Social Studies Chapter 2: Early Civilizations
Activities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Time line continuing
Model irrigation
Make cuneiform tablet
Write a legend (like Gilgamesh)
Write own version of Hammurabi’s Code
Lesson 1 The Fertile Crescent
Where Civilization Began
Civilizations – groups of people who have a complex and organized
society within a culture having its own customs
o First developed in southwestern Asia, in a crescent shaped area
with fertile – rich – soil
o Fertile Crescent – land stretching from the eastern shores of the
Mediterranean Sea between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to
the mouth of the Persian Gulf
Was a curved area of land good for growing crops
Some countries in this area today are Iraq, Syria, and Israel
Diverse area of plants, animals, and landforms
o A plain – area of flat land – bordering both the Tigris and
Euphrates became known as Mesopotamia
o Mesopotamia – “the land between two rivers” emerged as one of
the first civilizations
Climate and Rivers
The climate was not good for farming due to long, hot, and dry
summers with temperatures up to 120 F
o No rain from May to October
o From November to April, occasional heavy rains would flood the
plain
Around 5000 BC, people moved from a plateau – high area of flat
land – down to the plain
Tigris and Euphrates provided fresh water and fish and solution to low
rainfall
o Farmers built irrigation systems – trenches and ditches that
brought the water from the rivers to their fields
The People
People of southern Mesopotamia were problem solvers
o No rain = irrigation from the rivers
o Few trees and stone = river reeds for huts and bricks made with
mud and straw
Herders had domesticated goats, cattle, and sheep
Farmers grew barley, millet, wheat, dates, lentils, onions, garlic,
turnips, lettuce, cucumbers, and apples
o Developed advanced farming techniques that allowed them to
grow surplus food
Growth of City-States and Trade
Surplus food caused the population to grow
By 3,500 BC, the villages of Uruk, Kish, Lagash, Nippur, Umma, and Ur
grew into city-states
o City-state – a city that is an individual unit, complete with its own
form of government and traditions
Mesopotamia was a region – area with common physical features –
where no one single power controlled all the city-states
Because of surplus food, people could do other jobs
o Religious and government leaders
o Artisans – craftspeople – like potters and weavers
o They were paid with food
Traders began to trade crops and woven cloths with other
Mesopotamian city-states by reed boats traveling along the rivers
o They also traded with other cultures either by foot, or by wooden
boats across the Persian Gulf
o They would trade copper, stone, and other materials they lacked
as well as cultural richness
Lesson 2 Mesopotamia
Sumer and Akkad
The earliest city-states were Sumer – southern Mesopotamia – and
Akkad – northern Mesopotamia
The people were similar in most ways, except language
In Sumer, the Sumerians spoke Sumerian
In Akkad, the Akkadians spoke Akkadian, which is related to Hebrew
These city-states would have wars over control of land
o Between 3500 BC and 2330 BC, Sumer was more powerful
Uruk was a Sumerian city, home to as many as 50,000 people
o Most city-states were surrounded by mud brick walls for
protection
Houses were made of mud brick and painted white to keep them cool
Highest point in each city was the temple complex
o Ziggurat – a series of stacked rectangular platforms that formed a
huge pyramid-shaped structure
Reached heights up to 290 feet and were believed to link the
heavens and Earth
Religion and Government
Size and magnificence of temples reflect the importance of religion to
society – organized community with established rules and traditions
Polytheism – worship of many gods – was practiced by the Sumerians
and Akkadians
o Their chief gods:
Anu – god of the heavens
Enlil – god of wind
Enki – god of water
Ninhursag – mother of the gods
o They also had many lesser gods
If things were going well, they believed the gods were pleased
o Temple priests made offerings of incense, food, and drink
o Divine kingship, the right to rule being god-given, was first
practiced by the Sumerians
Believed this right was passed from father to son (impacted
later civilizations)
There was a class system in Sumer that also appeared in later
civilizations:
o King
o Wealthy business people, landowners, and government workers
o Artisans and farm workers
o Slaves
Writing
About 3200 BC, the Sumerians invented a system of writing to keep
track of business transactions and trading
Earliest forms were simple pictures that stood for objects or actions
o By 2400 BC, the pictographs were simplified
A scribe – professional writer – pressed a reed into wet clay tablets,
leaving wedge-shaped markings
o The tablet dried creating a permanent record
Cuneiform – form of wedge-shaped writing created by the Sumerians
and adopted by the Akkadians
Writing was not only used for the exchange of goods, but
archaeologists have also uncovered medical texts, law codes, letters,
wise sayings, and even literature
o The Epic of Gilgamesh was a tale of the adventures of the
legendary Sumerian king, Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh (Biography)
May or may not have been a real person
Many historians believe he was the 5th king of Uruk around 2700 BC
o By 2000 BC, so many stories had been told about Gilgamesh, that
he became a mythical figure
A set of 12 clay tablets from the 600s BC give the best-known epic of
Gilgamesh that may not be based on any historical facts
o The themes include many human experiences
o Gilgamesh wants to live forever, is given a task to complete, and
fails; so he must acknowledge his fate
The Rise and Fall of the Akkadian Empire
About 2334 BC, the Akkadian ruler, Sargon, took armies southward
through Sumer, conquering – defeating – each city-state by overthrowing their kings
Sargon united all Mesopotamian city-states, creating the world’s first
empire – large territory, consisting of many different places, all under
the control of a single ruler
o His empire extended far beyond Mesopotamia
Sargon appointed his daughter, Enheduanna, the high priestess of Ur
o She was in charge of making offerings to Nanna, the moon god;
and she composed songs to Inanna, the goddess of the morning
and evening star
Sargon passed his empire to his son, but the Akkadian dynasty –
ruling family – was constantly threatened by revolts and only lasted
about 150 years
o By 2100 BC, Sumer rose to power again
Sargon (Biography)
What we know comes from documents and legend written after his
death
Legend says that Sargon was an abandoned baby, placed in a basket
in the river
o He was adopted by a farmer, and worked as a servant to the ruler
of the Sumerian city of Kish
o Sargon rose through the ranks and came to power after the
defeat of Uruk, taking control of all other city-states
He gave himself the name Sharru-kin, or “Rightful King,” and it is
believed that the Mesopotamians accepted him as their king
He seemed to be a just ruler, and held power for about 56 years
(unusually long)
Sumer’s Final Days
The city-state of Ur held control of Mesopotamia for about 100 years
under the power of the Sumerian king, Ur-Nammu and his son, Shulgi
o Society and culture flourished during this time
o The Ziggurat of Ur, one of the largest ever built, was built during
this time (and ruins can still be seen)
o The 1st wheel appeared in Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago
o Writing, the wheel, and ziggurats are some of the Sumerian things
found in later cultures
Lesson 3 Babylonia and Assyria
The Rise of Hammurabi and Babylonia
Following the fall of Ur in 2100 BC, people from the surrounding areas
arrived in Mesopotamia and settled, adopting many of their customs
for centuries
In 1792 BC, Hammurabi became king of Babylon, a city-state between
the Tigris and Euphrates
o By 1754 BC, he controlled his empire, Babylonia, consisting of
Mesopotamia and neighboring city-states
o Hammurabi sought great power, sending officials to carry out
orders and collect taxes
Taxes went to pay for the army and construction projects
throughout the empire
Babylonian Civilization
Farming, trade, religion, and class systems did not change much
under Hammurabi’s rule
o Babylonians spoke their own version of Akkadian
The capital city of Babylon grew from a small village to a center of
culture and learning
o Clay tablets show advancements in math, literature, and law
Code of Hammurabi – set of 282 laws that helped Hammurabi govern
his empire in a new way
o Some laws were similar to Sumerian and Akkadian laws
o Rules dealt with business practices, property ownership, medical
practices, marriage, and childcare
o Most complete law code to have survived from Mesopotamia and
shows Babylonian society
o Purpose of code as written by Hammurabi: “to render (give) good
to the people, to make justice shine in the land, to destroy the evil
and wicked, that the strong do not oppress (mistreat) the weak”
o Punishments varied based on the class of the lawbreaker and the
victim of the crime
Often demanded “eye for an eye”
Hammurabi (Biography)
Became king of Babylon in 1792 BC, and made allies with other kings
to gain more power
He wanted to control the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to have control
of the irrigation systems and farming economy
Was a brilliant and brutal warrior, he would dam a waterway and
then release it to flood the city
His code of laws was his greatest achievement
The Assyrians
While the Babylonian Empire flourished in the south, the Assyrians
began to gain strength in northern Mesopotamia
From 1900 BC to 600 BC Assyria expanded its territory
o Their culture was very similar to Babylonian culture, except with
more emphasis on war and conquest – defeat – of other groups
and were known as merciless warriors
From 688 BC to 627 BC, the Assyrian Empire was at its largest under
King Ashurbanipal, who controlled nearly all of the Fertile Crescent
o Ashurbanipal was a great warrior and very educated (could read
and write Sumerian and Akkadian)
o He built a great library at Nineveh where he collected Sumerian,
Akkadian, and Babylonian writings that have helped historians
Babylonia Grows
After 627 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II, crowned king of Babylon, took over
much of the Assyrian Empire and ordered massive building projects to
make Babylon glorious again
o Some historians think the great ziggurat he built was inspiration
for the Tower of Babel story in the Bible
o Babylon was a wealthy trading city and center of learning
Determined place value in math
Astronomers made many advancements, including accurately
predicting when solar and lunar eclipses would occur
The new Babylonian Empire declined after Nebuchadnezzar II died in
562 BC and was later invaded by the Persians
Lesson 4 Hebrews, Phoenicians, and Lydians
The Hebrews
Abraham – shepherd from Ur whom God told to leave his homeland
and settle in Canaan where He would be their God
o With this covenant – agreement – around 1800 BC, Abraham
promised to only worship one God and He would look after the
Hebrews
Monotheism – the worship of only one God
o Abraham is viewed as the father of Judaism
Hebrews lived in Canaan for a long time before moving to Egypt
where they were forced to become slaves
Moses was chosen by God to lead the Hebrews out of slavery in
Egypt, across the Sinai Desert to freedom between 1400 BC and 1200
BC
God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, which provided guidance
for the worship of God and rules for moral behavior instead of listing
crimes and punishments
o According to the Bible, the covenant with Abraham’s descendants
– people who are born later into the same family – was also
extended to the Hebrews fleeing Egypt
Hebrew Bible
Moses received the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible at the same
time he received the Ten Commandments
o Those 5 books are the Torah – Hebrew for “to teach” – which is
the sacred text for Judaism, providing guidance, laws, and stories
of events
It is against Jewish law to decorate the Torah scrolls themselves which
are handwritten by scribes on animal parchment
o It is against Jewish law to touch the Torah while reading it (must
use a pointer)
Israel and Judah
According to the Torah, Hebrews settled in Canaan in about 12 tribes
and won several victories over the Canaanites
o An important victory was inspired by Deborah, a judge chosen by
God to offer guidance and leadership in times of trouble
Women usually did not have power, but she encouraged the
military leaders to attack the Canaanites and that a woman
would win the war
During the attack, the Canaanite king escaped and was killed
by a Hebrew woman named Jael
Because she was correct, Deborah was viewed as a national
leader
Around 1000 BC, King David united the tribes to form the kingdom of
Israel with Jerusalem as the capital
o His son, Solomon, built a temple in Jerusalem to house the Torah
Solomon was a wise ruler and the kingdom prospered in peace
After Solomon’s death, the kingdom split into Israel in the north and
Judah in the south
Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC, and Nebuchadnezzer II
conquered Judah in 587 BC
The Hebrews continued to follow their religion even though they had
been conquered
Judaism Today
Jewish people still read the Torah and gather in synagogues – Jewish
houses of worship
They celebrate holidays such as the festival of Passover, honoring the
escape from Egypt
A rabbi – Hebrew for “master” or “teacher” – teaches Jews how to
read the Torah in Hebrew
Phoenicians and Lydians
Solomon had a profitable trade relationship with the Phoenicians
o They supplied the wooden beams used to build Solomon’s temple
Phoenician territory was on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean,
but they established many trade posts throughout their trade routes
o Their most important trading post was at Carthage in North Africa
Phoenicians were expert sailors, and even went into the Atlantic
Ocean along the west coast (may have gone as far north as Europe)
o Their trading promoted the exchange of new ideas as well as
goods
o Usually bartered for goods and services although some used bars
or rings of silver
Their most important contribution was helping to develop the
modern alphabet
o Started with cuneiform (700 characters) and by 1400 BC they had
22 simple characters each standing for a consonant (Greeks added
vowels later)
Lydians, from western Asia, invented the region’s first coins around
500 BC
o Images and markings showed the value which was backed by the
king
o Soon, other people like the Greeks made their own coins
0
