Mesopotamia-Land Between Two Rivers

• Sumerian Civilization - Tigris & Euphrates Rivers (Mesopotamia)

City-States in Mesopotamia

PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.

 Mesopotamia
Land Between Two Rivers
Mesopotamia was known
as the “Fertile Crescent”
because of it’s crescent
shape and availability of
fertile or “rich” soil…good
for planting. It was also
known as the “Cradle of
Civilization” because it
was the birthplace of
civilization. The first
major civilization was
Sumer.
Mesopotamia was located between the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers. The country of Iraq is there
today.
 Mesopotamia…the Land

A dry, hot desert-like climate.

The rivers would flood unpredictably every spring, leaving silt behind to help
create fertile, rich soil which was great for growing!
Sumerians needed to control the river so they could prosper.
 The Huge Invention…
• Irrigation!
• Sumerians developed a system for
controlling the flow and direction of water
from the rivers.
• Canals and irrigation ditches were built to
redirect the water to the fields.
 Irrigation video
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RP2Kf
ewiJA
Development of Agriculture

Important Inventions: Irrigation systems,

the plow, the wheel/cart.
These inventions helped crops to grow
in the difficult climate which led to a
surplus of food. The surplus let to a
system of trading. Sumer had limited
resources, so needed to barter with
other lands.
Mesopotamian Trade
Mesopotamia – City-States
There were many
city-states that
developed in
Mesopotamia. They
were independent of
one another. They
each had their own
god, government and
leaders. They would
often go to war with
each other over
resources and land.
City-States
 ZIGGURATS
Located in the center
of the city-state.
Home of the city’s
 Ziggurat at Ur
 Temple-Only priests
could enter
Courtyards
surrounded ziggurat
so merchants could
trade goods
 “Mountain of
the Gods”
BABYLONIAN ZIGGURAT
 Sumerian Homes
Homes were usually windowless
and made of sun dried mud bricks
because there was little wood or
stone available.
Roofs were flat. Roofs provided
a fourth living space. People
cooked and slept on their roofs,
when weather permitted. Some
of the fancier roofs were
designed with four walls for
privacy. Some had grape arbors
that provided food, privacy, and
shelter from the sun. 
 A Sumerian City
Sumerian houses faced
away from crowded
streets. Instead, they
faced onto courtyards
where families ate and
children played. Narrow Streets
Courtyard Area

Sumerian city
streets were so
narrow that you
could hardly get a
cart through them.
Narrow Streets
Social Classes and Division of Labor
• People started specializing or becoming trained
in different jobs. There were farmers, craftsmen,
priests, merchants, soldiers, scribes, rulers and
slaves. People had different jobs to do and
contributed to the society.
• Depending on their wealth and education,
people were valued differently and were treated
differently by the law. Slaves and peasants
were at the bottom of the social pyramid and
rulers, priests and the wealthy were at the top.
The wealthier you were the closer to the ziggurat
you lived!
Mesopotamian Bulls Eye
Sumerian Priests
The early city-states were
ruled by priests. The job of
priests were to
-control irrigation
-settle arguments
--store and distribute
surplus
-collect taxes in the form of
goods
-make sacrifices and pray to
the unpredictable gods of
Mesopotamia
Sumerian Religion -
Polytheistic

Enki Innana

Anthropomorphic Gods
 Religion in Mesopotamia
Belief in many gods - polytheism

4 main gods and around 3,000 lower gods

-Gods had human qualities. They were viewed as often

hostile and unpredictable – similar to the natural
environment around them.)
-Sumerians believed their purpose on Earth was to serve the
gods
-The forces of nature and all the evils were under control of
the gods so Sumerians offered food and animals to please
the gods.
-Only the priests of the city-state could speak with the gods.
They controlled the city-states.
 Sumerian Schools
• Priests taught wealthy boys to become scribes.
• Long days, harsh punishments and tedious work
• Guaranteed a good life because few could read
or write

Edubbas-”Tablet Houses
 Bullae
• Started out as pictographs to keep track of trade
• Merchants had a clay container called a bullae to
put tokens of trade into
• Started marking on outside of bulla to show
contents.
 Sumerian Scribes

•Later the pictographs turned into wedge shaped forms known

as cuneiform
•Symbols were used for sounds
• Reed called a stylus was used to press into soft clay tablets.
•Now records, ideas, treaties and legends could be written
down.
Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped”
Writing
Cuneiform Writing
Deciphering Cuneiform
 Gilgamesh
The first legend written down.
Story is a myth based on a real
king.
He is searching for immortality,
but discovers everyone must die
eventually.
 EPIC OF GILGAMESH

ONE OF THE OLDEST KNOWN WORKS OF LITERATURE, THE EPIC POEM OF

GILGAMESH TELLS THE STORY OF GILGAMESH, THE KING OF URUK, AND HIS FRIENDSHIP
WITH ENKIDU, A WILDMAN MADE BY THE GODS.
Gilgamesh Epic Tablet:
Flood Story

Similar to the story of Noah

 Later Mesopotamia
• Constant battles between city-states
• Priest spent too much time handling
conflicts so he would consult an assembly
• Assembly elects a temporary king to lead
battles until no longer needed
• However, they were at war so often that
the priest and king shared power.
Sargon of Akkad:
“True King”
 The First Empire
Each city-state remained
independent until King Sargon
started invading and controlling
them.
Since he controlled all, Mesopotamia
was now an empire

Sargon was a cruel and

harsh king. The city- states
were constantly rebelling and
struggling for
independence.
Hammurabi, the Judge
Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.]
Code
Development of Laws –
The Code of Hammurabi
A civilization needs laws.
The first set of written laws
that we know a lot about is
called the “Code of
Hammurabi.” King
Hammurabi came up with a
set of laws for his people to
follow. The rules had very
strict and harsh
consequences. The laws
became known as the “Eye
for an Eye” laws because
the consequence would
often fit the crime.
Babylonian Reign of Hammurabi
Famous Code of Law
• He wisely took all the laws of the region’s city-states
and unified them into one code. This helped unify
the region.
• Engraved in stone, erected all over the empire.
• Strict in nature –
“the punishment fits the crime” / “eye for an eye”
Such laws were adopted by neighbors – many
similar found in Hebrew scriptures (Old
Testament)
• His act set an important precedent – idea that the
government was responsible for what occurred in
society.
A total of 282 laws are etched on this 7 ft. 5 in. tall black basalt pillar (stele). The top
portion, shown here, depicts Hammurabi with Shamash, the sun god. Shamash is
presenting to Hammurabi a staff and ring, which symbolize the power to administer
the law. Although Hammurabi's Code is not the first code of laws (the first records
date four centuries earlier), it is the best preserved legal document reflecting the
social structure of Babylon during Hammurabi's rule.
This amazing find was discovered in 1901 and today is in the famous Louvre
Museum in Paris, France.
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
 Hammurabi, the king of righteousness,
On whom Shamash has conferred the Law,
am I.
When Marduk sent me to rule over men,
to give the protection of right to the land,
I did right and in righteousness brought about
the well-being of the oppressed.

Below are situations Hammurabi faced. 

Then together we’ll view what Hammurabi actually declared. 
We’ll find out if Marduk, the supreme god, will be pleased with your decisions?

1. What should be done to the carpenter who builds a house that falls and kills the
owner?
2. What should be done about a wife who ignores her duties and belittles her husband?
3. What should be done when a "sister of god" (or nun) enters the wine shop for a drink?
4. What should be done if a son is adopted and then the birth-parents want him back?
5. What happens if a man is unable to pay his debts?
6. What should happen to a boy who slaps his father?
7. What happens to the wine seller who fails to arrest bad characters gathered at her
shop?
8. How is the truth determined when one man brings an accusation against another?
9. What should be done if a wild bull in his charge has gored a man and caused him to
die and then run away?
 Case #1

 What should be done to the carpenter who

builds a house that falls and kills the owner?

 If a builder builds a house for a man and does

not make its construction sound, and the house
which he has built collapses and causes the
death of the owner of the house, the builder
shall be put to death.
 Case #2

 What should be done about a wife who

ignores her duties and belittles her
husband?

 If the woman has not been careful but has

gadded about, neglecting her house and
belittling her husband, they shall throw
that woman into the water.
 Case #3

 What should be done when a "sister of

god" (or nun) enters the wine shop for a
drink?

 If a "sister of god" (nun) who is not living

in a convent opens a wine shop or enters
a wine shop for a drink, they shall burn
that woman.
 Case #4

 What should be done if a son is adopted

and then the birth-parents want him back?

 If a man takes in his own home a young

boy as a son and rears him, one may not
bring claim for that adopted son.
 Case #5
 What happens if a man is unable to pay
his debts?

 If a man be in debt and is unable to pay

his creditors, he shall sell his wife, son, or
daughter, or bind them over to service. For
three years they shall work in the houses
of their purchaser or master; in the fourth
year they shall be given their freedom.
 Case #6

 What should happen to a boy who slaps

his father?

 If a son strikes his father, they shall cut

off his hand.
 Case #7

 What happens to the wine seller who fails

to arrest bad characters gathered at her
shop?

 If bad characters gather in the house of a

wine seller and she does not arrest those
characters and bring them to the palace,
that wine seller shall be put to death.
 Case #8
 How is the truth determined when one
man brings an accusation against another?

 If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the

accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink
in the river his accuser shall take possession of his
house. But if the river prove that the accused is not
guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought
the accusation shall be put to death, while he who
leaped into the river shall take possession of the house
that had belonged to his accuser.
 Case #9
1.What should be done if a wild bull in his
charge has gored a man and caused him to
die and then run away?


That case has no remedy
Sophisticated Metallurgy Skills
at Ur
Board Game From Ur
Mesopotamian Harp
The Royal Standard of Ur
 Contributions of
Mesopotamia
12 month calendar
irrigation, canals, dams
legal system / laws
mathematics based on base 60
measuring and surveying
instruments
metal working
plows
the sailboat
wheel / wheeled carts
writing (cuneiform)