MESOPOTAMIA & THE FERTILE CRESCENT

Chapter 3P. 50 - 81

P. 54-57

GEOGRAPHY OF THE FERTILE CRESCENT

RIVERS & THE GROWTH OF CIVILIZATION

Early people farmed land near rivers

Regular floods created rich soil

Southwest Asia was well-suited for farming

THE LAND BETWEEN THE RIVERS Mesopotamia

“Land between the rivers” Lies between the Tigris &

Euphrates rivers Mesopotamia is a portion of

the Fertile Crescent A large arc of rich farmland

Northern Mesopotamia was a plateau (high, flat land), with mountains to the north and east

Southern Mesopotamia was flat

Tigris & Euphrates flowed from the north to the south

RISE OF CIVILIZATION 12,000 years ago

The first hunter-gatherers settled Mesopotamia

Eventually learned to farm Tigris & Euphrates flooded each

year & brought silt Silt

Mixture of rich soil & tiny rocks Made the land fertile (good for farming)

9,000 years ago Farming settlements developed Grew wheat, barley, and grain Raised livestock & birds, fished

People had plentiful food, so populations grew & villages formed

Villages developed into the first civilization

FARMING AND CITIES Even with fertile soil,

farming could be tough Mesopotamia doesn’t get

much rain Rain had to fall in Asia Minor

(Turkey), fill the rivers, and then flow into Mesopotamia

Too much rain caused floods that could destroy crops, livestock, and homes

If not enough rain flowed, crops would dry and die

Farmers found ways to control the flow of the rivers

CONTROLLING WATER Irrigation: a way to supply

water to an area of land Mesopotamians dug large

storage basins to hold water

Canals: human-made waterways (like a stream or river) Connected the storage

basins to ditches Ditches brought water to

the fields Riverbanks were built up

to hold back flood waters

FOOD SURPLUSES Surplus: producing more than is

needed Mesopotamian farmers had a surplus

of food They used land for both farming

and grazing Had a variety of grains, animals,

and fruit (dates) to eat Using irrigation made farming more

productive Fewer farmers were needed Some people could do other jobs

New jobs developed Craftsmen, religious leaders,

government workers Division of Labor: each worker

specializes in a particular job Having a variety of jobs meant more

things could be accomplished Construction of buildings Digging irrigation

Some people became managers or organizers

Rules were needed The rules became laws

THE APPEARANCE OF CITIES Settlements grew &

became more complex Cities developed about

5,000-6,000 years ago Most people were still

farmers In the cities, people

traded goods and leaders began to gain power

Cities were the center of politics, religion, culture, and the economy (money)

Chapter 3Section 2

Pages 60 – 64

THE RISE OF SUMER

AN ADVANCED SOCIETY By around 3000 BC,

people called Sumerians settled in southern Mesopotamia

Sumerians developed the world’s first civilization

Several hundred thousand people lived in Sumer, the land of the Sumerians

SUMER Most people lived in rural

areas (countryside) Most were farmers

Center of society was in urban centers (cities)

Early cities had about 10,000 people

By 2000 BC, 100,000 people lived in some cities

City-states developed Includes the city and the

countryside around it

CITY-STATES IN SUMER Fought each other over

farmland Built strong armies Built walls around cities for

protection Some powerful city-states:

Kish (3500 BC) Uruk & Ur (3000-2500 BC) Akkad (2300 BC)

Gilgamesh King from Uruk Legendary stories were

written about him

RISE OF THE AKKADIANS Akkadians

People who lived just north of Sumer

Spoke a different language than Sumerians

Akkadians & Sumerians lived peacefully until Sargon became the leader of the Akkadians

SARGON Wanted to expand

Akkadian land Built a new capital on

the Euphrates Name = Akkad

Modern-day Baghdad First ruler to have a

permanent army Started wars with other

kingdoms Defeated all Sumerian

city-states & northern Mesopotamia

AKKADIAN EMPIRE Sargon controlled a huge

region and started the world’s first empire

Empire = land with different territories and people under a single ruler

Stretched from Persian Gulf to Mediterranean Sea

Sargon was emperor for 50 years

100 years after Sargon’s death, Akkad was defeated Poor rulers led to chaos

Ur regained power and conquered Mesopotamia

SUMERIAN RELIGION Religion shaped all aspects of

life Sumerians were polytheistic Polytheism – worship of many

gods Each city-state had a

god/goddess who was a special protector

Believed the gods had enormous power Floods, good harvest, health,

wealth, illness, success Believed it was important to

please the gods By serving and worshiping them

MORE ON RELIGION Priests – people who

performed religious ceremonies In Sumer, these people were

very important People went to them to help

please the gods Made offerings to the gods for

the people Offerings were made in

temples (special buildings) Examples of gods:

Enlil (air) Enki (wisdom) Inanna (love & war) Utu (sun) Nanna (moon)

SOCIAL ORDER Social hierarchy

Division of society by rank or class

In Sumer, the order went: Kings

Believed they were appointed by gods

Priests Skilled craftspeople Merchants & traders

Traded gold, silver, copper, lumber, precious stones

Farmers & laborers (workers)

Slaves

SUMERIAN MEN AND WOMEN Men

Political power Made laws Educated

Women Took care of house &

children Only some upper class

women were educated Could be priestesses

Enheduanna Sargon’s daughter Wrote hymns to goddess

Inanna First known female writer

Chapter 3, Section 3P. 65-69

SUMERIAN ACHIEVEMENTS

INVENTION OF WRITING

Cuneiform – world’s first writing system

Developed by Sumerians Stylus – sharp tool used to

write Used on clay tablets

Wrote using wedge-shaped symbols

Symbols represented syllables (parts of words)

Early writing used pictographs (picture symbols)

Stood for objects Cuneiform could express

more complex ideas than pictographs

USES FOR CUNEIFORM First used for business Scribes – writers

Kept track of trade goods Kept government records Could move up in society

Students Learned to read & write

Later used to write history, law, math, & literature

Literature Stories, proverbs, songs,

poems Epics – long poems that tell

stories about heroes Example: Epic of Gilgamesh

(a Sumerian king)

TECHNICAL ADVANCES Wheel

Carts, wagons Potter’s wheel

Plow Pulled by oxen Broke clay soil for planting Increased production

Clock Falling water measured time

Sewers Ran under streets

Bronze Used for weapons & tools

Makeup Glass jewelry

MATH AND SCIENCES Developed math system

Based on 60 Circle dived into 360 Years divided into 12 months

(factor of 60) Calculated areas of

rectangles, triangles Scientific lists

1000s of animals, plants, minerals were named

Medicine Healing drugs made from

animals, plants, minerals Milk, turtle shells, figs, salt

Listed treatments by symptoms and body parts

ARCHITECTURE Architecture – building Mud bricks were used to

construct homes Rulers - lived in palaces Rich Sumerians – two-story

homes with a dozen rooms Most people – smaller, one-story

homes 6 or 7 rooms around a courtyard

Streets were unpaved Ziggurat – pyramid-shaped

temple towers Each city had one Had outdoor staircases & a shrine

at top Sometimes had columns & other

decorative features

Throne room of Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal

THE ARTS Sculptures of gods for temples

Small sculptures of ivory and wood

Pottery – more functional than artistic

Jewelry – made of gold, silver, gems Earrings, bracelets, necklaces

Cylinder seals – engraved with designs rolled over clay to leave an imprint Decorative & used as

signatures or to show battle scenes or religious rituals

Could have fine gems Required skill to make

Music – played for kings & in temples Reed pipes, drums,

tambourines, lyres Sung in school or to the gods,

or for dancing

Chapter 3, Section 4Pages 72-77

LATER PEOPLES OF THE FERTILE CRESCENT

THE BABYLONIANS Babylon located on

Euphrates River Modern-day Baghdad, Iraq

Became powerful by 1800 BC

Hammurabi became Babylon’s king in 1792 He was their greatest

monarch (a ruler of a kingdom or empire)

Ruled 42 years & made Babylon the most important city in Mesopotamia

HAMMURABI THE RULER Great war leader Conquered all of

Mesopotamia & called it the Babylonian Empire

Hammurabi was skilled at governing (ruling)

Built buildings & irrigation systems Paid through his taxation

system Empire became wealthy

from trade Most famous for his code

of laws

HAMMURABI’S CODE Hammurabi’s Code – set

of 282 laws dealing with daily life Topics: trade, loans, theft,

marriage, injury, murder Some ideas are still used

today Social class mattered

Greater penalties for injuring rich men than poor

Thorough Laws written for all to see

INVASIONS IN MESOPOTAMIA Many societies

developed around the Fertile Crescent

They fought for land and developed competing empires

Examples: Hittites Kassites Assyrians Chaldeans Phoenicians

HITTITES Built their kingdom in

Asia Minor (Turkey) Mastered ironworking

Could make stronger weapons than anyone else

Used chariots (wheeled, horse-drawn carts) in battle Allowed soldiers to fire

arrows Captured Babylon in

1595

KASSITES

Lived north of Babylon

Took over Babylon after the Hittites lost their power

Ruled Babylon for 400 years

Agargoaf’s Ziggurat, built by Kassites

ASSYRIANS Came from northern

Mesopotamia Around 900 BC, they conquered

all of the Fertile Crescent Including Asia Minor & Egypt

Strong army Organized Used chariots & iron Looted villages & burned

crops before battles Killed anyone who resisted

Capital = Nineveh Heavy taxes on people

Severe punishments if one refused

Local leaders ruled for the kings Collected taxes, carried out

laws, raised troops Roads built to connect the

empire Messengers traveled on

horseback

CHALDEANS From Syrian Desert Destroyed Ninevah & defeated

Assyrian Empire in 612 BC Nebuchadnezzar

Famous king Rebuilt Babylon Great palace = Hanging Gardens

Trees & flowers grew on roofs

Admired Sumerian culture Studied the language & built

temples to Sumerian gods Used astronomy

Charted stars Kept track of economics, politics

& weather Created a calendar Solved complex geometry problems

PHOENICIANS Phoenicia’s coast was on the Mediterranean

Modern-day Lebanon Did not become a great military power Land travel/trade was limited by mountains to the

north & east Travel had to be done by sea Became expert sailors

PHOENICIAN TRADE Tyre = important harbor

Traded with Egypt, Greece, Italy, Sicily, Spain

Even sailed to Atlantic Ocean Founded trade colonies

Cities they controlled for trade Carthage = one of most powerful

trade cities Trade products

Cedar trees – valuable lumber/wood

Silverwork Ivory Slaves Glass/glassblowing Tyrian purple – made purple dye

from a shell Traded cloth dyed purple Wealthy people bought it

Alphabet (set of letters combined to form words)

Easier to write Our English alphabet is based on

Phoenician alphabet