Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent - PowerPoint Presentation

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Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent

By Mr. Zindman

Unit 2

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Section 1: Geography and the Fertile Crescent

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Essential Question

: How did geography influence the development of civilization in Southwest Asia?

The Big Idea:

The valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were the site of the world’s first civilizations.

In several parts of the world, bands of hunters-gatherers began to settle down in farming settlements. They domesticated plants and animals. Gradually their cultures became more complex. Most early civilizations grew up along rivers, where people learned to work together to control floods

.

How can you control the waters of the rivers to prevent flooding?Slide3

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Rivers Support the Growth Of Civilization

Early people settled where crops would grow. Crops usually grew well near rivers, where water was available and regular floods made the soil rich.

The Land Between the Rivers

The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are the of most important physical features of the region also known as Mesopotamia. Slide4

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Mesopotamia lies between Asia Minor and the Persian Gulf.

F

ertile

C

rescent

, a large arc of rich, or fertile farmland.

This fertile crescent extends from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea

.

The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flowed down from the hills into the Fertile Crescent providing rich farm soil.

This region is part of a larger area called the Slide5

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The Rise Of Civilization

Hunter-gatherer groups first settled in Mesopotamia more than 12,000 years ago. Over time people learned how to plant crops and grow their own food. Every year, floods on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers brought

silt

,

a

mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks, to the land.

The

fertile silt made the land ideal for farming.

Farmers grew wheat, barley, and other types of grain. Livestock, birds, and fishes were also good sources of food. Plentiful food led to population growth, and villages formed. Eventually these villages developed into the world’s first civilization.Slide6

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Farming and Cities

Although Mesopotamia had fertile soil, farming was not easy there. The region received little rain. This meant the water levels of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers depended on how much rain fell in Eastern Asia Minor where the rivers first began. When the river

s

got too much rain, heavy flooding occurred. This flooding would destroy the crops, kill livestock, and wash away homes. Farmers knew they needed a way to control the river’s flow.Slide7

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Controlling Water

Two solve their water problems, Mesopotamians used irrigation.

Irrigation

is a way of supplying water to an area of land.

To irrigate their land, they dugout large storage basins to hold water. Slide8

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They dug

canals

, or human–made the waterways,

that connected these basins to a network of ditches. These ditches brought water to the fields.

To protect the fields from flooding, farmers build up the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. These built – up banks held back the floodwaters even when river levels were high.Slide9

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Food Surpluses

Irrigation increased the amount of food farmers were able to grow.

Farmers could produce a food

surplus

, or more than they needed.

Farmers also used irrigation to water grazing areas for cattle and sheep. As a result, Meza poked a means in a variety of foods. Fish, meat, wheat, barley, and dates were plentiful.Slide10

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uch as constructing buildings and building irrigation systems. To complete these projects, the Mesopotamia as needed structure and rules. Structure and rules could be provided by laws and government.

That type of arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task or job is called a

division of labor

.

Because irrigation made farmers more productive, fewer people needed to farm. Some people became free to do other jobs. As a result, new occupations developed. For the first time, people became crafters, religious leaders, and government workers.

Having people available to work on different jobs meant that society could accomplish more large

projects,Slide11

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The Appearance of Cities

Over time, Mesopotamia settlements grew in size and complexity. They gradually developed into cities between 4000 and 3000 BC. Even though most people were farmers, many people traded goods in the cities. The city’s provided leaders with powerful bases. They were the political, religious, cultural, and economic centers of civilization.Slide12

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Section 2: The Rise of Sumer

The Big Idea:

The Sumerians developed the first civilization in Mesopotamia. The Sumerians developed the first advanced society.

Essential Question

: How did religion play a major role in the development of early societies?

You are a crafter living in the city of Sumer. Thick walls would surround you and protect your city, so you feel safe from the armies of other city states. But you and your neighbors are fearful of other beings- the many gods and spirits that you believe are everywhere. They can bring illness, sandstorm, or bad luck.

As civilizations developed along rivers, societies and governments became more advanced. Religion became an important characteristic of ancient cultures. Kings claimed to rule with the approval of the gods. Ordinary people wore charms around their neck to avoid bad luck. They performed rituals to please their gods.

What is a ritual you do every day?Slide13

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An Advanced Society

In southern Mesopotamia, a people known as the

Sumerians

developed the world’s first civilization.

Around 3000 BC, several hundreds of thousands of Sumerians settled in Mesopotamia in a land they called Sumer. They created an advanced society.Slide14

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The City-States of Sumer

Most people in Sumer were farmers, they lived mainly in

rural

, or countryside, areas.

The centers of Sumerian society

were the urban, or city

, areas.

Over time the cities grew. Historians believe that Sumer’s cities had more than 100,000 residentsSlide15

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The basic political unit of Sumer was combined in two parts. This unit was called a city-state.

A

city-state

consisted of a city and all the countryside around it.

City-states in Sumer fought each other to gain more farmland. As a result, city-states set up strong armies.Slide16

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Individual city-states gained and lost power over time. By 3500 BC, a city-state known as Kish had become quite powerful. Over the next 1,000 years, the city-states of

Uruk

and Ur fought for dominance.

One of

Uruk’s

kings, known as

Gilamesh

became a legendary figure Sumerian literature.Slide17

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The Rise of the Akkadian Empire

In time, another society develop along the Tigris and Euphrates. It was created by the Akkadians. They lived north of Sumer. They were not Sumerians. They spoke a different language than the Sumerians. The Sumerians lived in peace with the Akkadians for many years until the peace was broken in 2300s BC.

The emperor, Sargon, sought to extend Akkadian territory. He built a new capital, Akkad, on the authorities river, near what is now the city of Baghdad.

An

empire

is a land with different territories and people under a single ruler

.

Sargon

at his soldiers defeated the city-states of Sumer and Mesopotamia. Sargon establish the first empire.Slide18

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Religion Shapes Society

Religion was very important in Sumerian society. It played a role in nearly every aspect of public and private life. In many ways religion was a basis for all Sumerian society.

Sumerian Religion

The Sumerians practiced polytheism

Polytheism

is a religion that worships many gods.

Among these gods were Enlil, lord of the air, Enki, god of wisdom; and Inanna the goddess of love and war. The sun and the moon were represented by the gods Utu and Nanna.Slide19

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The Sumerians believed the gods had great powers. The gods could bring a good harvest or a disastrous flood. They could bring illness or good health. Sumerians felt in order to be successful they must please the gods. Every Sumerian had a duty to worship the gods

.

Priests

were people who performed religious ceremonies.

People relied on a good relationship with the priest in order to be in god’s favor. The priests made offerings to please the gods in religious ceremonies. Slide20

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Sumerian Social Order

The highest level of people in people in Sumerian social hierarchy were the kings. The kings they were chosen to rule by the gods. Below the kings were the priests. Below the priests were the skilled craftspeople, merchants, and traders.

Social hierarchy

is the division of a society by rank or class.

Trade had a great impact on Sumerian society. Traders traveled from far away places and exchanged grain for gold, silver, copper, lumber, and precious stones. Below the traders were the working class people. These people were the farmers and laborers. At the bottom of the social hierarchy was the slaves.Slide21

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Men and Women in

S

umer

Education was reserved for men, but some upper class women were educated as well. Some educated women were priestesses. They helped shape Sumerian culture. One,

Enheduanna

, the daughter of

Sagon

, wrote hymns to the goddess Inanna. She is the first known female writer in history.

Sumerian men and women had different roles. Men held political power and made the

laws,

while women took care of the home and

children.Slide22

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Section 3- Sumerian Achievements

Building Background:

What if you were a student at a school for scribes in Sumer? Learning and all the symbols for writing is very hard.

You

would be assigned lessons to write on the clay tablet, you can’t help but making mistakes. Then you have to smooth out the surface and try again. Still being a scribe can lead to important jobs for the king. You could make your family proud! You hope that you will get better

very

soon

. The Sumerians were responsible for many achievements, which were passed down to later civilizations. Why was a scribe an important job in society in ancient times?The Big Idea:

The Sumerians made many advances that helped their society develop.

They invented the first writing system.

They invented many forms of art.

Essential Question

: What inventions did the Sumerians create that changed civilizations forever?Slide23

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The Invention of Writing

Sumerian’s made one of the greatest advances in history. They developed cuneiform.

Cuneiform

is the world’s first system of writing.

Pencils and paper were not invented yet so the Sumerians used sharp tools called

styluses

to make wedged-shaped symbols in clay tablets

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Pictographs

were picture symbols.

Each picture represented an object, such as a tree or an animal. But cuneiform could also represent syllables or basic parts of words. Sumerians could represent more complex ideas in writing. Ideas such “”joy or “powerful.” These ideas could be represented in cuneiform writing.

Earlier written communication used pictographs.Slide25

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Sumerians used cuneiform first to keep business records.

A

scribe

, or writer, would be hired to keep track of items people traded.

The government used scribes to keep records. Becoming a scribe was a way to move up in social class. Sumerian students went to school to learn to read and write. In time Sumerians wrote works on history, law, grammar, and math. They also created works of literature. They wrote poems, proverbs, stories. Some were epics.

An

epic

is a long poem that tells a story of a hero.

Later, people used some of these poems to create

The Epic of Gilgamesh

, the story of a legendary Sumerian king. Slide26

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The Arts of Sumer

The Sumerians were skilled in the field of art, metalwork, and architecture.

Architecture

is the science of building.

The ruins of great buildings have provided us with examples of the Sumerian’s creativity.Slide27

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Architecture

The Sumerian rulers lived in large palaces. Rich Sumerians lived in two story homes with as many as a dozen rooms. Most people, however, lived in smaller, one-story houses. These homes had six or seven rooms arranged around the small courtyard. Large and small houses stood

a

long, narrow, unpaved streets of the city. Bricks made of mud were the houses’ main building blocks.Slide28

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Outdoor staircases led to a platform and a shrine at the top.

A

ziggurat

, a pyramid-shaped

temple

tower, rose above the city.

City centers were dominated by their temples, the largest most impressive buildings in Sumer.Slide29

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The Arts

Sumer sculptors produced many fine works. Among them were statues of the

gods

created

for temples. Sumerian sculptors also sculpted small objects out of wood and ivory. Very few sculptures were works of beauty.

Jewelry was popular in Sumer. Many jewelers made fine pieces out of imported gold and silver.Slide30

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Stone cylinder seals were probably the Sumerians most famous works of art.

Stone Cylinders rolled over clay to sign and seal documents or decorate other clay

objects.

Some

showed battle scenes or rituals. Some had hundredths of fine cut gems.Slide31

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Children learned songs in school. People sang hymns to the kings and gods. Music and dance provided entertainment in marketplaces and homes.

Sumerians enjoyed music. Kings and temples hired people to play on special occasions. Sumer musicians played reed pipes, drums,

and tambourines.

Sumerians played stringed

instruments called

lyres

. Slide32

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The End