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Geography/Interaction with Environment
Tigris and Euphrates River Flow southeast to Persian Gulf Flood annually, leaving rich soil
Geography/Interaction with Environment
Challenges Solutions
Unpredictable floodingNo rain
Dug irrigation ditches
No natural boundaries Built mud brick walls around cities
Scarce natural resources
Traded grain for raw materials
Power and Authority
Sumerian City-States 1st settled in 3300 BC City-state is a city and its surrounding
lands
Power and Authority
Priest were Rulers Priests acted as go betweens for the
people and the Gods Priests demanded crops as a form of
taxation for their services People believed that the Gods were
responsible for all things in their lives (crops, rich soil, rain, etc.)
Power and Authority Warriors become King
In time of crisis Priests were not the rulers
A strong leader was needed in time of crisis (ex. War)
Wars were for extended periods of time Warriors would continue to rule
Dynasty Series of rulers from a single family (pass
on to sons)
Power and Authority
Social Classes:
PriestKing
Landholders
Wealthy Merchants
Farmers and Shopkeepers
Slaves1. Foreigners captured
2. Children sold to pay parental debt
Religious and Ethical Systems
Polytheistic Belief in more than one God
Sumerians feared the power of their Gods Blamed natural disasters, poor crops,
and illness on a persons social actions Enlil
God of storms and air
Religious and Ethical Systems
Afterlife Souls of dead went to “Land of No
Return” A dark, gloomy place
Religious and Ethical Systems
Epic of Gilgamesh Long heroic poem Gives us an idea about Sumerian life
See handout….
Cultural Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
Trading Surplus Allowed Sumerians to increase long distance
trade and develop new city-states Cultural Diffusion
When a new idea or product spreads from one cultural to another
Trading surplus allowed for cultural diffusion
Cultural Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
Empire Bringing together of several nations
under one ruler
Cultural Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
Sargon Created the 1st empire (Akkad)
Akkadian Empire 2350BC Helped spread Sumerian idea Lasted 200 years Internal conflicts will lead to its future
breakdown
Cultural Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
Babylonian Empire Amorites: nomadic warriors Established empire along the Euphrates
River 2000 BC
Hammurabi Ruled during the peak of the B.E. from
1792 BC – 1750 BC
Cultural Interaction/Economics/Empire
Building
Codified Law (Hammurabi’s Code) Single, uniform code of laws
Unified a diverse empire Engraved on stone and place in various
cities around the empire 282 laws
Community, family relations, business, and crime
Principle of RETALIATION Set different punishments for rich, poor, and
women
Science and Technology
Arithmetic and Geometry Needed to build walls, plan irrigation,
and survey fields Number system based on 60 Modern examples:
60 sec. = 1 min. 360*circle