Mesopotamia

= **Mesopotamia, (6,000 BC - 100 BC) By: Jordan Beck and Reed Cronin** =

**__Terms__**

 * __City-States__: A city with political and economic control over a surrounding countryside.**
 * __Cuneiform__: "Wedge shaped" A system of writing developed by the Sumerians using a reed stylus to create wedge-shaped impressions on a clay tablet.**
 * __Empire__: A large political unit usually under a single leader, that controls many people or territories.**
 * __Pastoral Nomads__: People who domesticate animals for food and clothing and moves along regular migratory routes to provide a steady source of nourishment for the animals.**
 * __Patriarchal__: A society dominated by men.**


 * Mesopotamia was the land between the rivers, as the Greeks called it, it was the birth of civilization in 5000 BC. The Sumerians were that first civilization in history in 5000 BC. The Sumerian social classes consisted of just three groups. First were the nobles which were royalty and priests, then the commoners which was the middle class and 90 percent of the people, and lastly the slaves. The royalty in Mesopotamia, especially Kings, were treated like gods. The civilization had a theocracy form of government, which was run by the noble class.**
 * The Sumerians accomplished many important things from 6000 BC to 612 BC. They invented a system of writing called cuneiform in 3100 BC. They also wrote Gilgamesh, a Sumerian epic poem in 1800 BC. It is a story about a great flood and possibly the oldest story in the world. On top of the invention of writing they also had several other unique inventions. Sumerian inventions included schools, wheels, plows, arches, bricks, seconds, minutes, hours, and 360 degree circle using a number system based on 60.**
 * The Babylonians had a monotheistic faith so they had many gods. For example Shamash was the god of justice and Stele was a stone monument in honor of Shamash. The Babylonians used astrology (stars and planet positions) in order to determine fate. The Babylonians also practiced divination which would fortell future using smoke patterns and internal organs. Mesopotamia had the worlds first library, it consisted of 22,000 clay tablets, it was called the library of Ninevah. Ninevah was first Assyrian capital city.**

__**Quote**__

 * "If a man destroys the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye." Hammurrabi**

__**Important People**__
__**1. Sargon of Akkad:**__ **Ruled Sumeria from 2340 to 2284 BC.** **He was known as the King of Battles (34-0). Akkad founded the first empire in history from the Persian Gulf to Mediterranean sea.** __**2. Hammurabi:**__ **Ruled Babylonia from 1792 to 1750 BC. He created a code of 282 laws called the Code of Hammurabi. The code was based on a system of strict justice. While under power of Babylonia he gained control of Sumer and Akkad.**

__**3. Nebuchadnezzar:**__ **"Mad Ox" Leader of Chaldeans in 605 BC. During his rule he was able to defeat the Assyrians and rebuild Babylon.**

__**4. Cyrus the Great:**__ **Leader of Persians from 559 to 530 BC. Invaded and captured Babylon in 539 BC and set up the Persian empire. He respected other civilizations, he used Assyrian, Babylonian, and Egyptian designs and building methods.**

__**5. Moses:**__ **1200 BC Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and received the 10 commandments. They wandered for years before returning to Palestine.**

media type="youtube" key="S5uWAWShizQ" width="425" height="350" media type="custom" key="11404782"media type="custom" key="11404804" [|Ancient Mesopotamia] There are many picturs and links, easy to read. Has alot of good facts. [|Mesopotamia] Written by Dr. Dominique Collon this website has many pictures and links. Talks about the inventions they made. [|Internet Ancient history source book: Mesopotamia] This site was written by Fordam University. There are many links and pictures. Talks about all of the city states and what they did. [|Ancient Mesopotamia]Written by the University of Chicago this website has many links and pictures, and talks about the everyday life in Mesopotamia. [|Ancient Mesopotamia]This website talks about the many achievements in mesopotamia like mathematics and astronomy.





Timeline-
__1. 3000 B.C.-__ Sumerians establish independent cities. __2. 2500 B.C.-__ Schools are formed to teach boys to become scribes. __3. 2340 B.C.-__ Akkadians set up the first empire. __4. 2100 B.C.-__ Akkadian Empire falls. __5.__ __2000 B.C.-__ Sumerians developed symbols into a complete writing system called cuneiform. __6. 1792 B.C.-__ Hammurabi comes to power. __7.__ __1790 B.C.-__ Hammurabi conquers Babylon and reunites Mesopotamia. __8.__ __1758 B.C.-__ Hammurabi write Code of Hammurabi. __9. 1750 B.C.-__ Hammurabi dies and his empire is lost. __10.__ __721 B.C.-__ Assyria conquers the kingdom of Israel.

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