Early River Valley Civilizations 3500 B.C.E.-450 B.C.E.
Chapter 2Section 1
Do Now: Name as many countries in Europe as you can
Obj: Explain why the Fertile Crescent was able to support civilizations
Understand the function of City-states
HW: Active Reading pg. #35-41; Main Ideas #3-5; Critical Thinking # 6
Vocabulary Fertile CrescentMesopotamiasilt City-stateDynastyCultural diffusionPolytheismEmpireHammurabi
Four River Valley CivilizationsMesopotamia
Egypt
Indus River Valley (India)
China
Mesopotamia Fertile Crescent
Great farm land in Southwest Asia, surrounded by desert
Mesopotamia- “land between the rivers” (Greek) Tigris and Euphrates rivers surround Mes. Rivers flood the land every year and leave behind
silt
Environmental ChallengesSumerians (3300
BC) faced with 3 challenges:Unpredictable
floods
No protection
Low natural resources
Solutions Through Organization:Irrigations ditches
from river to crops
High city walls made of mud bricks (lots of mud)
Trade: surplus food for raw materials
Sumerians Create City-States3000 BC several
city-states emergeSame culture
different rulersAct as independent
countries
First ruled by priestsFarmers pray for
crops to growDuring war, elected
strong fighter to leadAfter a while
fighters kept control permanently
Led to dynasty
Sumerian CulturePolytheism
Belief in more than one godDescribe gods are doing “human” things; i.e.
falling in love, having children, quarreling However; viewed as immortal and all-powerful-
humans are servantsBuilt large ziggurats to offer sacrifices to the
gods
Sumerian CultureLife in Sumerian Culture: Social Class
Kings, priestsWealthy Merchan
ts
Slaves
Sumerian CultureScience and Technology:
The wheel, the sail, plow, and among the first to use bronze
Arithmetic: number system based on 60; still used for measuring time (60 seconds=1 minute) and 360* in a circle
Architectural: arches, columns, rampsCuneiform: writing system carved into clay
tablets. Some oldest written records of astronomy,
chemistry, and medicine
Building Empires3000-2000 B.C.E. Sumerians city-states
plagued with warLeft Sumer weak and vulnerable to outsiders
Sargon of Akkad:2350 B.C.E. Sargon led his Akkadians to
victory over Sumer Control over both North and South Mesopotamia
created the world’s first empire Akkadians maintained strong Sumerian culture
Babylonian Empire2000 B.C.E. nomadic tribe called Amorites
invade Mesopotamia Gradually overwhelm the Sumerians and
establish capital in Babylon on the Euphrates River.
Hammurabi and his CodeBabylonian Empire reached its peak under
the rule of Hammurabi. (1792 B.C.E. – 1750 B.C.E)
Hammurabi’s Code:Attempt to unify diverse people of his empire
Code consisted of 282 specific laws Dealt with everything that affected the community Protected women and children from unfair
treatment Code was copied onto stone tablets and spread
throughout the empire.