Name: ____________________________________________ Date: _______________________________ Page #: _____
NOTES:
The Rise of Civilizations & River Valley Civilizations #1: Mesopotamia (WHI.3)
The Rise of Early Cities
Cities start following the boom of the
_______________________________________.
What Do Early Cities Need?
1. To be near _______________________ (for crops, irrigation)
2. Villages - why are villages necessary?
Agriculture = people have a steady source of food
More food? ________ people and a need for more
___________________ .

______________________________________________
These needs ---> many changes and villages evolve into __________
and _______________ cities
New Inventions Change Lives (and Bring About Cities)
These inventions include: 1) ______________ , 2) ___________________ , and 3) ________________________________
Why do these inventions matter?

The more food a settlement has, the more _____________________ it can support. And the more people a
settlement has, the more ______________________ that society becomes.
The Five Characteristics of Civilizations
1. Advanced
cities.
2. Specialized workers
The word "city" is
Latin for what?
Trade is important to
civilizations. How do you get
items to trade?
Cities were
organized to have
different areas for:
Lots of crops (aka
______________) causes
economic
______________
1. ____________
2. ____________
3. ____________
Advanced cities
also had centers
for trade!
Demand for
_______________
encourages the crafting of
new products
Trade with other peoples
= more
_______________
Examples: Scribes, priests,
metalworkers, merchants,
weavers, soldiers, teachers, etc.
3. Complex
institutions
Examples
include....
1) __________
Meets
administrative
needs of the
civilization
2) __________
Protect civilization
and gain land and
power
3) __________
Priests have
political and
religious power;
gods are crucial to
civilization success
4. Record
keeping
TWO reasons for
the development of
______________:
1) Keep ________
2 ) ____________
expression
Earliest form of
writing is ?
_______________
What are
pictograms?
5. Advanced
technology
(tools)
Examples
include...
- _______________
 The wheel
and plow
- _______________
 Sailboat
(aids in
trade too)
- _______________
 Bronze! ( a
combo of
copper
and tin)
The Start of Mesopotamia/Geography of Mesopotamia


Early humans traveled to find ____________ . Why? ____________________________________________
Migrations --> people are near WATERWAYS

Travel through the ____________________ , end up in region called the _____________________________


Fertile Crescent = in modern-day _________ .
Why is this region fertile?

Characteristics of the Fertile Crescent:
Location of two major rivers, the ______________ River and the ______________ River

The name Mesopotamia means "_________________________________ "

One of the earliest known cities (2900 BCE) in Mesopotamia was what? What people was it home to?
Importance of Geography:
PROBLEM: Rivers = only real source of water for Sumer
Positives:
- Allows ___________ to grow
- Deposits silt-rich soil from bottom
of riverbeds - Why does it matter that
the soil is silt-rich?
Negatives:
- Unpredictable _____________
- Sumer was ___________ in size
- Sumer not rich in ___________
resources
The Area of Sumer:
Small area where ____________ and __________ Rivers
met.
What was Sumer's most famous city? _________
 Earliest example of an advanced city, civilization
Ur became a powerful city? What characterized this?
Sumerian cities = had their own _________ and ________
Operated as city-states! (almost like their own states)
Problem Solving in Sumer:
People of Sumer = invent things to
help solve geographic issues



Dug _________________,
making more land farmable
Built walls to ____________
_______________________
____________ for resources
(Grain + cloth for wood,
metal, other tools)
All About Ur:
Ur was the most powerful city-state in Sumer.
 Sophisticated with ________________ classes
 Who holds the power?

1.
2.

Economy based on ____________________


Organized areas for ____________________
Buildings of clay brick
- What did a regular house look like?
- What did a wealthy person's house look like?
ECONOMY of Sumerian Cities:
Based on _____________________________ (farming was the basis for everything)
___________________________ = the most important area (used for trading at bazaars - open air markets). The barter
system was used in trading. What is bartering?
Sumerian cities = had their own _________ and ________
Operated as city-states! (almost like their own states)
Sumerian Religion:


Sumerians believed in gods - _______________________
Polytheism = belief in multiple gods)

What was the main religious building called?_______________
- Ziggurats mean " __________________________ "
- Surrounded by walls for protection
- Served many different purposes,
including _________________________________
____________ held high power in society in Sumer
until what happened?


Military leaders ---> lead to ____________ of kings in Sumer
(leaders pass power to sons)
Sumerian Society & Culture:
* Society in Sumer had rigid ______________
classes. *

Divided into different social classes

Included upper class, upper middle,
lower middle, slaves, etc.

Women in Sumer society: What could
they do?

What role did religion play in daily life?
Important text: Epic of Gilgamesh
Sumerian Scientific, Intellectual, and Technological Advancements:
Sumerian inventions include...
 3 major inventions: 1) ___________________
2) ____________________
3) ___________________
How did the sail especially help Sumer?



Calendars
Counting/number system from __________
1st to use bronze (start of Bronze Age)

Created _______________ (writing system of
Mesopotamia/Sumer)

Architectural designs ( ___________________ )
What is cuneiform (besides really important)?

Cuneiform = _________________ system which involved what?

Used a system of __________________ to represent words and/or phrases

Cylindrical seal used for names/trade

What is a stylus? _______________________________________________________________
Early Mesopotamian Conquerors:

Religious leaders originally held power. What happened? ______________________________________________

More wars = __________________ leaders come to power. These leaders begin to take over nearby villages.

Gathering control over villages was the start of ___________________ and empire ________________________ .

Who was the first empire builder? ______________________________________
- Takes power over Sumer
- Came from the city of ___________________
- The Sargon dynasty ____________________ all of Sumer from 2340 BCE to 2125 BCE (the first time all of Sumer
has ever been unified)
- Expands empire from ____________ of Sumer to ________________________
- Empire is created. What is an empire? ____________________________________________________________

Was Sargon of Akkad tolerant? How do we know?
Babylonian Empire Rises:
Eventually, the Sargon dynasty's rule falls, and the Babylonian Empire will take its place.


Empire of Sargon weakens --> ______________ take control of Sumer around 2000 BCE (also known as the
Babylonians)
Babylonians are in power, make the city of _______________ their capital (no longer in Ur)

Still keep the practices and beliefs traditional to Sumerian culture

Under what leader and when does the Babylonian Empire reach its height?
LEADER: _______________________________________ WHEN: ________________________

What is Hammurabi best known for? _________________________________________________________

This code of law is called Hammurabi's Code
What was Hammurabi's Code based on? _______________________________
Basic idea: " ___________________________________________________________ "
Rules = differed based on how much $$$ someone had