Geography Of Mesopotamia

Transcription

1 Geography Of Mesopotamia Geography-Physical environment and how it may influence an economy and culture. Mesopotamia, which means the land between the rivers, is located in the river valley between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. This area, called the Fer!le Crescent, is located mostly in modern-day Iraq and Kuwait. The soil is very rich and fer!le in this area, which allows for farming. The Tigris and Euphrates flow southeast into the Persian Gulf, and during the spring the rivers overflow and deposit fer!le silt into the land. The people of this region were able to use irriga!on streams, dikes, and dams in order to se#le near the river, grow crops, and develop civiliza!ons. 1. Adapta!on: How did the Sumerians adapt to their environment to eventually create a farming surplus? 2. Support with Evidence from the Text - Support the following sentence with evidence in the form of a direct quote from the text: The overflow of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers benefited the Sumerians. Make sure to place the sentence chosen in quotes when you write it down. 3. Draw a quick sketch of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and the Fer!le Crescent.

2 The Economy Of Mesopotamia Economy-How a civilization makes money through the buying and selling of goods and services. Mastery of irrigaon techniques allowed the people of the region to grow a surplus of crops, and develop cies as trading and governing centers. The surplus of crops also led to the development of new, more specialized jobs to develop, such as arsans, builders, metal workers, among many others. Traders traveled in caravans through trade routes in order to trade other regions for certain resources Mesopotamia lacked, such as metals, wood, and salt. Their commercial trade extended to far-off regions like Egypt and Pakistan. These goods were o"en moved by cart-pulling donkeys and camels, which allowed them to carry large amounts of goods at a me. The Sumerians, the first civilizaon of Mesopotamia, invented the wheeled cart to carry more resources across the land. As surpluses of food increased, the Sumerians developed a division of labor, which meant that workers could specialize in nonagricultural jobs that produced valuable goods that merchants could trade. Eventually, Sumerians used money, which made individual wealth more easily measured and stored. Money was made from clay, stamped and dried in a kiln. 1. Support with Evidence from the Text-Support the following sentence with evidence in the form of a direct quote from the text: Caravan traders traded goods with other places. Make sure to place the sentence chosen in quotes when you write it down. 2. How did the invenon of the wheeled cart affect trade? 3. Think about it: How could a surplus in crops or food lead to more specialized jobs?

3 Achievements Of Mesopotamia Achievements-The lasting contributions of a civilization. The lands of Sumer became the world s first city-states, and they had the world s first monarchies as well. Also, their measurement base of 60 led to the current system of dividing!me into hours, minutes, and seconds. They invented the wheeled cart and possibly the sailboat, as well. The Akkadian Empire was the first empire in the world. And the Assyrian Empire also invented lock and key system, in addi!on to being the first to construct an expansive, connec!ng paved road system. Sumerians also developed one of the first wri"en languages ever recorded called cuneiform. Cuneiform evolved from pictographs (small pictures) to phonographs (symbols that represent sounds) over the span of 500 years. Most o#en cuneiform was carved into clay and baked in a kiln to create a strong, durable tablet. Sumerian scribes wrote The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest-surviving and most famous stories ever. The first half of the story relates a friendship between Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, and Enkidu. In the second half of the epic, King Gilgamesh's distress at Enkidu's death causes him to undertake a long and perilous journey to discover the secret of eternal life. 1. How did the base of 60 lead to the current system of!me? 2. Describe three Sumerian achievements. 3. Use your own words to describe the Epic of Gilgamesh.

4 Social Classes Of Mesopotamia Social Class-How a civilization is divided into classes that have different roles, responsibilities and privileges. Sumerians developed the first ever monarchy, which was ruled by a king. The king and his royal family were at the top of the social order; directly under them were priests and military commanders. Next was the large middle class that consisted of farmers, ar sans, scribes, and merchants, and below the common folk were slaves. Fortunately, there was opportunity for advancement, and those who found success could move up in society. Also, women had many rights and privileges that were uncommon in other regions of the world. They could buy land, become scribes, own businesses, and even divorce their husbands. Slaves were very common in Mesopotamia. Slave men were called mountain men and slave women were called mountain women because they were captured from ci!es in the neighboring mountains. Sumerians believed the gods allowed them to use slaves to do domes!c labor because they were considered inferior people. 1. Categorize-Create a four!er pyramid of power on your paper with the people who had the most power at the top and those with the least power at the bo"om. 2. Describe one fact you learned from the reading that was surprising to you. Copyright 2014 Instructomania Pavlovich

5 Religion Of Mesopotamia Religion-A belief system that influences the development of a civilization. Sumerians were polytheisc and worshipped numerous gods. Because of this, priests were very important in their society. They believed in nature-based gods, and made offerings and animal sacrifices to appease the gods, in hopes that they could influence nature posively. The most prominent gods were Enlil, the god of air, and Enki, the god of water. In addion, they believed kings were demigods, meaning part man, part god. Each city-state also had its own unique god to look over them. 1. Why do you think the Sumerians created nature based gods? 2. Describe the powers of two Sumerian Gods. 3. Why do you think kings promoted the idea that they were demigods? Enlil & Enki

6 Government in Mesopotamia Leadership/ Government- How a civilization creates an organized way of leadership. The Sumerians developed twelve different ci es into the first city-states in the world. The most prosperous ones were Ur, Kish, Uruk, and Eridu. Each city-state was a por on of land made up of agricultural areas with a walled city in the center of the region. The separate city-states were run by their own individual government and led by a king whose line was passed down through heritage. The kings had complete control over their par cular city-state, but also hired others to be officials in order to help with the administra on of the area. The king and his officials oversaw taxes, food, and law-making, in addi on to large building projects. Eventually, all of the city-states of Sumer were conquered and united by Sargon in 2350 BC. This was the world s first empire, called the Akkadian Empire. Sargon demanded tributes from the various city-states, and therefore was able to gain much wealth and power this way. The Akkadian Empire survived 250 years, but in 2300 BC, the empire disbanded and the various city-states regained independence. About 400 years later (around 1750 BC), the king of the city-state, Babylon, created the Babylonian Empire, which once again united the numerous city-states under imperial rule. The king s name was Hammurabi, and he is notable because he was able to develop one overarching set of laws for the en re empire. These laws were based upon fairness, jus ce, and family. The Babylonian Empire would fall around 1600 BC, and the Kassites subsequently conquered the city-state of Babylon. About 500 years later, the Assyrian Empire took Babylon, and by 700 BC they ruled all of Mesopotamia. The Assyrian Empire fell around 609 BC, and the New Babylonian Empire was created. The Empire s most notable and popular ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, reigned during this me. 1. Create a meline beginning in 2350 BC extending to 700 BC. Beneath the date, write a tle and briefly describe a detail that happened in each era. Include the following dates: 2350 BC, 2300 BC, 1750 BC, 1600 BC, 700 BC BC Sumer United Sargon united the city-states of Sumer under one empire called the Akkadian Empire.