section 1: mesopotamia and sumer
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Section 1: Mesopotamia and Sumer. The Great Ziggurat of Ur Built during the Early Bronze Age, 21st century BC. Section 1: Mesopotamia and Sumer. Main Idea - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Section 1: Mesopotamia and Sumer
The Great Ziggurat of UrBuilt during the Early Bronze Age, 21st century BC
Main IdeaThe first known civilization arose in Mesopotamia, and its culture and innovations influenced later civilizations in the region for thousands of years.
Section 1: Mesopotamia and Sumer
Reading Focus
•How did geography promote civilization in Mesopotamia?
•What features defined the civilization of Sumer?
•What were Sumer’s main cultural achievements?
•What events led to later empires in Mesopotamia?
I. Geography Promotes Civilization
Fertile Crescent: stretches from Med. Sea to Persian Gulf
I. Geography Promotes Civilization
Mesopotamia: area between Tigris and Euphrates rivers; site of first civilizations
I. Geography Promotes Civilization
Land well suited for farming but region posed challenges
Droughts and floods ruin crops
I. Geography Promotes CivilizationMethods developed to control water:
Basins, canals, and dikes
Organization: assigning jobs, allocating
resources
II. Sumer
Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of
Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of
Babylonia. The Sumerians called their country ken.gir (civilized land), their
language eme.gir and themselves 'the black-headed ones'
Large cities developed by 4000 BCCity and its land formed independent city-state
II. Sumer
Structures made of mud bricks
Ziggurat: pyramid-shaped temple
Massive walls encircled each city
Ziggurat at Urc. 2100 B.C.
Walls of Babylon
II. Sumer
Sumerians practiced polytheism; priests held high status, were the first rulers
1. Himurta--Thunder Showers 2. Innanna--Morning Star 3. Thunderbird 4. Ntu--Sun God. 5. Enki--God of Sweet Waters. 6. Isimud--Enki's Vizier
II. Sumer
War chiefs began to rule as kings; many formed dynasties
II. Sumer
III. Sumerian Culture
Sumerian writing called cuneiform; wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets with a stylus
Herders and cows in the goddess Inana’s fields, 21st–20th century B.C.
III. Sumerian Culture
Cuneiform first used for record keepingScribes recorded information
Used later for law, literature, etc.
III. Sumerian Culture
Arithmetic based on units of 60
Invented the plow and the wheel
III. Sumerian Culture
Advanced medical knowledge, performed basic surgery
III. Sumerian Culture
Lacked many raw materials; traded for wood, metals across SW Asia
III. Sumerian Culture
Distinct social hierarchy; well-defined male and female roles The Standard of Ur:
The Peace Side represents the Sumerian Society and its three divisions of social classes (Upper, Middle, Lower)
The War Side represents the different classes of the Sumerian Army
III. Sumerian Culture
IV. Empires in Mesopotamia
Invaders adapted aspects of Sumerian culture as their own
c. 2330 BC – Akkadian ruler Sargon I conquered Sumer and northern Mesopotamia
IV. Empires in Mesopotamia
A. Sargon’s EmpireWorld’s first empire; spread Sumerian culture outside Mesopotamia
B. The Babylonian Empire1792 BC - Hammurabi became king of Babylon, united all of Mesopotamia
Shamash, the supreme sun god and judge, offers to Hammurabi the rod and
ring that symbolize authority
B. The Babylonian EmpireCode of Hammurabi - 282 written laws, covered everything from trade to murder
In 1750 BC, at the height of his power, Hammurabi codified 282 laws, written down for all to see, on an eight-foot-high stele made
of black basalt. Although the Code of Hammurabi is not the first legal code, it is the best preserved ancient law the world has today.
Summary