Ancient Mesopotamia - Cabarrus County Schools

Ancient Mesopotamia“The FerTile CresCenT”“land BeTween Two rivers”“Cradle oF CivilizaTion”

Cornell Note taking1. Divide your paper like thisexample2. The column on the left is forKey Terms and Ideas3. The large box to the right is forwriting notes.4. Skip a line between ideas andtopics.5. Don't use complete sentences.Use abbreviations when possible.

IntroductionANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAsong by Mr. Nicky Early Civilizations RAP Video

NotesSonghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v fdblRch6m3g

Review/Things to Know/Remember River Valleys were prime locations forcultures to develop into civilizations- good fortravel, trade, and farming. Other things acivilization would want to settle near would beMountains to shelter from weather andenemies who may attack, Fertile Soil that isgood for farming, and Forests to get suppliesand wood for fire or shelter. A civilization is a highly developed culturecomplete with religion, government, socialclass structure, and writing system. Whatwere the other 4 elements?

Fertile Crescent Eastern part of Fertile Crescent Area of the Middle East where civilizationbegan Present day – Iraq (Syria and Turkey) “Land between 2 Rivers”– 1. Tigris River– 2. Euphrates RiverGreat place to grow cropsdue to fertile soil andbeing close to the rivers for irrigation

What geographical features werethe reasons Mesopotamians settledhere?

Ancient Civilizations for ChildrenVideo Show the students “Ancient Mesopotamia”(Minutes 6-12)

What were City States?The earliest known people of theFertile Crescent were theSumerians. They lived in southernMesopotamia in a number ofindependent city-states.Each city-state consisted of asmall city and its surroundingarea. The rulers of these citystates constantly warred with oneanother for control of land andwater. For protection, peopleturned to courageous andresourceful war leaders.The ruler of each city state was responsible for maintaining thecity walls and the irrigation systems. He led armies in war andenforced the laws.The ruler also had religious duties. He was seen as the chiefservant of the gods and led ceremonies designed to please them.

Hammurabi Hammurabi was the king ofthe city-state of Babylon.About 1800BC, Hammurabiconquered the nearby citystates and created thekingdom of Babylonia. The Code of Hammurabi werelaws engraved in stone andplaced in a public location.Hammurabi required thatpeople be responsible fortheir actions. Some of Hammurabi’s lawswere based on the principle“An eye for an eye, a toothfor a tooth.”

Hammurabi continued 282 laws Laws for trade, loans, theft, marriage,injury, and murder. Ideas still in laws today. Specific penalties with class specification. Written for all to see. Example: Law 196. If a man put out the eye of anotherman, his eye shall be put out. Hammurabi ruled for 42 years and theBabylonian Empire fell shortly after his deathHammurabi's Code Video

Cuneiform By 3200 B.C., the Sumerians had invented the earliestknown form of writing called cuneiform. The Sumerians employed a sharp-pointed instrument madefrom a reed- called a stylus - to inscribe wedge-shapedcharacters on soft clay tablets, which were then hardened bybaking in the sun.

Cuneiform WritingAs time progressed, Cuneiform changed a bit (from more pictures intocharacters or symbols), see the chart below.

Deciphering Cuneiform

Hammurabi’s Code Written inCuneiform

Scribes During this time, everyone could NOTread and write. That was the job of ascribe. Scribes were society’s record keepersand served the needs of the temple,royal government and businesses. Most scribes were children ofgovernment officials, priests andwealthy merchants (a.k.a. a higher class) Scribe school lasted from sunrise tosunset. There were 600 different charactersto memorize Scribes read out loud to audiences sincemost people could not read.– For example, Hammurabi’s code/laws wereposted in a public place. Scribes wouldperiodically have to read them aloud to groupsof people so they would know the laws.

Religion Sumerians were polytheistic, worshipping orbelieving in many gods. These gods werethought to control every aspect of life,especially the forces of nature. Each city-state had its own special god orgoddess to whom people prayed and offeredsacrifices of animals, grain, and wine. They believed in an afterlife. At death, aperson descended into a grim underworldfrom which there was no release.Ziggurats were pyramid-templesthat soared toward the heavens.Their sloping sides had wide stepsthat were sometimes planted withtrees and shrubs. On top of eachziggurat stood a shrine to the chiefgod or goddess of the city.

Ziggurat at Ur Temple “Mountainofthe Gods”

The Class SystemThree Major Classes– Highest class: the ruling family, leading officials, & highpriests.– Middle class: merchants, artisans, and lesser priests andscribes.– Bottom: majority of people who were peasant farmers.Some had their own land, but most worked land belonging tothe king or temples.Sumerians also owned slaves. Most slaves had been captured in war. Some hadsold themselves into slavery to pay their debts. But once they paid the debt, theirmasters had to set them free.

Mesopotamian Trade“The CuneiformWorld”

LiteratureA long, narrative Sumerian poem,The Epic of Gilgamesh, is one ofthe oldest works of literature inthe world. This epic is a collectionof stories about a hero namedGilgamesh. In one of theseGilgamesh travels the world insearch of eternal life. On hisjourney, he meets the solesurvivor of a great flood thatdestroyed the world.

Gilgamesh Epic Tablet:Flood StoryEpic of Gilgamesh VideoSummary

Farming/Irrigation Using the canals, farmers would floodtheir fields and then drain the water torestore nutrients to the soil. This was a type of irrigation they used toget water to their crops from the river.

NotesSonghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v fdblRch6m3g

ReviewANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAsong by Mr. Nicky Early Civilizations RAP Video

Extra

Life of a Sumerian dAssetId 024d76bf-f379-4353-b4be-6c04d9744dec# What events and other records did the ancient Sumerians document? How did the Sumerians write down their laws, myths, and otherrecords? What was the importance of scribes in Mesopotamia? What is the moral of the story of Gilgamesh

Mesopotamia Vocabulary Read the definitions on your paper, & choose thecorrect vocabulary term from below. Then write down Key Words & draw Pictures tohelp you remember the term.PolytheismHammurabi’s Code Fertile CrescentEpicsSurplusDivision of laborZigguratPictographs tate

“land BeTween Two rivers” . “Land between 2 Rivers” . What was the importance of scribes in Mesopotamia? What is the moral of the story of Gilgamesh . Mesopotamia Vocabulary Read the definitions on your pa