Mesopotamia - Land between Two

Rivers
Mesopotamia is a region of southwest Asia in the Tigris and Euphrates river system that
benefitted from the area’s climate and geography to host the beginnings of human civilization.
Its history is marked by many important inventions that changed the world, including the concept
of time, math, the wheel, sailboats, maps and writing. Mesopotamia is also defined by a changing
succession of ruling bodies from different areas and cities that seized control over a period of
thousands of years.

Location
Mesopotamia Civilization - Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
Mesopotamia is located in the region now known as the Middle East, which includes parts of
southwest Asia and lands around the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Fertile Crescent,
an area also known as “Cradle of Civilization” for the number of innovations that arose from the
early societies in this region, which are among some of the earliest known human civilizations on
earth. The first major civilization was Sumer.
The word “Mesopotamia” is formed from the ancient words “meso,” meaning between or in the
middle of, and “potamos,” meaning river. Situated in the fertile valleys between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers, the region is now home to modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey and Syria.
 A dry, hot desert-like climate.
 The rivers would flood unpredictably every spring, leaving silt behind to help create
fertile, rich soil which was great for growing!
 Sumerians needed to control the river so they could prosper.

Mesopotamian Civilization
Humans first settled in Mesopotamia in the Paleolithic era. By 14,000 B.C., people in the region
lived in small settlements with circular houses.
Five thousand years later, these houses formed farming communities following the domestication
of animals and the development of agriculture, most notably irrigation techniques that took
advantage of the proximity of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Ancient Mesopotamia
These scattered agrarian communities started in the northern part of the ancient Mesopotamian
region and spread south, continuing to grow for several thousand years until forming what
modern humans would recognize as cities, which were considered the work of the Sumer people.
Uruk was the first of these cities, dating back to around 3200 B.C. It was a mud brick metropolis
built on the riches brought from trade and conquest and featured public art, gigantic columns and
temples. At its peak, it had a population of some 50,000 citizens.
Sumerians are also responsible for the earliest form of written language, cuneiform, with which
they kept detailed clerical records.

By 3000 B.C., Mesopotamia was firmly under the control of the Sumerian people. Sumer
contained several decentralized city-states—Eridu, Nippur, Lagash, Uruk, Kish and Ur.

Invention
 Irrigation.
  Sumerians developed a system for controlling the flow and direction of water from
the rivers.
 Canals and irrigation ditches were built to redirect the water to the fields.

Development of Agriculture
 Important Inventions: Irrigation systems, the plow, the wheel/cart.
 These inventions helped crops to grow in the difficult climate which led to a surplus
of food. The surplus let to a system of trading. Sumer had limited resources, so
needed to barter with other lands.
Mesopotamian Trade

Mesopotamia – City States

There were many city-states that developed in Mesopotamia. They were independent of one
another. They each had their own god, government and leaders. They would often go to war
with each other over resources and land
Ziggurat at Ur
The ziggurat is the most distinctive architectural invention of the Ancient Near East. Like an
ancient Egyptian pyramid, an ancient Near Eastern ziggurat has four sides and rises up to the
realm of the gods. However, unlike Egyptian pyramids, the exterior of Ziggurats was not smooth
but tiered to accommodate the work which took place at the structure as well as the
administrative oversight and religious rituals essential to Ancient Near Eastern cities. Ziggurats
are found scattered around what is today Iraq and Iran, and stand as an imposing testament to the
power and skill of the ancient culture that produced them.
One of the largest and best-preserved ziggurats of Mesopotamia is the great Ziggurat at Ur.
 Temple-Only priests could enter.
 Courtyards surrounded ziggurat so merchants could trade goods.
 “Mountain of the Gods”.

Sumerian Homes
 Homes were usually windowless and made of sun-dried mud bricks because there
was little wood or stone available.
 Roofs were flat. Roofs provided a fourth living space. People cooked and slept on
their roofs, when weather permitted. Some of the fancier roofs were designed with
four walls for privacy. Some had grape arbors that provided food, privacy, and shelter
from the sun. 
Sumerian City
 Sumerian houses faced away from crowded streets. Instead, they faced onto courtyards
where families ate and children played.
 Sumerian city streets were so narrow that you could hardly get a cart through them.

Social Classes and Division

 People started specializing or becoming trained in different jobs. There were farmers,
craftsmen, priests, merchants, soldiers, scribes, rulers and slaves. People had
different jobs to do and contributed to the society.
 Depending on their wealth and education, people were valued differently and were
treated differently by the law. Slaves and peasants were at the bottom of the social
pyramid and rulers, priests and the wealthy were at the top. The wealthier you were
the closer to the ziggurat you lived.

Sumerian Priests
 The early city-states were ruled by priests. The job of priests was to
 Control irrigation.
 Settle arguments.
 Store and distribute surplus.
 Collect taxes in the form of goods.
 Make sacrifices and pray to the unpredictable gods of Mesopotamia.

Religion in Mesopotamia
Belief in many gods - polytheism
 Gods had human qualities. They were viewed as often hostile and unpredictable –
similar to the natural environment around them.
 Sumerians believed their purpose on Earth was to serve the gods
 The forces of nature and all the evils were under control of the gods so Sumerians
offered food and animals to please the gods.
 Only the priests of the city-state could speak with the gods. They controlled the city-
states.

Contributions of Mesopotamia
 12-month calendar
 Irrigation, canals, dams
 Legal system / laws
 Measuring and surveying instruments
 Metal working
 Plows
 The sailboat
 Wheel / wheeled carts
 Writing (cuneiform)