Lands facing the Mediterranean Sea and the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Aka Mesopotamia means the land betweeen the two rivers Geography Advantages Fertile land Good for farming ID: 538641
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Fertile Crescent
Lands facing the Mediterranean Sea and the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Aka Mesopotamia, means “the land betweeen the two rivers”Slide3Slide4Slide5
Geography
Advantages
Fertile land
Good for farming
Disadvantages
Flooding
Droughts
No natural barriers for protection (think mountains, oceans, deserts, etc.)
Few natural resourcesSlide6
Problems
Can get too dry or flood
No natural defenses like forests or deserts
Lacked building resources like stone/woodSlide7
Solutions
Irrigation Ditches channel river water to the fields
City walls for defense
Traded their grain, cloth, tools with surrounding peoples for stone, wood and metalSlide8
A Visit to SumerSlide9
Religion
Polytheism
: Belief in many godsSlide10
Primary Source 1
Background
:
Lagash and Umma were Sumerian cities located 18 miles apart. These documents were found on clay cylinders and date from about 2500 BC.
“By the immutable word of Enlil, king ofthe lands,father ofthe gods, Ningirsu [the patron deity of Sumerian city of Lagash] and Shara [patron deity of Sumerian city of Umma] set a boundary to their lands. Mesilim, King of Kish, at the command of his deity Kadi, set up a stele [a boundary marker] in the plantation of that field.
Ush, ruler of Umma, formed a plan to seize it. That stele he broke in pieces, into the plain of Lagash he advanced. Ningirsu, the hero of Enlil, by his just command, made war upon Umma. At the command of Enlil, his great net ensnared them. He erected their burial mound on the plain in that place.”Slide11
Religion
Gods were
immortal
and
all
-
powerful
Gods behaved in many ways
like humans
did (had children, married each other, fought with each other, etc.)Temples and sacrifices to please the godsDead souls went to the “place of no return”Slide12
Ziggurat
Pyramid with levels, ramps, stairs
“mountain of the gods”
Houses the cit-state’s god
Stored grain, fabric, gems for offeringsSlide13
Accomplishments
Irrigation
System of creating walls (
levees
), canals, and waterways to bring
water
to cropsSlide14
Science & Technology
Arithmetic & Geometry
Number system based on 60, 360 degree circleSlide15
Accomplishments
Sailboat
Travel faster
Trade goods with other landsSlide16
Accomplishment
Plow
Tool for
tilling
(turning) the soil to prepare it for plantingSlide17
Accomplishment
Chariots & Wheels
Get around
faster
and use in
battleSlide18
Accomplishments: Calendar
Based on the cycles of the moon
12 months of 30 days, named after the constellations
Zodiac calendarSlide19
Accomplishment: Writing
Cuneiform
Wedge shaped writing style
For record keeping
Clay tablets & stylus
Scribe
: people who were trained in writingSlide20
Accomplishments: Literature
Epic of GilgameshSlide21
Political: City-States in Mesopotamia Slide22
City-State
*Each city sort of governed itself, and they were basically like little independent countries politically (though they shared cultural and religious ties). Slide23
Government
Theocracy
: government ruled by religious leaders & where the ruler is viewed as a god
Priests ruled the government
Ruled from the ziggurat, which was a temple and a city hallSlide24
Hammurabi’s Code
A single, uniform code of laws
Unified diverse groups of people
Engraved in stone and posted all over the empireSlide25
Economic
Exports: goods that are sold to other parts of the world
Tools
Wheat
Barley
Fabric
Imports: goods that are bought from other parts of the world
Wood
Stone
Metals (copper & tin)Slide26
Social
Hierarchy
: a social structure with different levels of power and authority