Ancient Mesopotamia

1
Ancient Mesopotamia

• Global History I Spiconardi

2
Geography

• Mesopotamia ? The Land Between Two Rivers
• Which two rivers? ? Tigris and the Euphrates
• Part of a larger area known as the Fertile
  Crescent

3
Geography

• Flooding
• Tigris and Euphrates commonly flooded and wiped
  away settlements
• The two rivers were unpredictable in their
  flooding
• People banded together to build canals and dikes
• Moved settlements to uphill areas

4
Geography

• Lack of natural barriers
• Mesopotamia is not enclosed by mountains or
  jungles
• Easy access for invaders and conquerors
• Mesopotamia becomes the crossroads of the ancient
  world
• Conquerors and conquered mingle and shared ideas
  and customs
• Cultural Diffusion ? the spreading of new ideas
  or products from one culture to another

5
Government

• Sumer First Major Mesopotamian Civilization
• Sumer was not a centralized empire, but a
  collection of wide spread city-states
• Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Nippur, Akkad, Eridu
• United under Sargon the Great
• City-states still warred over water and food
  supplies

6
Government

• Sargon the Great
• The Legend
• His mother placed him in a reed basket and sent
  him down the Euphrates (Sound familiar?)
• A farmer found him and raised him
• Becomes kings cupbearer (most trusted servant)
• Overthrows the king and unites Sumerian
  city-states
• Establishes the Akkadian Empire (c. 2300 BCE
  2100 BCE

7
Government

• The Babylonians (C. 1800 BCE - 1500 BCE)
• The Babylonians were the next major empire to
  control Mesopotamia
• Babylon was the economic center of Mesopotamia
• Achievements
• Gate of Ishtar
• Number system based on 60 (hours/minutes/seconds)
• Figured out the solar year of 365 ¼ days

8
Gate of Ishtar
9
Ziggurat of Marduk
10
Religion

• In Mesopotamia, religion and politics were
  intertwined no separation
• Kings were also the chief priest considered
  semi-divine
• Center of activity revolved around the ziggurat
• Ziggurat ? step-like pyramids part of Sumerian
  temple
• Education, trade, religious ceremonies, the
  mandating of laws
• While the various city-states of Sumer had shared
  deities, each city-state worshipped a unique god