AP World History: Ancient Mesopotamia

Period 1: Technological and Environmental Transformations to 600 BCEKey Concept 1.3: The Development and Interactions of Early

Agricultural, Pastoral, and Urban Societies

Themes: _______________________

Modern Iraq

Scene of a bombing north of Baghdad Jan 6, 2012

Many children were born with birth defects due to the results

of weapons used during the Iraq War post 9/11.

BUTThe land of modern Iraq was the birthplace of one of the greatest

civilizations in the world.

A) Located in Iraq; a desertB) Mesopotamia = land between the 2 main rivers -Tigris &

EuphratesC) Called “Fertile Crescent” due to its rich soil

TIGRIS RIVER

I Geography of Mesopotamia

Euphrates River in Iraq

Tigris Euphrates Salt Marsh

D) The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flood yearly like Egypt. *Unlike Egypt, their floods are less predictable. This led to an

unhappy view of life & death.

III GovernmentUnlike Egypt, Mesopotamian kings ruled

individual city-states. There are not many written and archeological records of early Mesopotamian government, with the exception of two centers of power: temples and palaces. Temples were landholders, and their priests controlled considerable wealth. Their religious power predates the secular power of the palaces.

Secular leadership developed in the third millennium B.C.E. when “big men” (lugal), who may have originally been leaders of armies, emerged as secular leaders. The lugal ruled from their palaces and tended to take over religious control of institutions. The Epic of Gilgamesh provides an example of the exercise of secular power. Gilgamesh, Sumerian King

of Uruk, c. 2500 BCE

2. The center of each city-state was the ziggurat (temple). All of the buildings were built of sun-baked mud brick. Each

city-state was surrounded by a protective city wall.

B) 2300 BCE King Sargon of Akkad attacked Sumer. He created the Akkadian Empire, one of the first empires in the world. After his death, his empire quickly fell apart.

An empire is a group of states that is under the

control of a single authority.

Human Headed Winged Lion, Assyrian 865 BCE

C) 1790 BCE Hammurabi, King of Babylon conquered most of Mesopotamia. He created the Code of Hammurabi; the

world’s first written law code.-300 laws carved into a stone pillar

-Displayed in public

-Included civil and criminal laws

-Punishments were specific to the crime. However, the punishment was also based on your social status and

wealth. (The lower your status, the harsher the penalty)

Code of Hammurabi Law Code

See the handout

Remains of Ancient Babylon

D) 1400 BCE the Hittites (from Asia Minor) settled in Mesopotamia. They brought with them the knowledge of iron working.

Tools and weapons made from iron have harder and sharper edges than bronze

or copper

Hittite Iron Weapons & Tools

E) By 1350 the Assyrians learned ironworking from the Hittites. By 1100 BCE they expanded and created a new empire.

At Nineveh, King Assurbanipal founded one of the world’s first libraries. It contained cuneiform tablets from all over the Fertile Crescent.

Reconstruction of Assurbanipal’s Library in Mosul, Iraq

F) 626 BCE King Nebuchadnezzar conquered the Assyrian Empire, and began the Neo-Babylonian Empire… out of… you

guessed it… Babylon! -He conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the Jewish temple and forced

many Jews to come to his empire-He rebuilt the city walls of Babylon, including the Ishtar Gate. It is

covered in blue tile, with images of lions.-He built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his wife.

Babylonian Ishtar Gate Part of the City Wall of Babylon

Recreation of the Ishtar Gate

Recreation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Trade in Mesopotamia

The states of Mesopotamia needed resources and obtained them not only by territorial

expansion but also through a flourishing long-distance trade. Merchants were originally

employed by temples or palaces; later, in the second millennium B.C.E., private merchants

emerged. Trade was carried out through barter or traded for fixed weights of precious

metal or measurements of grains.

III Achievements of MesopotamiaA) By 3200 BCE Sumerians invented cuneiform, a true writing system.

They marked clay tablets with a stylus (sharp pointed tool).

Sumerian Scribes

Origins of Cuneiform?Mesopotamian cylinder seals are small cylinders, generally

made of stone and pierced through from end to end so that they could be worn on a string or pin. The surface

of the cylinder was carved in intaglio (cut into the stone) with a design, so that when rolled on clay the cylinder would leave a continuous impression of the

design, reversed and in relief. Cylinder seals were invented around 3500 BC in southern Mesopotamia

(now Iraq) or south-western Iran, and were used as an administrative tool, as jewellery and as magical amulets

until around 300 BC. Cylinder seals were linked to the invention of cuneiform writing on clay, and when this

spread to other areas of the Near East, the use of cylinder seals spread too. –britishmuseum.org

B) Sumerians developed the earliest known number system. They divided space and time by units of 6.

*We still use Sumerian math!-60 degrees in a circle

-60 seconds in a minute-60 minutes in an hour

C) The Sumerians were one of the first civilizations to record their observations of the stars. They combined the science of studying the universe (astronomy) with the belief that the positions of the stars

and planets affect our lives (astrology). With their knowledge of astronomy, they created a 12 month lunar calendar.

The Sumerians gave us the 12 signs of the zodiac!

Sumerian Star Chart

D) The Epic of Gilgamesh may be the oldest written story on earth!

Written in cuneiform by Sumerians About a Sumerian King of the city of Uruk

It contains a story of a great flood, eerily similar to the story of Noah and the Ark!

"I will reveal to you, Gilgamesh, a thing that is hidden, a secret of the gods… a city that you surely know, situated on the banks of the

Euphrates.. The hearts of the Great Gods moved them to inflict the Flood…Tear down the house and build a boat! Abandon wealth and seek living beings! Spurn possessions and keep alive living beings!

Make all living beings go up into the boat.”

V Religion in Mesopotamia1. Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic.

- Abraham began the monotheistic religion of Judaism in Mesopotamia. However, the majority of Mesopotamians remained polytheistic.

2. Mesopotamians kept their Gods happy with offerings & ceremonies. If you were wealthy, you had statues built in your image and placed

in the ziggurat to pray for you.3. Unlike Egypt, Mesopotamians believed the afterlife was misery. Due

to the unpredictability of the floods. 4. Priests performed ceremonies on top of ziggurats.

“The house where one goes in and never comes out again… the place where they live on dust and their food is mud…” – Epic of Gilgamesh

Goddess Ianna

“Great Priestess, who can soothe your troubled

heart?You flash like lightening over the highlands; you throw your firebrands

across the earth.”

Goddess of fertility, war and nature.

US Soldiers Climbing the Ziggurat at Ur

Royal Burials at Ur2600 – 2000 BCE

One burial chamber contained the bodies of 74 sacrificial victims!

Queen’s HeaddressLyre

Mesopotamian Society

Mesopotamia had a stratified society in which kings and priests controlled much of the

wealth. The three classes of Mesopotamian society were: (1) the free landowning class, (2)

dependent farmers and artisans, and (3) slaves. Slavery was not a fundamental part of the economy, and most slaves were prisoners

of war.

Sumerians 3200 – 1900 BCE Invented cuneiform writing.

Akkadian Empire 2300 – 2150 BCE Sargon attacked Sumer and created one of the world’s

first empires.

Babylonian Empire 1790 – 1595 BCE King Hammurabi created the world’s first written law

code.

Hittites 1650 – 1200 BCE Expert iron craftsmen.

Assyrian Empire 1350 – 609 BCE King Assurbanipal created a world famous library.

Neo Babylonian Empire 626 – 539 BCE King Nebuchadnezzar built the Hanging Gardens of

Babylon for his wife.

Mesopotamian Civilizations Summary

Key Vocabulary