“The land between two rivers”
Sumer--Akkad—Babylon—
Hittites—Assyrians—Babylon—
Persian
Ms. Jerome
Do Now
 Read excerpt and answer questions from The Epic of
Gilgamesh
 The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia
and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars
believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and
poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of
Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much
later. The most complete version existing today is preserved
on 12 clay tablets from the library collection of 7th-century BC
Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. The epic was originally titled He
who Saw the Deep (Sha naqba īmuru) or Surpassing All
Other Kings (Shūtur eli sharrī), which are the first few
words of the epic in different versions.
Map: Why is the outlined location of Mesopotamia an ideal location for a
civilization?
Modern Day Iraq
The Unpredictable Floods
 The Tigris and Euphrates flooded unpredictably
 Washed settlements away
 Others learned to build canals and dikes and built
uphill
 Sumer developed in southern Mesopotamia
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Over 100,000 people
Sumerian cities were the center of political and military
authority
Marketplaces were economic centers
Also cultural centers with priests and scribes
Sumer
Sumerian Civilization
 River management was key to early success
 Developed cuneiform—why is this important to the
longevity of a culture?
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Write down laws
Treaties
Social and religious customs
Record keeping (who paid their taxes? Who didn’t?)
Each symbol stands for a word
First wheeled vehicles
Polytheism
 Each city state had its
own god that was
worshipped only by its
people.
 Sumerians built
ziggurats to honor their
deities.
 Each city state had a
ziggurat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8v2vRlLL5
8&feature=related
 Video on Sumer
 What continuous contributions does the video discuss about
the legacy of Sumer?
 What was at the center of each City State?
 What contributions did the Sumerians give to the world?
Sumerian social structure
 Sumer became attractive to raiders for its wealth
 This developed the need for a recognized military
 By 3,000 b.c.e. all Sumerian cities had kings who
claimed absolute authority
 Most of the population was comprised of peasant
farmers
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Which tells you what about the civilization?
The Rise of the Babylonians
 The Akkadians and
Babylonians of northern
Mesopotamia soon
overshadowed Sumer
 Led by Akkadian warrior
Sargon, Mesopotamian city
states merged into an
empire until his death.
 Akkad was overrun by a
new powerhouse, Babylon,
under the leadership of its
King, Hammurabi
Sargon the Great: ca. 2270 BC – 2215 BC
Hammurabi’s Empire
Hammurabi’s Code activity
 Groups of 3
 Each group has to skim through 50 different codes of
Hammurabi
 http://www.phillipmartin.info/hammurabi/hammurabi_code
index.htm
Make a list of 10 different facts you can defer about
Mesopotamian/Babylonian culture based on its laws
 Consider values, social structure and level of punishment per
offense
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The Jeromeurabi Code
 Rules regarding homework
 Rules regarding attendance
 Rules regarding class work
 Rules regarding leaving the classroom
 Rules regarding group work
 Rules regarding writing assignments …
Enter the Hittites, exit the Babylonians!
Babylon falls
 By 1500 b.c.e. the Hittites became the dominant
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force in Anotolia (Turkey), invading the riches of
Mesopotamia
Why? Because they used iron—a stronger metal than
bronze.
Enabled them to become a military powerhouse
But good news travels fast…
Enter the Assyrians
The Rise of the Assyrians
The Assyrians
 A military powerhouse
 Military dominated life in this culture
 Military rank based on merit rather than noble birth
 Also, good administration like Hammurabi
 Preserved literature
The Fall of the Assyrians
 Too big to administer
(this is a common theme
through history!)
 Internal strife
 Assyrian empire began to
collapse by 612 b.c.e.
with the death of King
Assurbanipal
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Built first library
Maintained
Mesopotamia’s literature
(epic of Gilgamesh)
Nebuchadnezzer and
the New Babylonian Empire
 Nebuchadnezzer rebuilt
Babylon—canals, walls,
temples, a defensive
mote
 Built first great,
illustrious city of the
ancient world
Summary
 Contributions of
the Hittites
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Introduced
ironworking
 Contributions of  Contributions of
the Assyrians
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Founded the
first library
the Babylonians
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Established first
great ancient
city
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The growing Persian Empire would soon
encompass all of Mesopotamia