Early Civilizations Ch 2

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Early CivilizationsCh 2

• Mesopotamia
• Lesson 2

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Sumer and Akkad

• Mesopotamia consisted of city states
• Akkad north
• Sumer south
• Similar farming and business methods and had
  similar customs, but spoke different languages
• Akkadian and Sumerian languages
• Wars occurred often between the two to control
  land and water
• Sumer was the most powerful

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• Outside of the cities were vast, irrigated farms
• Mudbrick wall surrounded most city-states
• Protection from unfriendly nomads armies of
  enemy city-states
• White painted mudbrick houses of one or two
  stories
• Temple complex at the highest point
• Largest and most impressive temple structures
  were the ziggurats

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• Ziggarauts werestacked rectangular platforms
  that formed a huge pyramid-shaped structure
• Believed to link Earth with the heavens

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Ziggurat of Ur
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Religion and Government

• Temples were built as earthly homes for the gods
• Structures reflect the importance of religion to
  society
• Sumerians and Akkadians practiced polytheism
• Worship of many gods
• Believed gods and goddesses were responsible for
  the well-being of the people and the fertility of
  the land

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• Anu the god of the heavens
• Enlil the god of wind
• Enki the god of water
• Ninhursag the mother of the gods
• They also believed in many lesser gods
• If the city state was peaceful it was because the
  gods were pleased
• Temple priests made offerings to the gods to keep
  them happy

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• Religion and government were closely linked
• Sumerians believed that kings were chosen by the
  gods to carry out the gods wishes
• Divine kingship
• The right to rule was god-given
• Also believed the right to rule could be passed
  from father to son

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• Sumer had a class system
• Kings
• Wealthy businesspeople, landowners, and
  government workers
• Artisans and farm workers
• Slaves

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Writing

• About 3200 B.C. the Sumerians invented a
  writing system to keep track of business
  dealings
• Simple pictures that stood for objects or
  actions
• 2400 B.C. this picture writing was simplified
• Cuneiform wedge-shaped writing
• Professional writers are scribes

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• Akkadians adopted cuneiform
• Cuneiform was used for centuries
• It was used to record the exchange of goods
• Was also used to tell stories (Epic of
  Gilgamesh-legendary Sumerian king)
• Medical texts, law codes, letters, arguments
  debates, and wise sayings

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The Rise and Fall of the Akkadian Empire

• Sargon led the Akkadians to defeat the Sumerians
  around 2334 B.C.
• He united all the city-states of Mesopotamia
  under his rule
• Forming the worlds first empire
• A large territory, consisting of many different
  places, all under the control of a single ruler
• Stretched from the sunrise to the sunset

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• Sargons practice of appointing his daughters as
  high priestesses as followed by many other kings
• He also passed his empire on to his son
• Akkadian dynasty was constantly threatened by
  revolts
• Was only powerful for only about 150 years

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Sumers Final Days

• 2100 to 2000 B.C., the city-state of Ur in Sumer
  held control of Mesopotamia
• Last and most successful dynasty was under king
  Ur-Nammu and his son, Shulgi
• Business, literature, and the arts did well
• Oldest known written law code was from this time
  period

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• Sumerians used writing, religion, and technology
  in their daily lives to help them advance their
  civilization
• The first wheel appeared in Mesopotamia more than
  5,000 years ago