kf+meso

Kyler Fricke

__**Location**__
 * between Persian Gulf and Medditeranean Sea
 * Tigris River and Euphrates River
 * modern day Iraq
 * __Geography__**
 * curved shape
 * flat swampy land
 * rich soil=silt
 * fertile crescent
 * desert climate
 * mesopotamia
 * __Economy__**
 * traded grain, cloth and tools
 * recieved stone,wood and metal
 * grew wheat and barley
 * through trade they exchanged ideas
 * cultural diffusion
 * __Time__**
 * 4500 B.C. people began to farm
 * 3300 B.C. Summerians
 * __Technology__**
 * inventions: wheel, plow, bronze and sail
 * needed metal
 * invented arithmetic and geometry
 * made new types of architecture
 * created cuneiform
 * __Equality__**
 * women could be merchents, farmers or artisans
 * women could own property
 * could be priests
 * some upper class women learned to read and write
 * more writes then most women had at the time or for a while after
 * __Challenges__**
 * unpredictable flooding
 * natural resources were limited
 * little rain=desert
 * no natural barriers
 * not a lot of building materials
 * need water for crops
 * __War/Military__**
 * government controlled by priests at first
 * during war the priests chose a strong leader to control government
 * with more wars the commanders got permenant control
 * Hammurabi's code of law
 * __Institutions__**
 * city-state
 * independent
 * self governing
 * city including its surrounding farm land
 * __Religion__**
 * polytheism=belief in many gods
 * gods controlled nature
 * after people died they went to land of no return
 * the people made sacrifices
 * __Important People__**
 * Sargon-made first empire
 * Hammurabi was leader of the Babylion Empire
 * known for code of law
 * __Architecture__**
 * arches
 * ziggurat
 * ramps
 * columns
 * pyramids
 * __Literature__**
 * Epic of Gilgemesh
 * gives us information on how might have lived
 * story is similar to Noah's Ark legend
 * __Social Statis__**
 * top layer: kings,priests and land lords
 * next layer: wealthy merchents
 * next layer: ordinary people like farmers and herders
 * bottom layer: slaves who were prisoners of war or people who owed debt