mesopotamia & the fertile crescent
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Chapter 3 P. 50 - 81. Mesopotamia & the Fertile Crescent. 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. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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