Mesopotamia

It matters because

Mesopotamia was one area in which

civilization began.

The Tigris and Euphrates river valley

supported agriculture and encouraged
trade.

Mesopotamians developed complex

economic, political, and social
structures.

They invented a written language, built

empires, and codified laws.
 Fertile
Crescent
• Ancient Greeks spoke of the
valley between Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers as
Mesopotamia, the “Land
between rivers.”
• Mesopotamia was at the
eastern end of the Fertile
Crescent, an arc of land from
the Mediterranean Sea to the
Persian Gulf.
• Rich soil and abundant crops
allowed the land to sustain an
early civilization.
 Soil
• Mesopotamia had little
rain, but over the years
its soil had been
enriched by layers of
silt – materials
deposited by the two
rivers.
Flooding
In late spring, the Tigris and Euphrates
often overflowed their banks and
deposited their fertile silt.

Flooding was unpredictable.

People could not predict the timing

and size of the river since it depended
on the melting of snows from the
upland mountains where the rivers
began.
Irrigation
• People had to learn to
control the flood/the
flow of the river.
• By using irrigation and
drainage ditches,
farmers were able to
grow crops regularly.
3 General Areas of • Assyria
Mesopotamian • Akkad
Civilization • Sumer
City-States of
Mesopotamia
• By 3000 BCE, the Sumerians had
established a number of independent
cities in southern Mesopotamia –
Eridu, Ur, and Uruk.
• As the cities expanded, they gained
political and economic control over
the surrounding countryside.
• They formed city-states, which are the
basic units of the Sumerian civilization.
Walls
Sumerian cities were surrounded
by walls.
Uruk was encircled by a wall six
miles or 10 km long, with defense
towers located every 30-35 feet or
9-10 m along the wall.
It is estimated that Uruk had a
population of around 50,000 by
2700 BCE, making it one of the
largest city-states.
 • What were the houses and
Question buildings made up of?
Religion and Rulers

• Polytheistic – had 3000 gods and

goddesses
• Ziggurat – temple built
dedicated to their city’s chief
god or goddess
• Theocracy – a government
established by a divine authority
• Kings derived their power from
gods and goddesses.
 Their economy was traditional that was
based on farming.

Economy However, trade and industry became

important, too.

Woolen textiles

and Products
Pottery
Metalwork
• Copper

Society • Gold
• Silver
• Tin and Copper combined (Bronze)

Invention of the wheel in 3000 BCE

 Nobles
• Royal officials
• Priestly officials
• Their families

Major Commoners
• Workers in the palace and temple

Social • Farmers (90%)

• Merchants
• Fishers

Groups • Craftspeople

Slaves
• Owned by palace officials (VERY BAD)
• Builders of temples and other projects. (VERY BAD)
• Female slaves would weave cloth and grind grain. (VERY BAD)
• Rich owners use the slaves to farm their lands. (VERY BAD)
 Writing and
Literature
3000 BCE – the
cuneiform Cuneiform Made on
system of means
writing was “wedge- clay
created by shaped” tablets
Sumerians

Used writing for record- Cuneiform texts were also used

keeping and for in schools to train scribes
(becase the leaders of the
communicating ideas and
society), members of the
knowledge to be passed on learned class who served
to generations. copyists, teachers, and jurists.
Epic of
Gilgamesh
Technology

1. Wagon wheel
2. Bronze
3. Mathematics -Number
system based on 60
4. Geometry – measurement of
fields and building
establishments
5. Astronomy – heavenly
constellations
Just by looking at your watch and by trying to
know the time, it must remind you of the
great contributions of the Sumerians.
However, that does not remove the fact that
there was a time that they contributed to
racism and mockery of the voiceless.