Unit 2
Civilization & Development
in the Neolithic Age
Section 2
Mesopotamia
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Key Terms for Mesopotamia
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city-state =
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artisans =
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ziggurat =
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cuneiform =
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scribe =
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priest-kings =
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empire
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culture
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reform
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reign
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Gilgamesh
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Sargon I
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Hammurabi
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Mesopotamia
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Sumer
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Ur
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Babylon
The Rise of Mesopotamia
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The earliest known civilizations developed along the ____________ and ____________
Rivers
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These rivers originate in eastern Turkey, which in ancient times was
called______________.
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The rivers join and enter into the ____________ Gulf
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Today we call this area _________.
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In ancient times this area was known as Mesopotamia OR
1)___________________________ 2)___________________________
3)___________________________
The First Civilization
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People originally settled __________ in about 3500 BC. This area is located in southern
Mesopotamia.
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They were:
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Short
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Stocky
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Black haired
Sumer is known as the first civilization on earth.
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For the first time people began to control their physical environment.
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The two rivers flooded each spring.
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They built _____________ in order to control the river.
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Wyoming Valley Levee
Forty Fort, Pennsylvania
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Every year when the climate became dry, they would poke holes in the levees.
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This water would run through channels to water the crops
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This invention was called _______________.
The chief crop was barley.
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flax
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wheat
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sesame
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fruit trees
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date palms
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vegetables
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Mesopotamian Cities
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As the population grew, other cities emerged.
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Each city was considered a country within itself.
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Historians call them ________-_____________.
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Greatest city in Sumeria was Ur.
City-States
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Each city-state consisted of the city and the nearby _____________. The city-state was
surrounded by a fortified _______.
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Near the center of the city lived the upper class. Their jobs were___________and
wealthy ___________.
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Upper class houses were two stories high with balconies which looked over
courtyards.
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Behind the houses of the rich lived the middle class:
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Government officials, shopkeepers, & ______________, or skilled workers.
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Middle class houses were built around courtyards, but were only one story high.
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Further beyond the middle class lived the lower class: fishermen, unskilled workers,
and _________________.
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Often city-states would go to war with other city-states over boundaries, to prove
which city was more powerful, or to gain wealth.
Religion
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At the center of each city-state was a ______________.
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“ziggurat” literally translated means 1)_________________________ OR
2)_________________________.
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The ziggurat was the home of the city’s chief god.
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Around the ziggurat were courts
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These courts and the ziggurat were the center of everyday life.
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_______________ worked there.
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Students attended school.
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All great events were celebrated there.
Beliefs
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Sumerians believed that all forces of nature were alive.
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There were more than ________ Sumerian gods.
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They believed that humans were on earth to serve the gods.
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Only priests knew the will of the gods.
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Priests ran every aspect of daily life.
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Priests ran the schools:
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Schools were only for the sons of the ______________.
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___________ children learned to work the fields or learned a trade.
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Schools were known as “tablet houses.”
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They taught students how to write.
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Sumerian writing was called _______________ .
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Their writing was made up of a system of wedges carved into clay tablets.
Cuneiform Tablet
Development of Writing
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Writing was developed for the sole purpose of keeping track of business deals.
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When a student graduated from school he became a ___________, or a person who
makes a living by writing.
Women’s Rights
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Women did have certain rights.
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Could buy and sell _____________.
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They ran businesses and could sell enslaved people.
Men’s Roles and Rights
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Males were the head of the households.
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A man could _______________ his wife by saying “you are not my wife.”
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He could sell or rent his wife or children for up to 3 years.
Children
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Children were expected to always support their parents, or they could face slavery or
death.
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Priests and Kings
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At first the priests were also the kings, known as _______________.
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One of the most famous was Gilgamesh of Uruk.
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Oldest known story in the world is known as the “Epic of _______________ .”
Priest-Kings
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Received advice from a council of free men.
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When war broke out these assemblies chose one man to lead the military.
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As time went on these leaders stayed in power even during peace time.
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By 3000 BC they took the place of the priests and became permanent kings.
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At the same time kingship became hereditary. WHY?______________
_____________________________
Mesopotamian Empires
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Sargon I
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Ruler of Akkad
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c. 2300 BC he marched his armies south and conquered everything in his path.
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He created the word’s first _______________ , or territories governed under a
single ruler or nation.
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First professional (_______)army.
(Northern Mesopotamia)
Hammurabi of Babylon
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1800 BC a new group of people called Ammorites entered the river valley.
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One of the new cities they built was _______________ .
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The people of Babylon took on many parts of Sumerian _______________ , or way of
life.
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Hammurabi of Babylon reconquered Sumer and Akkad and became _______________
of a new empire.
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The people of Babylon incorporated the cultures of the people they conquered into
their own.
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Hammurabi was a great conqueror.
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He improved irrigation systems
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Changed religion by raising the god of Babylon above all others.
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Reorganized the tax system.
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Began a government housing program.
Code of Law
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The _______________ , or improvement that he was most famous for was his
_____________________________.
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He issued and wrote down for the first time, one law code for all the unified citystates.
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These codes were to be enforced fairly and justly.
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He appointed royal judges.
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Laws covered most of daily life
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Punishments ranged from fines to death.
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His _______________ ,or period of power, became known as the “Golden Age of
Babylon”
Mesopotamian Contributions
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The Sumerians developed the first ________________ in the world.
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Wrote the oldest written records.
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Invented the wheel, the plow, the sailboat.
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Invented the 12-month calendar.
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They made huge accomplishments in the field of mathematics.
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Developed a number system based on 60.
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From this came the 60-minute hour, the 60- second minute, the 360 degree
circle.
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Used a _______________ based on drips of water.