Civilization & Mesopotamia
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Transcript of Civilization & Mesopotamia
Civilization&
Mesopotamia
Early Civilizations
What is civilization?
1. Advanced Cities
◦ Large group living together
◦ Trading center
Characteristics of Civilizations
2. Specialized Workers
◦ Develop skills in a specific kind of work(trader or priest)
◦ Why? Abundant food
Characteristics of Civilizations
3. Complex Institutions
◦ Long-lasting pattern of organization in a community
◦ Examples: Religion Government Economy
Characteristics of Civilizations
4. Record Keeping◦ System of writing
◦ Taxes, laws, religious rituals
◦ Scribes – professional keepers
Characteristics of Civilizations
5. Advanced Technology
◦ Anything that makes life easier
Characteristics of Civilizations
Example of Civilization: Sumer
SumerSpecialized
Workers: soldiers, merchants,
teachers, priests, etc.
Complex Institutions:
formal governments (laws
and officials), priests w/ religious
power
Advanced cities: Uruk – 50,000
Lagash – 10,000 -50,000
Record Keeping: Cuneiform writing
system
Advanced Technology:
3000 BCE wheel, plow, sailboat;
bronze weapons and armor
Civilizations of MesopotamiaFertile Crescent, “land between the rivers”
People: Sumerians
Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
Annual flooding◦ Silt – rich layer of soil
deposited by a river (good for growing crops)
◦ Alluvial Plain – flat landform created by deposit of silt from rivers coming from highlands
Geography
Unpredictable flooding & little rainirrigation ditches
No natural barriers for protectionbuilt city walls
Limited natural resourcestraded grain & cloth for stone & wood
Geography:Disadvantages & Solutions
City-state: city & surrounding area functioning as a country does today
Priests head government 3,000 BCE
Kings head government 2,500 BCE ◦ Create Dynasties - series of
rulers under one family
Government
Ziggurat – walled temple
Akkadian – Sargon of Akkad (2350 - 2150 BCE) defeated city-states of Sumer
1st empire: brings together several independent peoples, nations, or states
Babylonian – Babylon (2000 - 539 BCE)
Government: Forming Empires
Hammurabi’s Code◦Hammurabi
(Babylonian King)
◦1792-1750 BCE
◦Unified code of laws
◦Oldest known legal system
◦Stressed justice & punishment based on social class
Laws
Polytheism: belief in two or more gods (kings representatives of gods)
Human-like, but immortal & powerful
Humans were servants
Built ziggurats & offered sacrifices to please gods
Religion
Society/CultureKing
s, Priests, LandholdersMerchants
Farmers
Slaves
Sumerian
Social Hierarch
y
Society/Culture Arithmetic, Geometry
◦ Helped in building projects
Architecture◦ Arches, columns, ramps,
pyramid shape
Cuneiform◦ Writing system◦ Pictograph – symbols
stand for words
Cuneiform