Ancient Sumer3300 – 1900 B.C.
Fertile Crescent
Today…
Mesopotamia Land “between the rivers”
Literally: Tigris & Euphrates Why was this a good place to settle? What did the Sumerians have to get
really good at?
Sumerian Society
Organized into city-states Each city-state was responsible for its own
security, irrigation system, laws, taxes, record keeping and building its own walls.
Social Hierarchy:1. Ruling family, officials, high priests2. Scribes, merchants, artisans, lesser
priests3. Peasant farmers (about 90% of the pop.)4. ???
Sumerian Religion Polytheistic
Meaning…? Gods controlled every aspect of their life A Sumerian’s job was to keep these
gods happy at all times Each city-state built a ziggurat Afterlife?
Cuneiform! Sumerians were the first to invent a
system of writing Cuneiform used symbols (called
pictographs) to represent things, concepts, ideas, etc.
Scribes went through rigorous study to master the art of cuneiform.
Bad handwriting & talking during class was punished by caning. Oh how times have changed…
Sumer’s Legacy Culture spread through trade to Asian
Minor, Egypt and as far east as the Indus River Valley
Cuneiform Astronomy
First to identify constellations 60 minutes in one hour; 24 hours in one
day Epic of Gilgamesh
First story to be written down, passed on
After Sumer… 2300 B.C. Sargon, the ruler Akkad,
came down from the north and conquered Sumer
By 1790 B.C. Mesopotamia was unified under the rule of Hammurabi, the King of Babylon
Hammurabi’s Code King Hammurabi’s greatest
accomplishment was writing down (codifying) the laws of the land WHY?
“Eye for an eye” Fair?
Many empires follow… Hittites: Ironworking Assyrians: Warriors; Libraries Babylon (again): Nebuchadnezzar
Re-built canals and temples Fortified the city with a moat and giant
wall Built gateways meant to please the gods
and allow people to pass through the defensive wall
Ishtar Gate
Persia 539 B.C. Babylon falls to Cyrus the Great’s
Persian army Built the largest empire to date,
encompassing a wide variety of cultures and beliefs How do you think Cyrus treated the diverse
groups in his empire? Emperor Darius I creates a complex
system of government; built roads to unite the far-reaches of his empire
Darius transitioned Persian from a barter economy to a money economy Linked his empire economically
The Phoenicians Small state on the
Mediterranean Sea What was their main industry? “Carriers of Civilization”
Set up trading outposts, or colonies, around the Mediterranean Sea
Phoenician alphabet How is this different than
cuneiform?