First Civilizations

1
First Civilizations

• Mesopotamia
• aka Fertile Crescent Cradle of Civilization

2
Fertile Crescent

• Area of fertile land stretching from the Persian
  Gulf to the Mediterranean
• Tigris Euphrates are the dominant rivers

3
SUMERIANS

• First civilization in Mesopotamia
• First to meet civilization requirements
• Evidence of civilization from c. 3500-3000 BCE
• Lived in the area now known as Iraq in loose
  confederations of city-states
• Annual flooding of the rivers provided excellent
  soil

4
Cities

• Lived in city-states
• City that controls the surrounding region all
  that is associated with it
• A city with the power of a state (nation)
• Ur, Eridu, Kish are a few of the names

Ruins of the city of Ur
5
Advanced Cities

• These cities were larger and had some type of
  organization to their construction.
• Cities become the center of life for all persons
  living in the area.
• The cities were the centers of government,
  religion, economics, entertainment, etc.
• City walls also provided protection against
  invaders.

6
Government

• Theocracy
• Rulers divinely inspired by religion,
  spiritualism, or other form of belief.
• Rule is supreme and kings answer to no-one.
• Each city-state had its own ruler and system of
  government.
• Harsh punishments were inflicted on law breakers.

7
Social Structure

• Peoples status in the culture/society
• Established gender roles qualify
• Rulers High Priests (sometimes the same person)
• Landowners/Aristocracy
• Artisans specialized/skilled workers
• Commoners/Farmers/Peasants
• Slaves

8
Specialized Workforce

• Skilled laborers become important in city life.
• Growth of a city relied on trade with others
  specialized workers create goods that people need
  and goods that can be exported for profit.
• Artisans become more important in society and
  learning a trade is part of the education system.

9
Religion

• Polytheistic
• Belief in many gods/goddesses
• Played a strong role in society
• Built temples to worship deities
• Ziggurats- Stepped tower

10
Art

• Can be classified into several sections
• Architecture Arch, Dome
• Pottery, Statues, and Stone carvings
• Oral histories passed down through the generations

11
Writing

• Sumerians developed the first official written
  language
• Cuneiform- wedge shaped symbols that represent
  letters, words, and/or phrases
• Wrote down their oral histories Epic of
  Gilgamesh- first book record keeping
  identification

12
Advanced Technologies

• Agriculture- irrigation, different crops, tools
• Wheel
• Early uses of Geometry
• Astronomy- stars, planets, comets, etc. all
  played major roles in religion, calculating
  floods, calendar
• Numeric system based on 60

13
Collapse of Sumerian Civilization

• City-States never unified under one rule
• Constant fighting between city-states weakened
  each other
• Invaded by peoples from the north (Akkadians)
• Sumerian city-states absorbed into Akkadian
  civilization

14
Other Mesopotamian Civilizations

• Akkadians- established the first empire King
  Sargon I first person in recorded history
• Babylonians- lived in region north of Akkad
  capital city is Babylon made excellent use of
  copper bronze tools King Hammurabi- created
  code of laws (Hammurabis Code) very powerful
  empire

• Hittites- c. 1750-1200 BCE nomadic peoples who
  settled in modern day Turkey 1st civilization to
  use iron
• Phoenicians- Lived north of Palestine/Israel
  successful Mediterranean Sea traders set up
  colonies (Carthage, Marseilles) our modern
  alphabet is derived from theirs
• Hebrews- Lived in modern day Palestine/Israel
  religion (Judaism) was monotheistic (one God)
  involved with other civilizations Egyptians,
  Babylonians, Hittites, Persians, Philistines

15
Phoenician ship
King Sargon I
Hammurabis Code of Laws
Hittite military chariot
Michelangelo's Moses