jfortmeso

__Mesopotamia Notes__ [[image:http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/hands-on-classroom/classroom/pages/projects/grade5/lesson4/Images/mesopotamia.jpg width="368" height="188" caption="external image"]]
===Cities growth//- Sumer's city-states grew prosperus from the surplus food produced on their farms. These surpluses allowed sumerians to increase long-distance trade.// === = = Society- //Kings, landholders, and some preists made up the highest level in Sumerian society. The majority or ordinary Sumerian people worked with their hands in feilds and workshops.

Location: * Between persian gurlf and med. sea//   // **Geography:**  // //Mesopotamia means: "land between the rivers."
 * //Tigris R. and euphrates R.//
 * //Modern day Iraq.//
 * //curve shaped//
 * //flat swampy land//
 * //rich soil//
 * //fertile cresent//


 * Economy/agriculture:**//
 * //traded grain and cloth//
 * //recieved stone, wood & metal//
 * //grew wheat and barley//
 * //through the trade they exchanged ideas.>Cultural diffusion//

//**Time Period:**//
 * //4500 b.c. people began to farm//
 * //6508 years ago//

//**Enviromental changes:**//
 * //unpredictable flooding//
 * //natural resources were limited//
 * //little rain = desert//
 * //no natural barriers ---> defenceless easy to see enemy coming//
 * //not a lot of building materials//
 * //need water for crops and survival//
 * //they built irragation systems//

//**War Defence:**// //**Institutions:**// //**Religion:**// //**Architehcture:**// //
 * //built city walls//
 * //constant war between city-states//
 * //hard to defend= no natural barriers//
 * //spread culture//
 * //men pick a leader during times of war//
 * //city-state independent//
 * //self governing city including it's surrounding land//
 * //dynasty: series of rulers from one ruler//
 * //polytheism= belief in many gods//
 * //gods controlled nature//
 * //after death you go to the land of no return.//
 * //gave offerings & sacrifices to the gods.//
 * //arches//
 * //ramps//
 * //columns//
 * //pyramids//
 * //ziggurat (center of the mesopotamian culture)//

//**Equality (woman's rights):**// //Te**chnology:**// //**Government:**// //**Important people:**//
 * Social class:**//
 * //top layer: kings, landholders, & priests//
 * //next: wealthy merchants//
 * //next: ordinary people//
 * //lowest level: slaves (debt-war)//
 * //Literature://**
 * //Epic of Gildemesh//
 * //gives us information on how they __might__ have lived//
 * //story is similar to the Noah's Ark legend.//
 * //woman could be merchants. farmers, or artisans.//
 * //woman could own property//
 * //woman could be priests//
 * //some upper class learned to read, write, and become scribes.//
 * //*more rights than woman in many ancient societies*//
 * //inventions: wheel, plow, bronze, sail//
 * //needed math to plan and build things//
 * //anthmtic & geometry base 60//
 * //architecture: arches, ramps, pyramids, zig.//
 * //controlled by preists @ first//
 * //during war men chose a tough fighter to lead//
 * //first conrol ended after the wars got over//
 * //with more frequent wars tough fighters= commenders got permanent control//
 * //hammurabi's code of law//
 * //sargon (king)//
 * //---> sumer-(adapted sumer and spread culture) 1st empire.//
 * //Hammurabi was the leader of Babylonian Empire, (known for code of law)//