Mesopotamia and Egypt

• Objective:• The student will be able to

demonstrate knowledge of ancient river valley civilizations, including Mesopotamia, by:• Locating the civilization in

time and place• Describing the development

of social, political, and economic patterns, including slavery

• Explaining the development of religious traditions

• Explaining the development of language and writing

• Essential Questions:• Why did Ancient Civilizations

develop in river valleys?• Where were the earliest

civilizations located?• When did these civilizations

exist?• What were the social,

political, and economic characteristics of early civilizations• What religious traditions

developed in ancient civilizations?• What forms of language and

writing existed in early civilizations?

• Locate and label the following places on your map:• Asia - Arabian Peninsula• Euphrates River - Zagros Mountains• Tigris River - Sumer• Mediterranean Sea - Ur• Persian Gulf - Kish• Caspian Sea - Eridu

• Shade in the location of the following early civilization:• Mesopotamia

• Fertile Crescent : arc of land from Mediterranean sea to Persian Gulf- rich soil and abundant

crops

• The first civilization in the Fertile Crescent was discovered in Mesopotamia, which means “land between the rivers.”

• The first Sumerian cities emerged in southern Mesopotamia around 3200 B.C.

• Terrain• Northern part hilly• received rain

• Southern part had low plains, or flat land• Little rain• Very hot

• Flooding was unpredictable• Little rain, but a lot of silt. • Silt: material deposited by

rivers, good for crops

• Small region• Villages clustered in open

plains• No natural barriers for

protection• Irrigation difficult to build

• Natural resources were limited

• Food• 5000 B.C.E. Mesopotamia resources were running out• People moved to the plains, established Sumer•Movement from small villages to cities

• Protection• Sumerians built a defense by using mud bricks to build a city wall

• To get natural resources Sumerians traded their grain, cloth, and crafted tools for the stone, wood, and metal they needed• Called barter

• To make sure there was enough silt, farmers had to control the water supply.

• Irrigation ditches• Carried water to the fields,

Allowed for surplus of crops• Took cooperation to build,

leaders to plan project• Needs labors and

supervisors• Projects created a need for

laws to settle disputes over how land and water should be distributed

• Arose 3,000 B.C. • First cities: • Eridu• Ur• Uruk

• Each city was surrounded by barley and wheat

• As cities grew, so did the cities control of the surrounding land.• Called city-states

• Surrounded by walls, built with sun-dried bricks

• Houses, large government buildings

• Used mud bricks

• Cities grew prosperous from food surpluses which allowed them to trade• Led to cultural diffusion

• Process of new idea or product spreading from one culture to another

• Trade expanded territory

Theocracy – Government by divine authority.

Kings received their power from gods.

City-states with hereditary rulers.

Ruler led army in war and enforced laws.

Complex government with scribes to collect taxes and keep records.

GOVERNMENTECONOMY &

SOCIETY RELIGION

Economy based on farming, industry, and trade.

Each state had distinct social hierarchy, or system of ranks.

Three major social groups:Nobles, Commoners, & Slaves.

Most people were peasant farmers.

Women had legal rights; some engaged in trade and owned property.

Worshiped many gods.

Believed gods controlled every aspect of life.

Saw afterlife as a grim place. Everybody would go into darkness and eat dust.

To keep the gods happy, each city built a ziggurat, or pyramid temple.

• Belief in several gods• Hierarchy of gods• Roughly 3,000

• Characteristics• Immortal and all-powerful• Humans were servants• Built ziggurats and gave sacrifices to please the gods

• Souls of dead went to “land of no return”• Gloomy place between earth’s crust and sea

• Epic of Gilgamesh• One of earliest works• Heroic tale• Quest for immortality• Common theme in

ancient cultures

• Influences other cultures

• King named Gilgamesh•Wise, strong, perfect• Part man / Part God

• Friends with beast names• Enkidu

• Friend dies, King tries to find immortality• Story of “everlasting” life for the gods

• Wheel, sail, plow

• 1st to use bronze

• 1st to create writing system• cuneiform

• One of 1st known maps• 2300 B.C.E.

• Number system based on 60

• Akkadians: Semitic people• 2350 B.C. leader Sargon

• Strong king, skilled general• Assembled large army• Taught soldiers to fight in formations

• Spoke Semitic language

• Invaded Sumerians, created world’s first empire• Once he conquered Sumer,

knocked down cities walls to make it harder for people to rebel

• Empire: large political unit or state, under a single leadership, controls large areas of land• Demanded Tributes, goods or

money collected from people he conquered

• Semitic• Spoke a language related

to Arabic and Hebrew

• Adopted Sumerian Culture• Farming techniques,

cuneiform, religion

• Own culture• Language, art

• Dynasty only lasted 200 years• Internal fighting,

invasions, severe famine

• 1792 B.C.E. a new empire controls Mesopotamia• Established by Amorites• Capital on Euphrates

• Empire reached peaked under Hammurabi• Reigned from 1792-

1750 B.C.E.• Promotes ONE law code• Promotes ONE language

• A collection of 282 laws• Based on strict justice

• Penalties were severe, and varied by social class

• Retaliation was important part of system• “eye for an eye”

• Officials were held accountable (didn’t catch murderer, had to pay family)

• Marriage and family laws

• Reinforced principle that government had a responsibility for what occurred in society• Model for future law

cades

• Objective:• The student will be able to

demonstrate knowledge of ancient river valley civilizations, including Mesopotamia, by:• Locating the civilization in

time and place• Describing the development

of social, political, and economic patterns, including slavery

• Explaining the development of religious traditions

• Explaining the development of language and writing

• Essential Questions:• Why did Ancient Civilizations

develop in river valleys?• Where were the earliest

civilizations located?• When did these civilizations

exist?• What were the social,

political, and economic characteristics of early civilizations• What religious traditions

developed in ancient civilizations?• What forms of language and

writing existed in early civilizations?