Fertile Crescent
Where is the fertile crescent?
• The heart land of the middle East
Why is it called the Fertile
Crescent?
• The two rivers ensured successfully
farming made the land fertile
• The shape of the area 
What was the region called
between the Tigris and Euphrates?
• Mesopotamia – Means “Land between the
rivers”
• 4000 BC people called the Sumerians
lived in small city-states called UR
• City States – An independent selfgoverning political unit.
Political Organization
• Refers to that system of making decisions,
controlling internal conflicts and regulating
relations with other groups.
• Who was the leader of the Sumerians?
• King Gilgamesh
• Monarchy – One ruler; King or Queen
• How did Gilgamesh use propaganda?
Language
• A system of sounds and symbols which,
when combined, can generate
comprehensive multimodal communication
of an infinite number of subjects.
• Cuneiform – Wedge – shaped marks on
clay – symbols
• Scribes – Writers
Religion
• A system of ideas or thought utilized to
explain the world and cosmos and
people’s relation to it.
• Polytheistic – beliefs in many Gods
• Sumerians explained natural events as the
result of actions by gods and goddesses
ex. Floods
• God of winter – Dumuzi
• Goddess of Spring – Malissa Quigley
Religion Continued
• Polytheism – belief in many gods or
goddesses
• The Sumerians viewed natural forces as
gods
• Ziggurat- temple
Architecture
• At the center of each Sumerian city was a
temple, called a Ziggurat
• Ziggurat – “Mt. of God”
Akkadian Empire
• City-state- Akkad
• Sargon I the leader of the Akkadian
Empire
• Empire- a group of countries under one
ruler
• How did Sargon I use propaganda?
Babylon Empire
• City State – Babylonia
• Identify - Henry Rawlinson
English Scholar – Who translated the
Babylonian writings into Persians
• Who was the leader of the Babylonians?
• Hammurabi
Code of Laws
• Hammurabi – developed a system of code
of laws
• It was based on the principal of “An Eye
For An Eye”
• Punishment = Crime
• How did Hammurabi use propaganda?
1. Sun/Justice God Shamash
2. Code of Laws
Laying Down the Law
• Law 1
• State one of Hammurabi’s laws from the
selection of laws
• Write the law in your own words
• Compare the law to one of the laws in the
US
• Contrast the law to one of the laws in the
US
Kassites
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Location: Persia, present day Iran
Leader: Gandash
How did Gandash use propaganda?
Retained the Babylonian culture
Hittites
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Location: Asia-Minor
Leaders: Suppiluliumus and Muwatallis
How did these leaders use propaganda?
First to use iron weapons- smelting
Signed the first written treaty with the
Egyptians- Muwatallis and Ramses II
Assyrians
• What was the location of the Assur?
• What was the capital of the Assyrian
Empire?
• Who was the Leader of the Assyrian
empire?
• How was the Assyrian army divided?
• How did the leaders use propaganda?
Assyrians Continued
• Who did the Assyrians borrow the idea of
smelting?
• Define provinces.
• What are the Present day countries that
made up the Assyrian empire?
Chaldeans
• Location: Southern part of Mesopotamia
Capital: Babylon
• Why did Chaldeans call themselves
Babylonians? They were descendents of
the people who made up Hammurabi’s
empire.
• Who was their king?
• Nebuchadnezzar
Chaldeans cont.
• How did Nebuchadnezzar use
propaganda?
– 1. He built the hanging gardens of Babylon for his
wife.
– 2. To please the people he built a street for the god
Marduk.
Phoenicians
• Carriers of civilizations- 700 BC
• Location: eastern Mediterranean coastPresent day- Lebanon
• Carriers of civilizations- established trade
routes. They visited other civilizations by
doing this they introduced their civilization.
• Leader: Dido
Phoenicians Accomplishments
• Alphabet
• Royal Color
• Ship Building
Hebrews
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Location: From UR to Canaan
Identify
Yahweh - God
Abraham – Leader of the Hebrews. He
lead the Hebrews to Canaan.
• Why did the Hebrews leave Canaan?
• There was a drought.
Cont.
• Moses – He led the Hebrews out of Egypt.
However, Moses died before reaching
Canaan.
• Joshua- He led the Hebrews to Promise
Land.
• Saul- He was the first king.
• David- He reunited the Hebrews.
• Solomon-He extended trade and treaties
with other civilizations.
• Gradually they became weak enough for
others to conquer.
Do You Know Your World Cult?
1. What was the civilization that introduced iron weapons?
2. What were the two civilizations and their leaders who signed the first
written treaty in history?
3. What does Mesopotamia mean?
4. Who created the world’s first empire?
5. Where did the Sumerians first settle?
6. Who developed a law code in Babylonia?
7. What were the Assyrians military techniques?
8. Who was the Chaldean king and what did he create?
9. Explain “carriers of civilization”?
10. What is the royal color?
11. Who led the Exodus?
12 Name the ancient and present day countries.
Persian Empire
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I. The Persians
II. Army and Empire
III. Government Officials
IV. Family Life
V. Religion
VI. Trade