Ancient Sumer3300 – 1900 B.C.

Fertile Crescent

Today…

Mesopotamia Land “between the rivers”

Literally: Tigris & Euphrates Why was this a good place to settle? What did the Sumerians have to get

really good at?

Sumerian Society

Organized into city-states Each city-state was responsible for its own

security, irrigation system, laws, taxes, record keeping and building its own walls.

Social Hierarchy:1. Ruling family, officials, high priests2. Scribes, merchants, artisans, lesser

priests3. Peasant farmers (about 90% of the pop.)4. ???

Sumerian Religion Polytheistic

Meaning…? Gods controlled every aspect of their life A Sumerian’s job was to keep these

gods happy at all times Each city-state built a ziggurat Afterlife?

Cuneiform! Sumerians were the first to invent a

system of writing Cuneiform used symbols (called

pictographs) to represent things, concepts, ideas, etc.

Scribes went through rigorous study to master the art of cuneiform.

Bad handwriting & talking during class was punished by caning. Oh how times have changed…

Sumer’s Legacy Culture spread through trade to Asian

Minor, Egypt and as far east as the Indus River Valley

Cuneiform Astronomy

First to identify constellations 60 minutes in one hour; 24 hours in one

day Epic of Gilgamesh

First story to be written down, passed on

After Sumer… 2300 B.C. Sargon, the ruler Akkad,

came down from the north and conquered Sumer

By 1790 B.C. Mesopotamia was unified under the rule of Hammurabi, the King of Babylon

Hammurabi’s Code King Hammurabi’s greatest

accomplishment was writing down (codifying) the laws of the land WHY?

“Eye for an eye” Fair?

Many empires follow… Hittites: Ironworking Assyrians: Warriors; Libraries Babylon (again): Nebuchadnezzar

Re-built canals and temples Fortified the city with a moat and giant

wall Built gateways meant to please the gods

and allow people to pass through the defensive wall

Ishtar Gate

Persia 539 B.C. Babylon falls to Cyrus the Great’s

Persian army Built the largest empire to date,

encompassing a wide variety of cultures and beliefs How do you think Cyrus treated the diverse

groups in his empire? Emperor Darius I creates a complex

system of government; built roads to unite the far-reaches of his empire

Darius transitioned Persian from a barter economy to a money economy Linked his empire economically

The Phoenicians Small state on the

Mediterranean Sea What was their main industry? “Carriers of Civilization”

Set up trading outposts, or colonies, around the Mediterranean Sea

Phoenician alphabet How is this different than

cuneiform?