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Mesopotamia

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Gilgamesh is an ancient poem written in Mesopotamia more than four thousand years ago. The poem tells of a great flood that covers the earth many years earlier, ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Mesopotamia


1
Mesopotamia
  • The Land Between Two Rivers

2
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3
  • Development of Cities

4
Timeline
Mesopotamia was ruled by four different empires
  • Sumerian 3,500 BC 2,300 BC
  • Akkadian 2,300 BC 1,900 BC
  • Babylonian 1,900 BC 1,300 BC
  • Assyrian 1,300 BC 612 BC
  • http//www.timelines.info/
    history/empires_and_civilizations/ancient_civilisa
    tions/

5
Geography
  • Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning between the
    rivers
  • Ancient Mesopotamia was located between the
    Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
  • Most of Mesopotamia was located in present day
    Iraq
  • The hot dry climate was mixed with seasonal
    flooding from the rivers
  • http//www.wsu.edu/wldciv/brians_syllabus/maps/ma
    plabels1.html
  • l

6
Mesopotamia(Land of Firsts)
Mesopotamia is known as, The Cradle of
Civilization, because it was first in many
things
  • First to invent the wheel
  • First to use sails on boats
  • One of first to make up a story (Gilgamesh)
  • First to use cuneiform (writing)
  • First to use the calendar
  • First to use the seeder plow
  • First to give a number place value and recognize
    the concept of zero
  •  

7
Agriculture(The Fertile Crescent)
  • Farmers turned the land into a rich food growing
    area by using irrigation and the plow
  • Farmers grew wheat, barley, dates, and other
    vegetables and fruit
  • They raised goat, pig, sheep and cattle
  • Irrigation created a surplus of food which led to
    the growth of cities
  • Surplus led to a flourishing system of trade

8
Economy
  • The Mesopotamian plain was lacking in resources
    such as metals, timber, stone, and grapevines, so
    the Sumerians had to trade abroad to get them
  • At first, the Sumerians traded surplus barley for
    these goods
  • Later, the Sumerians began to manufacture trading
    goods that they could transport more easily, such
    as cloth and bronze ornaments
  • The Mesopotamians made written contracts, loans
    and created a credit system
  • They used a barter system

9
Trade Routes
10
Language
  • Mesopotamians were the first to use writing
    (around 3,000 BC)
  • The system of writing was called cuneiform
  • Cuneiform was wedge shaped symbols pressed into
    clay tablets
  • The Mesopotamians wrote many myths
  • The most famous was the epic poem called
    Gilgamesh
  • Writing allowed people to keep records of their
    transactions
  • People could send messages with couriers to far
    away lands without traveling
  • Writing allowed people to pass on their
    accumulated knowledge to future generations

11
Cuneiform Tablets
12
Religion
  • The people of Mesopotamia believed in many gods
  • Each town was protected by its own, unique deity
    or god
  • The temple, the center of worship, was also the
    center of every city
  • Around the year 2000 B.C., temple towers called
    ziggurats were built to link heaven and earth

13
Government
  • The Mesopotamians had written laws that everyone
    in the empire had to follow
  • There were 282 laws created by King Hamurabi
  • Known as Hamurabi's Code, the laws were written
    in stone and placed in a public location
  • The Mesopotamians believed the gods called the
    king to establish justice and order whoever
    disobeyed the king disobeyed the gods

14
Social Organization Daily Life
  • The King held military powers.
  • The Governors governed the territories of the
    kingdom. They were generals and judges at the
    same time.
  • The aristocracy were priests and traders.
  • The peasants worked the land.
  • Sports, games and entertainment were part of
    their everyday life
  • Boxing and wrestling were popular sports
  • Board games were also popular
  • The kings were famous hunters of lions,
    elephants, ostriches, wild bulls
  • Harps and lyres were played

15
Mesopotamian Banquet
16
Art
17
Art
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