Fertile Crescent NotesWHI

Fertile Crescent: (show map)

-5000 BC, people began moving into the Fertile Crescent region
-stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf
-modern nations of: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq

-Mesopotamia: Land between two Rivers. (show map)

-main settling point for most people was between the 2 rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates

Two Rivers
-the Tigris and Euphrates rivers both begin in eastern Turkey and flow nearly parallel to
the Persian Gulf
What can the rivers give the people?

-in summer, the land around the rivers=dry

-in spring, both rivers flood (melting snow and heavy rains)
-both flood unpredictablyWhats unpredictable?
-floods could wipe out entire villages, killing lots of people

-early Mesopotamian villages had to work together to tame the rivers

-How can you tame a river?
-built dams and flood channels, flood walls, etc.
-but ALL the villages had to work together
-also built irrigation channels and canals for farming
-4000 BC, people were farming in the region

Sumer (show map)

-3500 BC: the Sumerians arrived in eastern Mesopotamia from Central Asia
-Sumer is the birthplace of the 1st cities

-created city-states (What is a city-state?) (a city and all of the land around it)
-3 important Sumerian city-states:
1.) Ur
2.) Uruk
3.) Eridu

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-these city-states had populations ranging from 20,000 to 250,000 people

-ALL of the city-states shared a common culture

-spoke the same language
-worship the same gods

-ALL Sumerian city-states contained a ziggurat (temple made from sundried brick)
(show picture)
-only priests and priestesses were allowed in a ziggurat

-each city-state had its own, independent government

-military leaders usually controlled each city-states government
-2700 BC: Kings started ruling some city-states
-Kings served many roles:
1.) military leader A Theocracy
2.) high priest (head of religion)
3.) oversaw farming
4.) enforced laws

Men and Women

-laws regulated how families should be in Sumer

Men Women
-head of the household -could buy and sell property (even
-controlled wife and children slaves)
-could sell wife and kids into -could operate their own businesses
slavery to pay off debts -very difficult for a woman to get a
-could easily divorce wives divorce

WritingCuneiform (show picture)

-Sumerians created writing to keep track of trade (trade records)
-Sumerian writing may be the earliest form of writing (began around 3100 BC)
-writing called Cuneiform
-created by using a wedged tipped reed (stylus) to make marks on wet clay (show
picture)
-not everyone could read and write
-only scribes could read and write
-eddubas=scribe schools
-scribes held high positions in society

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Sumerian Religon
-Polytheistsmany gods (1000s of gods)
-gods devoted to nature and human activities
-Anhighest god, controlled the seasons
-Enlilgod of wind and agriculture (believed to have created the hoe)
-Enkigod of water

-gods had human-like qualities

-selfish, unpredictable, could get married, cheat, etc.
-gods did NOT like the people
-naturals disasters blamed on the gods
-lots of offerings and worship to keep gods happy

Sumerian Inventions
1.) Wagon wheel
2.) Arch
3.) Potters wheel
4.) Sundial
5.) Number system base on 60
6.) 12 month calendar
7.) 1st to make bronze
8.) Metal plow

Mesopotamian Empires
-2000s BC, Sumerian city-states are taken over by foreign invaders

1.) Akkadians
-led by Sargon I
-legend says Sargon was left by his mother in the Euphrates River and was found
and raised by a farmer
-Sargon created the 1st Mesopotamian Empire
-What is an empire?
-he took over the Sumerian city-states
-he united all of the Mesopotamian city-states

2.) Babylonians
-Hammurabia very powerful Babylonian king
- -created the 1st set of written lawsHammurabis Code
-very strict=An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth (if you kill a mans brother, then
your brother will be killed)
-laws oversaw all parts of peoples lives

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