Social Studies Chapter 2: Early Civilizations
Activities
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2.
3.
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5.
Time line continuing
Model irrigation
Make cuneiform tablet
Write a legend (like Gilgamesh)
Write own version of Hammurabi’s Code
Lesson 1 The Fertile Crescent
Where Civilization Began
 Civilizations – groups of people who have a complex and organized
society within a culture having its own customs
o First developed in southwestern Asia, in a crescent shaped area
with fertile – rich – soil
o Fertile Crescent – land stretching from the eastern shores of the
Mediterranean Sea between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to
the mouth of the Persian Gulf
 Was a curved area of land good for growing crops
 Some countries in this area today are Iraq, Syria, and Israel
 Diverse area of plants, animals, and landforms
o A plain – area of flat land – bordering both the Tigris and
Euphrates became known as Mesopotamia
o Mesopotamia – “the land between two rivers” emerged as one of
the first civilizations
Climate and Rivers
 The climate was not good for farming due to long, hot, and dry
summers with temperatures up to 120 F
o No rain from May to October
o From November to April, occasional heavy rains would flood the
plain
 Around 5000 BC, people moved from a plateau – high area of flat
land – down to the plain
 Tigris and Euphrates provided fresh water and fish and solution to low
rainfall
o Farmers built irrigation systems – trenches and ditches that
brought the water from the rivers to their fields
The People
 People of southern Mesopotamia were problem solvers
o No rain = irrigation from the rivers
o Few trees and stone = river reeds for huts and bricks made with
mud and straw
 Herders had domesticated goats, cattle, and sheep
 Farmers grew barley, millet, wheat, dates, lentils, onions, garlic,
turnips, lettuce, cucumbers, and apples
o Developed advanced farming techniques that allowed them to
grow surplus food
Growth of City-States and Trade
 Surplus food caused the population to grow
 By 3,500 BC, the villages of Uruk, Kish, Lagash, Nippur, Umma, and Ur
grew into city-states
o City-state – a city that is an individual unit, complete with its own
form of government and traditions
 Mesopotamia was a region – area with common physical features –
where no one single power controlled all the city-states
 Because of surplus food, people could do other jobs
o Religious and government leaders
o Artisans – craftspeople – like potters and weavers
o They were paid with food
 Traders began to trade crops and woven cloths with other
Mesopotamian city-states by reed boats traveling along the rivers
o They also traded with other cultures either by foot, or by wooden
boats across the Persian Gulf
o They would trade copper, stone, and other materials they lacked
as well as cultural richness
Lesson 2 Mesopotamia
Sumer and Akkad
 The earliest city-states were Sumer – southern Mesopotamia – and
Akkad – northern Mesopotamia
 The people were similar in most ways, except language
 In Sumer, the Sumerians spoke Sumerian
 In Akkad, the Akkadians spoke Akkadian, which is related to Hebrew
 These city-states would have wars over control of land
o Between 3500 BC and 2330 BC, Sumer was more powerful
 Uruk was a Sumerian city, home to as many as 50,000 people
o Most city-states were surrounded by mud brick walls for
protection
 Houses were made of mud brick and painted white to keep them cool
 Highest point in each city was the temple complex
o Ziggurat – a series of stacked rectangular platforms that formed a
huge pyramid-shaped structure
 Reached heights up to 290 feet and were believed to link the
heavens and Earth
Religion and Government
 Size and magnificence of temples reflect the importance of religion to
society – organized community with established rules and traditions
 Polytheism – worship of many gods – was practiced by the Sumerians
and Akkadians
o Their chief gods:
 Anu – god of the heavens
 Enlil – god of wind
 Enki – god of water
 Ninhursag – mother of the gods
o They also had many lesser gods
 If things were going well, they believed the gods were pleased
o Temple priests made offerings of incense, food, and drink
o Divine kingship, the right to rule being god-given, was first
practiced by the Sumerians
 Believed this right was passed from father to son (impacted
later civilizations)
 There was a class system in Sumer that also appeared in later
civilizations:
o King
o Wealthy business people, landowners, and government workers
o Artisans and farm workers
o Slaves
Writing
 About 3200 BC, the Sumerians invented a system of writing to keep
track of business transactions and trading
 Earliest forms were simple pictures that stood for objects or actions
o By 2400 BC, the pictographs were simplified
 A scribe – professional writer – pressed a reed into wet clay tablets,
leaving wedge-shaped markings
o The tablet dried creating a permanent record
 Cuneiform – form of wedge-shaped writing created by the Sumerians
and adopted by the Akkadians
 Writing was not only used for the exchange of goods, but
archaeologists have also uncovered medical texts, law codes, letters,
wise sayings, and even literature
o The Epic of Gilgamesh was a tale of the adventures of the
legendary Sumerian king, Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh (Biography)
 May or may not have been a real person
 Many historians believe he was the 5th king of Uruk around 2700 BC
o By 2000 BC, so many stories had been told about Gilgamesh, that
he became a mythical figure
 A set of 12 clay tablets from the 600s BC give the best-known epic of
Gilgamesh that may not be based on any historical facts
o The themes include many human experiences
o Gilgamesh wants to live forever, is given a task to complete, and
fails; so he must acknowledge his fate
The Rise and Fall of the Akkadian Empire
 About 2334 BC, the Akkadian ruler, Sargon, took armies southward
through Sumer, conquering – defeating – each city-state by overthrowing their kings
 Sargon united all Mesopotamian city-states, creating the world’s first
empire – large territory, consisting of many different places, all under
the control of a single ruler
o His empire extended far beyond Mesopotamia
 Sargon appointed his daughter, Enheduanna, the high priestess of Ur
o She was in charge of making offerings to Nanna, the moon god;
and she composed songs to Inanna, the goddess of the morning
and evening star
 Sargon passed his empire to his son, but the Akkadian dynasty –
ruling family – was constantly threatened by revolts and only lasted
about 150 years
o By 2100 BC, Sumer rose to power again
Sargon (Biography)
 What we know comes from documents and legend written after his
death
 Legend says that Sargon was an abandoned baby, placed in a basket
in the river
o He was adopted by a farmer, and worked as a servant to the ruler
of the Sumerian city of Kish
o Sargon rose through the ranks and came to power after the
defeat of Uruk, taking control of all other city-states
 He gave himself the name Sharru-kin, or “Rightful King,” and it is
believed that the Mesopotamians accepted him as their king
 He seemed to be a just ruler, and held power for about 56 years
(unusually long)
Sumer’s Final Days
 The city-state of Ur held control of Mesopotamia for about 100 years
under the power of the Sumerian king, Ur-Nammu and his son, Shulgi
o Society and culture flourished during this time
o The Ziggurat of Ur, one of the largest ever built, was built during
this time (and ruins can still be seen)
o The 1st wheel appeared in Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago
o Writing, the wheel, and ziggurats are some of the Sumerian things
found in later cultures
Lesson 3 Babylonia and Assyria
The Rise of Hammurabi and Babylonia
 Following the fall of Ur in 2100 BC, people from the surrounding areas
arrived in Mesopotamia and settled, adopting many of their customs
for centuries
 In 1792 BC, Hammurabi became king of Babylon, a city-state between
the Tigris and Euphrates
o By 1754 BC, he controlled his empire, Babylonia, consisting of
Mesopotamia and neighboring city-states
o Hammurabi sought great power, sending officials to carry out
orders and collect taxes
 Taxes went to pay for the army and construction projects
throughout the empire
Babylonian Civilization
 Farming, trade, religion, and class systems did not change much
under Hammurabi’s rule
o Babylonians spoke their own version of Akkadian
 The capital city of Babylon grew from a small village to a center of
culture and learning
o Clay tablets show advancements in math, literature, and law
 Code of Hammurabi – set of 282 laws that helped Hammurabi govern
his empire in a new way
o Some laws were similar to Sumerian and Akkadian laws
o Rules dealt with business practices, property ownership, medical
practices, marriage, and childcare
o Most complete law code to have survived from Mesopotamia and
shows Babylonian society
o Purpose of code as written by Hammurabi: “to render (give) good
to the people, to make justice shine in the land, to destroy the evil
and wicked, that the strong do not oppress (mistreat) the weak”
o Punishments varied based on the class of the lawbreaker and the
victim of the crime
 Often demanded “eye for an eye”
Hammurabi (Biography)
 Became king of Babylon in 1792 BC, and made allies with other kings
to gain more power
 He wanted to control the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to have control
of the irrigation systems and farming economy
 Was a brilliant and brutal warrior, he would dam a waterway and
then release it to flood the city
 His code of laws was his greatest achievement
The Assyrians
 While the Babylonian Empire flourished in the south, the Assyrians
began to gain strength in northern Mesopotamia
 From 1900 BC to 600 BC Assyria expanded its territory
o Their culture was very similar to Babylonian culture, except with
more emphasis on war and conquest – defeat – of other groups
and were known as merciless warriors
 From 688 BC to 627 BC, the Assyrian Empire was at its largest under
King Ashurbanipal, who controlled nearly all of the Fertile Crescent
o Ashurbanipal was a great warrior and very educated (could read
and write Sumerian and Akkadian)
o He built a great library at Nineveh where he collected Sumerian,
Akkadian, and Babylonian writings that have helped historians
Babylonia Grows
 After 627 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II, crowned king of Babylon, took over
much of the Assyrian Empire and ordered massive building projects to
make Babylon glorious again
o Some historians think the great ziggurat he built was inspiration
for the Tower of Babel story in the Bible
o Babylon was a wealthy trading city and center of learning
 Determined place value in math
 Astronomers made many advancements, including accurately
predicting when solar and lunar eclipses would occur
 The new Babylonian Empire declined after Nebuchadnezzar II died in
562 BC and was later invaded by the Persians
Lesson 4 Hebrews, Phoenicians, and Lydians
The Hebrews
 Abraham – shepherd from Ur whom God told to leave his homeland
and settle in Canaan where He would be their God
o With this covenant – agreement – around 1800 BC, Abraham
promised to only worship one God and He would look after the
Hebrews
 Monotheism – the worship of only one God
o Abraham is viewed as the father of Judaism
 Hebrews lived in Canaan for a long time before moving to Egypt
where they were forced to become slaves
 Moses was chosen by God to lead the Hebrews out of slavery in
Egypt, across the Sinai Desert to freedom between 1400 BC and 1200
BC
 God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, which provided guidance
for the worship of God and rules for moral behavior instead of listing
crimes and punishments
o According to the Bible, the covenant with Abraham’s descendants
– people who are born later into the same family – was also
extended to the Hebrews fleeing Egypt
Hebrew Bible
 Moses received the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible at the same
time he received the Ten Commandments
o Those 5 books are the Torah – Hebrew for “to teach” – which is
the sacred text for Judaism, providing guidance, laws, and stories
of events
 It is against Jewish law to decorate the Torah scrolls themselves which
are handwritten by scribes on animal parchment
o It is against Jewish law to touch the Torah while reading it (must
use a pointer)
Israel and Judah
 According to the Torah, Hebrews settled in Canaan in about 12 tribes
and won several victories over the Canaanites
o An important victory was inspired by Deborah, a judge chosen by
God to offer guidance and leadership in times of trouble
 Women usually did not have power, but she encouraged the
military leaders to attack the Canaanites and that a woman
would win the war
 During the attack, the Canaanite king escaped and was killed
by a Hebrew woman named Jael
 Because she was correct, Deborah was viewed as a national
leader
 Around 1000 BC, King David united the tribes to form the kingdom of
Israel with Jerusalem as the capital
o His son, Solomon, built a temple in Jerusalem to house the Torah
 Solomon was a wise ruler and the kingdom prospered in peace
 After Solomon’s death, the kingdom split into Israel in the north and
Judah in the south
 Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC, and Nebuchadnezzer II
conquered Judah in 587 BC
 The Hebrews continued to follow their religion even though they had
been conquered
Judaism Today
 Jewish people still read the Torah and gather in synagogues – Jewish
houses of worship
 They celebrate holidays such as the festival of Passover, honoring the
escape from Egypt
 A rabbi – Hebrew for “master” or “teacher” – teaches Jews how to
read the Torah in Hebrew
Phoenicians and Lydians
 Solomon had a profitable trade relationship with the Phoenicians
o They supplied the wooden beams used to build Solomon’s temple
 Phoenician territory was on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean,
but they established many trade posts throughout their trade routes
o Their most important trading post was at Carthage in North Africa
 Phoenicians were expert sailors, and even went into the Atlantic
Ocean along the west coast (may have gone as far north as Europe)
o Their trading promoted the exchange of new ideas as well as
goods
o Usually bartered for goods and services although some used bars
or rings of silver
 Their most important contribution was helping to develop the
modern alphabet
o Started with cuneiform (700 characters) and by 1400 BC they had
22 simple characters each standing for a consonant (Greeks added
vowels later)
 Lydians, from western Asia, invented the region’s first coins around
500 BC
o Images and markings showed the value which was backed by the
king
o Soon, other people like the Greeks made their own coins