Mesopotamia

Ch. 2, Sec. 1 (pp. 29 - 34)

SSWH1a: Describe the development of Mesopotamian societies: include the religious, cultural, economic, and political facets of society, with attention to Hammurabi’s law code.

Geography & Background

• In the modern Middle East are the

Tigris

&

Euphrates

eastern coast of the

Fertile Crescent

) Rivers – The land between these rivers and the land that lies along the Mediterranean Sea form an arc of very fertile soil (known as the – The land between the Tigris & Euphrates rivers is called Mesopotamia (which literally means “land between rivers”) • Remember, the city of Ur was located in Sumer, which itself was in

Mesopotamia

Environmental Challenges

• Unpredictable flooding – So they created irrigation ditches • No natural barriers for protection – So they built walls around their cities • Few natural resources – So they traded with their neighbors

Ancient Irrigation Ditches

Sumerians Create City-States

• Sumerians built many cities – Cities each had their own government & rulers (similar to modern countries) – Cities & the surrounding lands were known as

city-states

(because they operated independently of one another) • Sumerian govt was usually led by both religion & military leaders – Leaders would often come from the same families (

dynasties

) • Sumerian ideas often spread to neighboring cultures (this process is called

cultural diffusion

) – In other words, if I’m worshipping a “Rain God” & my neighbor sees me doing this & starts worshipping the “Rain God” then cultural diffusion has occurred

City-States in Sumer

Sumerian Culture

• Sumerians were polytheistic (they believed in more than one god) – These gods were anthropomorphic, yet all-powerful & immortal – The afterlife was seen as very dismal • Social classes – (Highest class) kings, landholders & priests – Wealthy merchants – Manual laborers (field & workshop) – (Lowest class) Slaves (debtors & prisoners) • Technology – Base 60 number system – Architecture (arches, columns, ramps, etc.) – Cuneiform

Empire Building

• From 3000 - 2000 B.C., Sumerians were almost constantly at war with one another • ~2350 B.C., Sumer & united northern & southern Mesopotamia for the first time

Sargon

(an Akkadian from the north) conquered – This union lasted ~200 years • ~2000 B.C., the Babylonian Empire (with its capital at Babylon) dominated Mesopotamia – The greatest ruler of Babylon was

Hammurabi

who created a single set of common laws for Mesopotamia •

Hammurabi’s Code

etc.

dealt with property issues, family issues, crime, • The Code applied to everyone, but dealt differently w/ the rich & the poor • The Code frequently applied the principle “an eye for an eye & a tooth for a tooth”

A Hammurabi Stele & an Inscription of the Code of Hammurabi

The Fall of the Babylonians

• ~1500 B.C., the Babylonian Empire fell to the neighboring Kassites – Many groups would later come to dominate Mesopotamia (Assyrians, Hebrews, Phoenicians, etc.) • While all this was going on, other people such as the Egyptians, Chinese & people of the Indus River Valley were experiencing the rise & fall of civilization