Chapter 3 Mesopotamia Section 1 The Rise of

Chapter 3: Mesopotamia Section 1: The Rise of Sumer 3500 BC-1700 BC Page 54 -59

The Rise of Sumer • • • People settled in 3500 BC Short, black haired people Sumerians lived in Sumer-south Earliest known civilization They knew how to control the two rivers and grew wheat, sesame, flax, fruit, and other vegetables. • They set up a govt, with laws

Cities • As their population increased, they built cities. • Didn’t have stone or wood, so they used sun dried bricks to build them • Two great cities were Sumer and Ur.

Ziggurat at Ur

City-States • • Each city was its own state. Cities had their own gods and govt A great wall surrounded each city. The rich lived in the center of the city in two story buildings. • The middle class lived behind the rich in one story bldgs with open courtyards.

Classes • The upper class included: priests and merchants. • The middle class included: government officials, shopkeepers, and artisans. • The lower class included: farmers, unskilled workers, and fishermen.

Religious Life • At the center of each city was a ziggurat or temple. • A great stairway led to the top of each. • Sumerians believed the city’s god lived here. • Only priests were allowed to enter. • All of a town’s activities took place in the courts around the ziggurat. • School, markets, shops, celebrations

Gods and Nature • Sumerians believed gods controlled nature: wind, floods, fires. • 3000 Sumerian gods • The Sumerians’ goal in life was to please the gods. • Priests were the only people who could speak to gods.

• Priests became very powerful and administered all the land in the city. • They also ran the schools.

Schools and Education • Schools were only for the rich males. • They were called tablet schools and mostly taught writing. • Sumerian writing was called cuneiform and is wedge shaped. • Writing started to keep track of business deals. • Graduating students were called scribes.

Women • Women had the right to buy and sell property, run businesses, and own and sell slaves. • Men had right to divorce and sell their wives and children into slavery for three years. • Children were expected to support their parents when they got old.

Priests and Kings • Priests were also the kings of city states. • The oldest known story in the world is about Gilgamesh of Uruk. • Written in 1700 BC • Tells about his search for eternal life and a flood that is very similar to the story of Noah’s Ark.

• Priest-kings took advice from an assembly. • When war broke out a member was appointed military leader. • By 3000 BC, military leaders took the place of priest kings. • Kingship became hereditary and was passed down from parent to child.

• 1. What area are we studying? • 2. What current country is this? • 3. What does “Mesopotamia” mean? • 4. What two rivers are located in Mesopotamia? • 5. What was at the center of a Mesopotamian city?

• 6. Where did the rich live in Mesopotamia? • 7. What types of people made up the lower class? • 8. What types of people made up the middle class? • 9. What types of people made up the upper class?

• 10. What city was located in southern Mesopotamia?

• 1. Mesopotamia • 2. Iraq • 3. Land Between Two Rivers • 4. Tigris and Euphrates • 5. In the center of the city in two story houses

• 6. Farmers, Unskilled Workers, and Fishermen • 7. Government Officials, Shopkeepers, and Artisans • 8. Priests and Merchants • 9. Ziggurat • 10. Sumer