cuneiform- Sumerians created a system of writing. One of the first known maps was made
on a clay tablet in about 2300 B.C. Other tablets contain some of the oldest written records
of scientific investigations in the areas of astronomy, chemistry, and medicine.
The First Empire Builders
From 3000 to 2000 B.C., the city-states could no longer ward off attacks from the
peoples of the surrounding deserts and hills. Although the Sumerians never recovered from the
attacks on their cities, their civilization did not die. Succeeding sets of rulers adapted the basic
ideas of Sumerian culture to meet their own needs.
Sargon of Akkad
About 2350 B.C., a conqueror named Sargon defeated the city-states of Sumer. Sargon led
his army from Akkad, a city-state north of Sumer. The Akkadians had long before adopted most
aspects of Sumerian culture. Sargon’s conquests helped to spread that culture even farther,
beyond the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. By taking control of both northern and southern
Mesopotamia, Sargon created the world’s first empire. An empire brings together several
peoples, nations, or previously independent states under the control of one ruler. At its height,
the Akkadian Empire loosely controlled land from the Mediterranean Coast in the west to present-
day Iran in the east. Sargon’s dynasty lasted only about 200 years, after which it declined due to
internal fighting, invasions, and a famine.
Babylonian Empire
In about 2000 B.C., nomadic warriors known as Amorites invaded Mesopotamia. Gradually,
the Amorites overwhelmed the Sumerians and established their capital at Babylon, on the
Euphrates River. The Babylonian Empire reached its peak during the reign of Hammurabi, from
1792 B.C. to 1750 B.C. Hammurabi’s most enduring legacy is the code of laws he put together.
Hammurabi’s Code
Hammurabi recognized that a single, uniform code of laws would help to unify the diverse
groups within his empire. He collected existing rules, judgments, and laws into the Code of
Hammurabi. Hammurabi had the code engraved in stone, and copies were placed all over his
empire.
The code lists 282 specific laws dealing with everything that affected the community,
including family relations, business conduct, and crime. Since many people were merchants,
traders, or farmers, for example, many of the laws related to property issues. Additionally, the
laws sought to protect women and children from unfair treatment. The laws tell us a great deal
about the Mesopotamians’ beliefs and what they valued.
Although the code applied to everyone, it set different punishments for rich and poor and for
men and women. It frequently applied the principle of retaliation (an eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth) to punish crimes. The prologue of the code set out the goals for this body of law. It
said, “To bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-
doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak.” Thus, Hammurabi’s Code reinforced the
principle that government had a responsibility for what occurred in society. For example, if a man
was robbed and the thief was not caught, the government was required to compensate the victim.
Nearly two centuries after Hammurabi’s reign, the Babylonian Empire, which had become
much smaller, fell to the neighboring Kassites. Over the years, new groups dominated the Fertile
Crescent. Yet the later peoples, including the Assyrians, Phoenicians, and Hebrews, would adopt
many ideas of the early Sumerians. Meanwhile, a similar pattern of development, rise, and fall
was taking place to the west, along the Nile River in Egypt. Egyptian civilization is described in
Section 2.