Unit 2: Chapter 3 -The Fertile Crescent

[Pages:2]Unit 2: Chapter 3 -The Fertile Crescent

Section 1 ? The Civilization of Sumer

The Fertile Crescent is a region of the Middle East that stretches in a large, crescent-shape curve from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.

- Within this area is Mesopotamia ?a wide flat plain in present day Iraq that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. o Here is where Sumer (the world's first civilization) began to form. This was a good place for civilization to develop. This was because of its location near rivers which provided a number of things: water for soil to grow crops, a way of transportation for trade and travel.

Agriculture in Mesopotamia o Rich fertile soil to be able to grow many grains and vegetables. o Sheep, goats and cattle were raised

- Southern Mesopotamia is hot, dry, desert-like region with little rainfall. o Even so, the soils are rich with nutrients due to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. These rivers have carried fine, fertile soil called silt down from the mountains. Each spring the rivers flood their banks spreading the rich soil/silt across the plain making perfect conditions for growing crops. But these floods can pose challenges as well ?Floods could wash away crops and villages while Sumer can be extremely hot with little or no rain. o Technology was used to resolve these issues. Irrigation- the supply of water to their crops. Digging irrigation canals for many miles to their fields to supple water for their crops. New method for planting seeds ? developed a seed funnel that they attached to their plows pulled by oxen. Seeds automatically dropped as the plow moved forward. This made planting faster and easier.

City-States of Sumer - Better agricultural techniques produced more food, leading to a growing population of villages grew and cities began to form. o Uruk ? first city of Mesopotamia. Population ? 40,000 + Other cities were Ur, Lagash and Nippur These cities grew large and formed city-states--an independent state that includes a city and surrounding territory. Each Sumerian city-state had its own government, laws and main god.

- Each city-state was a center of trade. o Most trade was done by barter ?a trading system in which people exchange goods directly without using money. o Often goods were transported on the river by loading goods onto barges ?large rafts. New technology to make trade easier ?wheels on their carts and sails on their boats o Goods transported out were barley, wheat, dates and cloth. o Goods brought back were lumber, metals and precious stones.

- Sumerians developed social order through three classes, each of which had distinct (different) roles within the society. Upper class ? ruler, his top officials, powerful priests, wealthy merchants, and owners of large plots of land. Middle class ? farmers and skilled workers. Lower class ? mostly slaves.

Religion Sumerians practiced polytheism ?the belief in more than one god. o These gods controlled all aspects of life. Rain, sun, agriculture, etc. o Sumerians thought the gods behaved like people ? ate, drank, slept, married, they lived forever, had great power, must be kept happy--were their protectors. They kept them happy by praying, making sacrifices and offerings. If they did this, the gods would make their cities grow and prosper. If they weren't happy, the gods could bring war, floods, or other disasters. o Priests were the only ones who could communicate with the gods, therefore, they had an important role in society. o Ziggurats ? temples that were pyramid shaped brick towers. They were so large to reflect the importance of the gods in people's lives.

Sumerian writing At first needed a system to keep track of stored good. o Used pictographs (simple pictures that represent objects). o Cuneiform ? a system of writing that uses triangular shaped symbols to stand for ideas or things. Pressing wedge shaped marks into clay tablets. Originally used to record sales, taxes and agreements. Then it was used for writing stories, and other communication. o Ex ? Poem ? Epic of Gilgamesh

Sumerian government First leaders were priests o City-states grew, conflicts arose among city-states about control of land and water. Priest would choose who would lead them into battle. Sometimes these military leaders would keep control of the city-states after the war ended; they would be the first kings. The kings needed the support of the priest to stay in power, so they would be careful in respecting the priest's rights and powers. Priests would declare that the gods chose the king to rule, so they worked together creating religious ceremonies to support royal power. Kings took on more jobs that the priest did ? hired workers to build canals, temples, and roads, was the chief lawmaker and judge. Kings collected city laws into a law code. o Ex ? King of Ur: The Ur-Nammu law code ? laws about marriage, slavery and causing harm to others. - The development of bronze (mixing copper and tin) was technology advancement. It was a harder metal and better to make tools and weapons.

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download