MESOPOTAMIA
FERTILE CRESCENT & MESOPOTAMIA



Fertile crescent-a
crescent shaped strip of
fertile land that includes
the eastern coast of the
Mediterranean and arcs
through Southwest Asia
Mesopotamia-the land
between the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers
Mesopotamia forms the
eastern part of the fertile
crescent










Fertile Crescent
Mesopotamia
Tigris River
Euphrates River
Mediterranean Sea
Red Sea
Persian Guls
Nile River
Black Sea
Caspian Sea
TIGRIS & EUPHRARATES
The Tigris and
Euphrates are the
major geographical
feature of the Fertile
Crescent and
Mesopotamia.
 In Mesopotamia, the
Tigris and Euphrates
begin in the hills of
Asia Minor (Turkey)
and flow southeast
into the Persian Gulf





Like the Nile, the Tigris and
Euphrates flooded often, usually
once a year.
Like the Nile, the flood of the T. &
E. brought rich soil.
Unlike the Nile flood, the time of
the flooding of the T. & E. could
not be easily predicted. It could
come anytime between the
beginning of March and the end
of June.
Unlike the Nile flood, the amount
of the flood of the T & E was
unpredictable, and it could be
violent and sudden.
FERTILE CRESCENT & MESOPOTAMIA

Perhaps because their
rivers were harsher and
less predictable than the
Nile, the people of
Mesopotamia saw
nature & the gods as
harsh and unpredictable


The people of
Mesopotamia had to
cooperate dikes to control
the flood and irrigation
ditches to bring water to
their crops in the dry
season.
Irrigation & dike building
required cooperation &
organization. Cooperation
& organization pushed
them toward civilization
CONQUEST, EMPIRES & CHANGE




Like the Nile Valley, the land surrounding Mesopotamia & the
Fertile Crescent was dry. However, it was not as dry and
barren as the land around Egypt. It was not geographically
isolated.
Tribes of wandering herders lived in this dry land and often
invaded the fertile valleys, conquered them & created
empires. Then these invaders grew weak and new invaders
conquered them.
The early history of the Fertile Cres. & Mesopotamia involves
repeated migration & conquest.
Whereas the history of Egypt is the story of one people in
one place, the history of the Fertile Cresc & Mesopotamia is
the story of conquest, empires & & change

“The invading herders
have set fire to the crop
lands surrounding several
Sumerian villages. They
have carried away the
Silver and precious
stones. They have shed
blood in the palace of the
ruler. They have removed
the grain from the fields
and villages, all of it that
was under cultivation.”



Like the Nile, the Tigris &
Euphrates brought rich soil
(silt) when they flooded.
The lower (southeastern) part
of Mesopotamia had
especially rich soil. This part
came to be called Sumer.
Early accomplishments: By
about 3100BC, the people of
Sumer used


bronze
Writing
CUNEIFORM


The pictographs of the
Sumerians, which evolved
into a type of writing called
cuneiform. This was probably
the world’s first form of
writing. It probably began
about 3100BC.
These pictographs evolved
from an earlier system of
using small clay tokens to
represent things. These
tokens were placed on clay
jars like labels.
CUNEIFORM





Both cuneiform and
hieroglyphics started as
pictographs.
Sumerian writing was inscribed
on wet clay tablets with a sharp
reed called a stylus. (unlike
hieroglyphics, which was carved
on stone or written on papyrus.
The early pictographs of Sumer
soon became simplified into
wedge-shaped symbols (cuneus
means wedge-shaped).
The Sumerians had about 600
cuneiform signs.
Eventually, many different
languages in the Middle East
were written in cuneiform.
ARCHITECTURE
The Sumerians may
have invented
architectural designs,
including the arch, a
curved structure over
an opening, and the
vault, a rounded roof.
 Sumerians had very
little stone or wood.
They built primarily
from mud brick.

ZIGGURATS




Sumerian step-shaped
temples were called
ziggurats.
They had a large base, and
rose in large steps. On the
outside was a staircase or
ramp.
At the top was a shrine to a
Sumerian god.
Unlike Egyptian pyramids,
they were not tombs. They
were temples. They were
believed to be the dwelling
place of a god. The raised
base was through to lift the
temple closer to the gods.
Only priests were allowed in
the temple.
GREAT ZIGGURAT OF UR IN IRAQ.
SUMER – CITY-STATES




Sumer was not a united
country like Egypt.
Sumer was a collection of
“city-states”.
A city-state is a small
country, consisting of a city
and the farmland around it
which it controlled.
There were a number of
city-states in Sumer,
including Ur., Uruk, Lagash,
Eridu, Nippur and Kish.
SUMER CITY-STATES



Each city-state had its own
government.
In earliest times the citystates may have been
governed by priests, but as
war became frequent, kings
who were war leaders took
control.
Social classes:





Kings & their families
High Priests & Nobles
Lower priests, merchants,
artisans & scribes
Peasant farmers
Slaves.
IMPORTANT INVENTIONS MADE IN SUMER




Plow (drawn by
oxen)
Wheeled
vehicles (carts,
wagons with
wheels)
Potter’s wheel
Many historians
think that
bronze was
also first
invented here.
FARMING
The majority of people were farmers
 They grew wheat, barley flax, dates & other
fruits & vegetables
 They used irrigation & the plow pulled by oxen
 They herded sheep & goats

FARMING & TRADE




Trade was very important
because they had very
little stone, wood, or
metal. They had to trade
to get these things.
Merchants traveled by
land or by water
Merchants sometimes
had agents in other cities.
They sometimes they
journeyed to other cities
themselves
They traded with other
cities in Mesopotamia.
They also traded as far
away as Egypt and the
Indus Valley
EDUCATION



Formal education was for boys who were trained to
become scribes-men whose profession was to read and
write.
A school was called an edubba.
They boys went to school early in the morning. They
learned to write by copying religious books and poems.
SUMERIAN NUMBER SYSTEM




The Sumerian number
system was based on 60a sexagesimal system
They divided circles into
360 degrees (6x60)
They divided an hour into
60 minutes and a minute
into 60 seconds.
Our system of hours,
minutes and seconds is
based on the Sumerian
system.
SUMERIAN RELIGION
Polytheistic
 Anu/An-chief god-lord of heaven
 Enlil-god of air and storms
 Enki-god of water & wisdom
 Inanna/Ishtar-goddess of love

Anu
Enlil
Enki
Inanna/
Ishtar
SUMERIAN RELIGION
Believed that after death,
the soul goes to a
shadowy underworld (like
Hades), where there is no
reward or punishment.
 We see this belief
expressed clearly in the
“Epic of Gilgamesh”,
which is the world’s
oldest known written
story.

EXCAVATION OF UR BY SIR LEONARD WOOLEY
Ur was located on the banks of the Euphrates
River
 About 30,000 people
 Excavated by Sir Leonard Woolley between
1922 and 1934.
 Gives us a picture of the life there in about
3000BC





He found over
1800 burials,
including 16
“royal tombs”.
Tomb of Queen
Puabi was the
only unlooted
royal tomb
Buried with
many servants,
laid out in rows.
Small clay
cups—poison?

Crown of
Queen Puabi

Her
attendants
wore similar
jewelry

Lyre

Ram in a thicket
EPIC OF GILGAMESH-WORLD’S OLDEST
WRITTEN STORY