Fertile Crescent (p. 33)Mesopotamia (p. 33)City-state (p. 34)Polytheism (p. 34)Dynasty (p. 35)Cuneiform (p. 35) Indo-Europeans (p. 40)

Warm Up: Key Terms

Chapter 2.1The Ancient Near East

Understand how the first known civilization in Mesopotamia influenced later civilizations in the region

Explain how Indo-European invaders both shaped the cultures of the Fertile Crescent and adapted to the civilizations they encountered there

Objectives: Day 3, 1/25/11

Watch the following video clip about the rise of civilizations in Mesopotamia and copy the questions to answer during the video:

Video: From Nomads to Farmers

◦ 1. What does the word “Mesopotamia” mean?◦ 2. What two rivers was it located between?◦ 3. How did Mesopotamian’s control the river water?◦ 4. How did people become slaves in Mesopotamia?◦ 5. What group has the highest/most important job

in Mesopotamian society?

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia and Sumer

The Cradle of Civilization

The Fertile Crescent ◦ a band of fertile land that

forms an oasis in the midst of deserts and mountains between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf

Mesopotamia◦ Area between Tigris and

Euphrates Rivers◦ Means “between the

rivers”

Geography Promotes Civilization

Sumer Developed the first

civilization Large cities appeared by

3000 B.C.◦ Eventually formed city-states

A political unit with its own government

Religion shaped life in city-states◦ Sumerians practiced

polytheism The worship of many gods

Sumerians developed the world’s first known writing system◦ Known as cuneiform◦ Produced using sharp tools

called stylusses to make wedge-shaped symbols on clay tablets

◦ Used to keep business accounts and other records

◦ Paid scribes to create written documents

Sumerian Writing

Tribe called Amorites settled in Babylon on the Euphrates River near modern day Baghdad, Iraq

Hammurabi became king in 1792 B.C.◦ Most famous for his code of laws◦ Important because it was written

down for all to see No one could lie about it or make up

laws

Hammurabi’s Code

Fertile Crescent Empires

Hittites, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Phoenicians

As the Babylonian Empire declined, Indo-Europeans took over◦ Several tribes from the north that spoke related

languages The Hittites

◦ Warlike Indo-European tribe ◦ Settled in Asia Minor, present day Turkey◦ Used horse-drawn chariot

The Hittites

Originally from northern Mesopotamia, near the city of Assur along the upper Tigris River

Built a large empire that included all of Mesopotamia, some of Asia Minor, and Egypt

Relied on military strength Produced great cultural

achievements such as library at Nineveh

The Assyrians

Took over after Assyrian collapse

Made Babylon their capital

Nebuchadnezzar II became king◦ Rebuilt Babylon◦ Famous for building the

Hanging Gardens (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world)

The Chaldeans

Built a wealthy trading society

Founded trading colonies, including Carthage

Greatest achievement was their alphabet◦ Consisted of 22 letters◦ Later modified by the Greeks

to create their own alphabet on which our own is based

The Phoenicians