Name:
Date:
THE FERTILE CRESCENT
Humans lived as nomads for tens of
thousands of years before slowly settling
down in various parts of the world. Nomads
are people who have no permanent home and
travel in search of food and safety. A typical
nomadic group might include an extended
family of about ten adults and their children.
The nomads would temporarily camp in an
area for a few weeks or months. The men
would hunt animals while the women would
gather fruit, grains, seeds and nuts. When the
nomads exhausted the land they moved to a
new area.
Civilization developed slowly in different
parts of the world. People began to settle in
areas with abundant natural resources. For
thousands of years, people have been
attracted to a part of the world archaeologists
later called the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile
Crescent is a boomerang-shaped region that
extends from the eastern shore of the
Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The
Fertile Crescent is a rich food-growing area in
a part of the world where most of the land is
too dry for farming.
NATURAL BOUNDARIES
The Tigris and Euphrates are natural
boundaries that were formed by nature instead
of being drawn by people. Examples of natural
boundaries include rivers, mountain ranges, or
deserts.
Straight lines on a map generally signify
borders made by people, while natural borders
can follow many different paths. This is easy to
demonstrate on a map of the United States.
Most of the boundaries of the western states are
straight lines; Colorado and Wyoming and
rectangles. Many eastern states have jagged
shapes because their borders are formed by
rivers.
Some of the best farmland of the Fertile
Crescent is on a narrow strip of land between
the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. The two
rivers travel near one another for thousands
of miles before they combine to drain into the
Persian Gulf. The Greeks called this area
Mesopotamia, which means "between the
rivers." Very little rain falls in Mesopotamia,
but water and nutrients from the river soak
into the land, creating an environment filled
with plants and the animals that feed on the
vegetation.
Many different civilizations flourished in
this small region. The Sumerians slowly
developed one of the first civilizations in the
southeastern section of Mesopotamia as early
as 7,500 years ago. The Sumerian civilization
lasted more than three thousand years, but in
time the Sumerians lost their influence. The
Babylonians formed a centralized government
under King Hammurabi. The Babylonian
culture lasted from about 1770BC to about
1595BC. Various other cultures dominated
part or all of the Fertile Crescent including
Amorites, the Kassites, (c. 1531-1155BC) the
Hittites (c. 1370 – 1205BC) and the Assyrians
(c.890-600BC). The land known as
Mesopotamia was later controlled by the
Persians, the Greeks under Alexander the
Great, the Romans, and the Ottoman Turks.
The land between the Tigris and Euphrates
has been part of modern day Iraq since 1932.
Name:
Date:
Fill in the Blanks
About 7,500 years ago, a group of people gave up their nomadic lifestyles to settle in the area
between the Tigris and the _________ Rivers. The Greeks later called this land _____________,
which means “_________ the _______.” Mesopotamia is part of the _________ Crescent, a
_________ -shaped region that extends from the eastern shore of the _____________ Sea to the
_________ Gulf.
Several civilizations developed in Mesopotamia partly because the rivers provide the region with
ab__n__a__t natural r__s__u__c__s. The S__m__r__a_s first settled near the confluence of the
rivers about _______BC. Later Mesopotamian civilizations included the B_b__l__n_a__s and the
A__s__r__a__s. Mesopotamia was later controlled by the P__r__i__ns, the G__e__ks, and the
R__m__ns. Mesopotamia is now part of the modern nation of ______.
Timeline
5500
BCE
5000
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4500
BCE
4000
BCE
3500
BCE
3000
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2500
BCE
2000
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1500
BCE
1000
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500
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500
CE
1000
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1500
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2000
CE
1. Identify on the timeline the periods when the following civilizations flourished in Mesopotamia: the
Sumerians, the Babylonians, the Kassites, the Hittites, the Assyrians, modern Iraq. Note that the
civilizations may overlap.
2. What is the Fertile Crescent?
3. What are the natural boundaries of Mesopotamia? Why do we call the land Mesopotamia?
The Sumerians
The Sumerians are thought to have formed the first human civilization in world history. They lived in
southern Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the Middle East.
Cradle of Civilization
Many historians think that cities and towns were first
formed in Sumer around 5000 BC. Nomads moved into
the fertile land and began to form small villages which
slowly grew into large towns. Eventually these cities
developed into the civilization of the Sumer. This land is
often called the "Cradle of Civilization."
Sumer City-States
As the Sumerian villages grew into large cities, they
formed city-states. This is where a city government would
rule the city as well as the land around it. These citystates often fought each other. They built walls around
their cities for protection. Farmland was outside the
walls, but people would retreat to the city when invaders came.
There were many city-states throughout Sumer. Some of the most powerful city-states included Eridu, Badtibura, Shuruppak, Uruk, Sippar, and Ur. Eridu is thought to be the first of the major cities formed and one
of the oldest cities in the world.
Sumerian Rulers and Government
Each city-state had its own ruler. They went by various titles such as lugal, en, or ensi. The ruler was like a
king or governor. The ruler of the city was often the high priest of their religion as well. This gave him even
more power. The most famous king was Gilgamesh of Uruk who was the subject of the Epic of Gilgamesh,
one of the world's oldest surviving works of literature.
In addition to the king or governor, there was a fairly complex government with officials who helped to
organize city building projects and keep the city running. There were also laws that the citizens must follow
or face punishment. The invention of government is often credited to the Sumerians.
Religion
Each city-state also had its own god. In the center of each city was a large temple to the city god called a
ziggurat. The ziggurat looked like a step pyramid with a
flat top. Here the priests would perform rituals and
sacrifices.
Important Inventions and Technology
One of the great contributions the Sumerians made to
civilization was their many inventions. They invented the
first form of writing, a number system, the first wheeled
vehicles, sun-dried bricks, and irrigation for farming. All
of these things were important for the development of
human civilization.
They also had an interest in science including astronomy and the movement of the moon and the stars.
Their number system was based on the number 60, like ours is based on the number 10. They used this
when they came up with 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle. We still use these divisions
today.
Comprehension quiz: Please select the letter of the best answer for each question.
1) What are the Sumerians famous for?
a. Fighting with the Greeks
b. Forming the first human civilization
c. Conquering Ancient Egypt
d. The library at Nineveh
2) What was the basic division of government throughout the Sumer land?
a. Satrapies
b. City-states
c. Provinces
d. Empires
3) Which of the following is considered an important invention by the Sumerians?
a. Writing
b. Irrigation
c. Wheeled vehicles
d. All of the above
4) What was the temple called that was located at the center of each city?
a. Ziggurat
b. Pyramid
c. Center temple
d. Nexus
5) What do we call the land called where the Sumer lived?
a. Egypt
b. Mediterranean
c. Mesopotamia
d. Macedonia
6) What are the Tigris and the Euphrates?
a. Gods worshiped by the Sumerians
b. Major cities located in Mesopotamia
c. Deserts located to each side of where the Sumer originally settled
d. Major rivers that flowed through Mesopotamia
7) Which of the following was NOT a major city of the Sumerian people?
a. Eridu
b. Uruk
c. Gilgamesh
d. Ur
8) How was the number 60 important to the Sumerians?
a. It was the number of gods they worshiped
b. It was the base number for their mathematics and numbering system
c. They considered the number 60 unlucky and never used it
d. They had 60 letters in their alphabet
9) True or false: The Sumerians were always peaceful and had no need of armies or walls around their cities.
TRUE
FALSE
10) What were their homes made of?
a. Tents made from animal hides
b. Wood
c. Sun-dried bricks
d. They did not have homes