MLK-Mesopotamia

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 * Location**- South west Asia between persian gulf and meditteranean sea, tigris river and the euphrates river. It is modern day iraq.
 * Geography**- Curved shape with flat swampy land. Rich soil and silt. Deserct climate. It is also called the fertile cresent because of its fertile soil and curved shape. Mesopotamia means "land betweet the rivers"
 * Economy/agriculture-** traded grain and cloth, recieved stone wood and metal. Grew wheat, barley, and sorghom, they exchanged ideas through trade.
 * Time Period-** 4500 BC, people began to farm. 3300 BC- sumer was populated. the people were called sumerians
 * Challenges**- Unpredictble flooding, limited natural resources, no natural barriers. Little rain in the desert. not a lot of building materials and needed water for crops to survive so they built irrigation systems.
 * War, Military, Defense-** Built city walls. Constant war between city-states. hard to defend (no natural barriers.) Spread culture. Men picked a leader during time of war.
 * Institution**- City-states: independent and self governing city including its surrounding farm land. Empires: independent countries city-states brought under on ruler (sargon created the first empire). Babilonian invaded mesopotamia. Dynasty: series of rulers from one family.
 * Religion-** Polytheism: belief in many gods; gods controlled nature. What happened to you after death? They believed you to to land of "no return". gave offerings and sacrifices to the gods.
 * Architecture**- Arches, ramps, columns, pyramids, and ziggurats. used to exchange ideas, religion, politics, economic and social around teh "bazaar" or market place. It is the center of the mesopotamian culture.
 * Literature**- Epic of Gilgemesh. gives us information on how they might have lived. Sotry is similar to Noah's Ark legend (flood).
 * Social Class-** Top layer: kinda, land holders, and priests. Next is wealthy merchants, then ordinary people who worked in the fields, shops, or in a workshop. The lowest layer was the slaves (debt or war).
 * Equality(woments rights)-** women could be merchants, farmers, or artisans. Women could own property and be priests. Some upperclass learned to read, write, and become scribes. More rights than women in many ancient societies.
 * Technology-** Inventions: wheel, plow, bronze, sail. needed math to plan and build things. Arithmetic and geometry base 60 (60 sec.= 1min.)(60min.=1hour).. Acrchitecture: arches ramps, pyramids, ziggurats. Writing- Cuneiform (on clay tablets).
 * Important People**- Sargon: conquered. Sumer adapted and spready culture. Hammurabi: lead of babylonean empire (known for code of law).
 * Government-** Controlled by priests first; during time of war men chose a tough fighter to lead at first control ended after war was over, with more frequent wars tough fighteres were commanders and got permanent control- Hammerabi's code of law.