Max's+Mesopotamia+Project

//“Necessity is the mother of invention.”// --Plato **__Mesopotamia Notes__** How did the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers support agriculture?
 * Geography
 * Fertile soil
 * Semiarid climate
 * Rivers
 * Fresh water
 * Means of travel

How did climate affect farmers?
 * Unpredictable floods
 * Unpredictable droughts
 * Irrigation

How did Mesopotamians cope with a lack of resources?
 * Mud houses and walls
 * Trade
 * Surplus of grain
 * **Basic Traits of Civilization** ||  **Examples from Sumer**  ||
 * Advanced cities || Ziggurats, city sates, code of laws. ||
 * Specialized workers || Slaves, roles of women. ||
 * Complex institutions || Literature-Epic of Gilgamesh. ||
 * Record keeping || Picture writing, Cuneiform ||
 * Advanced technology || Early inventions, mathematics. ||

What type of community developed in Sumer? Sumerian religion Sumerian society Sumerian science and technology Creation of Written language
 * City states
 * Ziggurats
 * Polytheism
 * ziggurat
 * Social classes
 * Slaves
 * Roles of women
 * Early inventions
 * Mathematics
 * Picture writing
 * Cuneiform
 * Literature- Epic of Gilgamesh

The Akkadian leader, Sargon.
 * Akkadian Empire**
 * Sargon
 * Created world’s first empire (group of many different lands under one ruler)
 * One ruler, one government
 * Encouraged writing
 * Lasted 200 years


 * Babylonians**
 * Hammurabi
 * Code of Laws
 * Justice
 * Rights to people
 * Legacy


 * Assyrians**
 * Ferocious army
 * Set fire to buildings
 * Chariots, battering rams, ladders, tunnels
 * Iron tipped weaponry from Hittites
 * Cavalry
 * Punishment, taxes, moved people to foreign territories once captured (exiled)
 * First libraries by Ashuranipal in Nineveh 20,000 tablets: dictionaries, myths, stories, science, geography, medicine, religion
 * Made many enemies, two enemies (Medes & Chaldeans) joined forces to defeat them


 * Chaldeans**
 * Nebuchadnezzar II- rebuilt Babylon and made Ishtar Gate
 * Ziggurat- Tower of Babel
 * Hanging Gardens of Babylon