Mesopotamia

Ch. 1 (pp. 16 – 24)

Key Concept 1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agriculture Societies

Key Concept 1.3 The Development and Interactions of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies

Essential Question: How did Mesopotamian civilization emerge, and what technologies promoted its advancement?

Geography• ~8,000 B.C.E.

agriculture & civilization arose in the “Fertile Crescent”– Arc of rich farmland in

the Middle East

Geography• Mesopotamia (“land

b/t the rivers”)– On the flood plains b/t

Tigris & Euphrates Rivers

• Located mostly in modern Iraq

• Rivers deposit silt from mountains, making the soil fertile

• Flooded unpredictably

Geography• States (like

Mesopotamia) were powerful new systems of rule that mobilized surplus labor and resources

• ~5000 B.C.E., agriculture reached Mesopotamia– Area required irrigation to

cultivate• Artificial provision of water

to crops

Cities• Farming villages occasionally grew into urban

centers (cities)– Relied on agriculture from surrounding villages

• Cities allowed for specialized in crafts, religion or administrative duties

• Surrounding villages looked to cities for protection & manufactured goods

– City-states = a city & its surrounding agricultural areas

• Self-governed• Sumer, Akkad, Ur, etc.

City-States in Mesopotamia

Political Beliefs

• Early city-states were ruled by kings– Some were believed to

be gods (theocracy)– Others claimed to have

divine support– Had the support of an

army

Political Beliefs• One of Mesopotamia’s most

influential kings was Hammurabi– First king of the Babylonian

Empire– Created a common set of laws

known as the Code of Hammurabi

• Reflected existing hierarches in society

• Facilitated government rule over people

Trade• Mesopotamians participated in

long distance trade (often with pastoralists)

• Trade was done through barter– Acquired new weapons and modes of

transportation• Ex. Compound bows, iron weapons,

chariots

– Exchanged goods, cultural ideas and technology

• Over time trade expanded from local to regional to transregional

Mesopotamian Society• Social and gender

hierarchies intensified as states expanded

• Three social classes– Free landowning– Dependent farmers

& artisans– Slaves

Mesopotamian Society• Women lost social standing with the spread of agriculture

– In Mesopotamia, women could own property, maintain control of their dowry & engage in trade, but men controlled political life

Religion• Mesopotamians were polytheistic

– These gods embodied the forces of nature & were anthropomorphic

– Each city-state worshipped specific deities

• Early civilizations developed monumental architecture– Ziggurats were huge pyramidal temples

built as monuments to local gods

The 4100 year old Great Ziggurat of Ur, near Nasiriyah, Iraq

Technology & Science• Early civilizations developed

urban planning– Sewage, streets & roads, etc.

• Writing (appeared ~3300 B.C.E.)– Systems arose independently in

early civilizations and later diffused

– Cuneiform = system of writing involving wedge-shaped symbols representing words or symbols

• Hundreds of symbols confined literacy to small groups of scribes

Technology & Science• Examples (continued)

– Bronze weapons/tools– Clay structures & pottery

• Potter’s wheel

– Military tactics/inventions• Horseback riders• Archers• Chariots

– Base-60 number system– Early advances in astronomy