Chapter 4 Mesopotamia
Lesson 4.1 The Sumarians
The first civilizations in Mesopotamia
A. The first civilizations developed in the river valleys of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and
China. The need for _________________ greatly influenced where people settled.
I.
The Two Rivers
A. Meopotamia means “_______________________________________________” in Greek. The civilization
began between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, which run parallel to one another
from the mountains in South East Asia to the Persian Gulf
B. Mesopotamia is located inside what is known as the ______________________, which includes
parts of the modern countries of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Isreal, and Jordan.
II.
Early Valley Dwellers
A. Historians believe the first people settled in Mesopotamia around 7000 B.C., and were
hunters and herders.
a. By 4000 B.C. some of these settlers moved to the plains of Tigris-Euphrates valley
and built ____________________________________________ along the two rivers.
III.
Taming the Rivers
A. Farmers in Mesopotamia depended on water from the rivers for their crops
a. In the summer when there was _________________________ and the rivers became very
low. Because of this, farmers did not have enough water for their crops in the fall.
b. In the spring, rain and melting snow from the ____________________Mountains caused
these rivers to overflow. At times, violent ___________ swept away crops, and homes
i. These floods could also be helpful. Floodwaters left behind ________________,
or small particles of soil, which were good for farming.
ii. People in Mesopotamia learned to build dams and dig canals to allow the
water source into their fields. This method of water crops is called
_______________________________.
c. Irrigation allowed farmers to grow a _____________________________ of food.
i. Surplus of food meant not all men were needed to work at farming,
allowing them to pick up other trades and crafts.
1. As artisans made more goods, people’s lives changed. People began
to live together in areas that favored ___________________ and several
cities developed in Sumer, a region of Southern Mesopotamia.
Sumer’s Civilization
A. People of Sumer were known as _______________________________
a. Sumerians built the first cities in Southwest Asia, which became centers of
_____________ and controlled the lower part of the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley
I.
City-States Arise
a. Mudflats and patches of scorching __________________________ surrounded Sumer’s cities.
i. Because of this natural isolation from one another, these cities became
independent, and formed their own ____________________________________
ii. In gaining political and economic control over the individual cities and the
lands around them, _________________________________ were formed.
iii. Archaeologists believe each city state was protected by high walls built from
mud from the rivers as their main building material
II.
III.
IV.
iv. Often city-states went to war with one another over ________________________and
political borders, but in times of peace, they traded with one another and
formed alliances.
Gods, Priests and Kings
a. Sumerian people worshipped many Gods, a practice known as __________________________
b. They believed different Gods guided various aspects of their lives, and honored the
specific God they thought would help with that activity
c. To honor their Gods, Sumerians built large temples called _____________________________
in their city-state.
i. In the early days, the _______________________ of the ziggurat ruled the city states
d. Later, Sumerian kings claimed they received the power to rule from the gods.
i. The rule of the king was ________________________________, meaning after he died,
his son would take over
Social Groups
a. Sumer people were divided into ___________________________________________, generally
from the time they were born.
i. The upper class consisted of kings, priests, warriors, and government officials
ii. Middle class consisted of merchants, farmers, fishermen, and artisans
iii. The lowest class was made up of enslaved people
b. Men were the head of the household. Boys attended school and were trained for
__________________________________________
c. Women ran the household and had few civil rights
Farmers and Traders
a. The major crops in Sumer were wheat, barley and ______________________
i. Dams and waterways ran through the farmland to water crops
b. Sumerians traded to get items such as _______________________ and ____________________,
which were not found in their community.
i. Trade routes linked Sumer to places such as Turkey, India, and Egypt
Sumerian Contributions
I.
II.
Writing
a. The writing system developed by the Sumerians is the earliest known system in the
world
i. Their system of writing was called ________________________________
1. Written on clay
2. Characters represented names, __________________________ and objects
ii. Few people learned to write cuneiform –mostly boys from wealthy families
1. ______________________, or official record keepers, wrote documents
recording important aspects of everyday life
a. Some were judges or government officials
Technology and Mathematics
a. Sumerians were the first people to use the __________________________
i. Carts pulled by donkeys
ii. The chariot
b. For river travel, Sumerians invented the ____________________________________
c. The Wooden plow, Potters wheel, Bronze –(combining copper and tin) were other
technological advancements
d. Astronomy and Mathematics
i. _______ minute hour, _______second minute, and _____________degree circle
ii. ________Month calendar based on the cycles of the moon
iii. Planting season based on positions of the ______________________
Lesson 4.2 Mesopotamian Empires
The First Empires
A. As the strength of Sumer faded, powerful kingdoms arose in northern Mesopotamia and
built ____________________________.
a. An empire is a group of _________________________ controlled by one ruler
I.
II.
III.
Who was Sargon?
a. The kingdom of Akkad developed in N. Mesopotamia and was ruled by Sargon
i. Sargon conquered the remaining Sumerian Cities. In doing so, he built the
world’s _________________________________________________
ii. Eventually, his empire would extend to include all people of Mesopotamia
Who was Hammurabi?
a. West of Mesopotamia, was a city called __________________________________.
i. Their king, Hummurabi, began conquering the lands north and south,
creating the Babylonian Empire
Hammurabi’s Code
a. Hammurabi was best known for creating a ___________________________ for his empire
i. These laws dealt with crime and established “an eye for an eye” system of
_________________________________
ii. The laws also protected the _________________________________________, for
example it protected wives from their abusive husbands
The Assyrian Empire
I.
Assyria was an empire which arose about _____________ years after the empire of Hammurabi
and extended into four present day countries; Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq
II.
The Assyrian Army
a. The Assyrians built a large and powerful _____________________to defend their territory
b. The army was made of ________________________ (foot soldiers), __________________________
(horse soldiers) and charioteers
i. Weapons consisted of slingshots, bows and arrows, swords, and spears
c. The Assyrians robbed people, set crops on fire, and either took tributes or forced
payments from conquered people
d. One of the keys to the success of the Assyrian army was _________________________________
i. The __________________, located to the North of the Assyrian Empire mastered the
production of iron and shared this technology with the Assyrians
III.
Kings and Government
a. Assyrian Kings divided their empire into provinces, or ___________________________________
i. Roads were built to connect each province and the king chose officials to
collect_________________ and ______________________________________ in each province.
IV.
Life in Assyria
a. ____________________ were built based on what they learned from Mesopotamian people
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Had ____________________________________ with harsh punishments
Writings were based on Babylonian writing
Worshipped many of the same Gods
Assyrians wrote and collected stories
1. Built one of the worlds first __________________________________
v. Farming and trade were both very important
1. Brought in wood and metal from war away to supply their empire with
building materials
The Chaldean Empire
I.
II.
III.
IV.
In about 650 B.C., fighting broke out to determine who would be the next Assyrian ruler.
a. While Assyria was in turmoil, the Chaldean’s took power
A New Empire
a. About _________ B.C., the Chaldeans moved to __________________________________ and
were immediately conquered by the Assyrians. The Chaldeans hated their new
rulers and never fully submitted to the Assyrian empire
b. Around 627 B.C. another group who wanted to break free from Assyrian rule, the
Medes, joined the Chaldeans
i. In 612 B.C., together they burned the Assyrian capital. The Assyrian
empire quickly _______________________________________
c. Most of the Chaldeans were ________________________________ of the Babylonians
i. The city of Babylon was chosen to serve as their capital, and because of
this, the Chaldean empire is sometimes called the New Babylonian Empire
The Greatness of Babylon
a. King Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldeans rebuilt Babylon making it the largest and
richest city in the world
a. Babylon featured:
1. Grand Palaces and ________________________,
2. A 300-foot ziggurat with a gleaming gold roof
3. Gardens built like huge steps made up the _______________________________,
considered one of the seven wonders of the world
4. Many new canals, making the land more fertile
b. To pay for all these building projects, and to maintain his army, Nebuchadnezzar
had to collect very high _________________________
c. Merchants came to the city in caravans to buy Babylonian goods –pottery, cloth,
baskets, and jewelry
1. Trade made Babylon wealthy
d. Advancements under the Chaldeans included the invention of the __________________
to tell time, and being the first civilization to follow the seven-day week
The Fall of the Empire
a. After Nebuchadnezzar died, a series of weak kings ruled the empire
b. _______________________________________ and slow trade further weakened the empire
i. In 539 B.C. The _________________________took advantage and captured
Babylon and made Mesopotamia part of their empire while allowing the
Chaldeans to maintain their culture