Ancient MesopotamiaGeography

Land Between 2 Rivers• Tigris and Euphrates rivers are in SW Asia= Middle

East• Start in mts. of Turkey• SE through Iraq to Persian Gulf

• Region is called Mesopotamia, “land between the rivers”• Provided water and a way to travel

Fertile Soil• Rain and melting snow swelled rivers• Overflowing onto floodplain• Depositing fine soil= land fertile• Good for crops

Climate• Semi Arid climate—hot summers, less than 10” of

annual rainfall• Crops grew b/c of fertile soil= rivers• Farming villages in S Mesopotamia by 4000 B.C.

Floods and Droughts• Annual floods= unpredictable• Sometime between April and June• Didn’t know when to plant or how big flood would be

• Droughts= lowered river levels• Hard to water crops; ppl starved if crops failed

Irrigation• 6000 B.C., irrigation canals carried water from

rivers to fields• Built dams to block floodwaters

Finding Resources• Mud Houses and Walls• Lacked building materials

• Few natural barriers= easy to invade• Other ppl often stole from or conquered Mesopotamians• Built mud walls for protection

Finding Resources• Traded their surplus grain for stone, wood, metal• Digging canals, building walls, trading were done

continuously• Leaders organized groups for work

Quick Review• What made Mesopotamia a good region for

farming?

• How did Mesopotamians water their crops during droughts?

• Why was trade important in Mesopotamia?

Activity: Map of Mesopotamia• Use the labeled map to label the blank map• Label: continents, mts, rivers, seas, city-states,

etc…• Color in oceans and land and shade in the region

of Mesopotamia

Ancient MesopotamiaThe First Civilization

Culture Grows More Complex• Rise of agriculture= ppl settle in villages• Villages became city-states• Society and culture grew more complex= Civilization

• Most historians think civilization first began in Sumer, 3300 B.C.• Region in S Mesopotamia

Traits of Civilization

• Advanced Cities• Store surplus, trade surplus, many jobs, large temples

• Specialized Workers—jobs requiring special skills• Improves quality of work

• Ppl must cooperate and organize their society• Priests organized society

Traits of Civilizations• Complex Institutions—religion, gov’t, schools,

armies• Groups share a purpose, help society meet its needs

• Record Keeping—societies must keep records • Invented world’s first system of writing= Cuneiform

Traits of Civilizations• Advanced Technology• Sumerians used canals to irrigate crops• Created new tools= bronze, used new materials• Mixture of copper and tin

Sumerian City States• Cities were centers of society, most lived in

country• Cities ruled surrounding lands/villages

• City-state—self-ruled community• 3000 B.C., Sumer had at least 12 city-states • Most were on fertile land

Sumerian City States• Slow-growing Sumerian cities had narrow, winding

streets• Walls surrounded cities; gates let ppl come and go

• Homes had thick mud walls

Sumerian City States• Most important building was the temple• Ziggurats

• Priests ran irrigation= ziggurat was center of city life• Paid w/ grain= controlled stored surplus

• Priests ended up controlling= Theocracy

Social Classes• Unequal= define who has power, less desirable

jobs• King, priests were at top• Upper class included landowners, gov’t officials,

merchants

• Most were the in-between class= farmers, artisans• Slaves made up lowest class

Sumerian Religion• Based on polytheism—belief in many gods,

goddesses• Created and ruled world

• Each city-state worshiped own god• Thousands of lesser gods• Looked and acted like ppl

Sumerian Religion• Protected against flood, drought, invasion• Priests worked to please gods in order to protect

cities• Influence with gods • Ppl accepted priest as cities leaders

Sumerian Religion• Gods= rich landowners who created humans to

work for them• Ppl prayed, made offerings, participated in rituals

• Believed souls of dead went to land of no return—gloomy underworld• Scholars believe their hard life made them expect an

unhappy afterlife

New Leaders• 3000 B.C., city-states were attacked by other

regions• Ppl asked powerful men to protect cities= Kings• Ran city-states full-time

• 2375 B.C., Sumer was ruled by a single king= Monarchy• Priests still tried to please gods

Quick Review• Why was Sumer a good example of civilization?

• What was life like in Sumerian cities?

• How did kings take over as rulers of Sumer?

Activity: Create Your Civilization• Groups of 4, Write up your own civilization• Required• Location: Where? Size? Geographic features? Climate?• Population• Development of liberties: freedoms of speech, press, religion,

voting rights, etc• Development of government to: monarchy, oligarchy,

theocracy, republic, etc• Religion: monotheistic or polytheistic, give details• Tools• Social roles and jobs

• Bonus• Write a myth from your civilization• Develop the alphabet or other writing system of your

civilization

Activity: Create Your Civilization• Each requirement= 5 points• Bonus= 5 extra points• ORGANIZATION MATTERS• DEATAILS MATTER

NamesDateAssignment: Create Your Civ.

PittlandiyaLocation: Present day Southwestern Pennsylvania, Valley of the Penguin Mountains to the Steeler Gulf, covers an area the size of Rhode Island, etc..

Population: 4,500