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Ancient Mesopotamia

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Ancient Mesopotamia Western Asia and Egypt 3500–500 B.C. Key Events As you read, look for the key events in the history of Southwest Asia and Egypt. • The Sumerians in Mesopotamia were among the first groups to build a civilization, and they were the first to develop a system of writing. • Due in large part to the Nile, early Egyptian civilization was stable and prosperous. Massive monuments, the pyramids, were built to honor the deaths of the pharaohs. • The Israelites emerged as a distinct people. • Of the other empires that came into being in Southwest Asia, the longest lasting and most powerful were the Assyrian and the Persian Empires. The Impact Today The events that occurred during this time period still impact our lives today. • The peoples of Mesopotamia and Egypt built cities and struggled with the problems of organized government. • The Israelites developed a major world religion, which influenced the development of Christianity and Islam, and has a continuing effect on Western civilization. World History Video The Chapter 2 video, “Egypt,” chronicles the rise of Egyptian civilization. Hammurabi established a code of law. 3000 B.C. Sumerian 1792 B.C. 1652 B.C. cities emerge 2700 B.C. Hammurabi Middle in southern Old Kingdom comes to Kingdom Mesopotamia begins power ends 3000 B.C. 2700 B.C. 2400 B.C. 2100 B.C. 1800 B.C. 1500 B.C. 3000 B.C. 2540 B.C. 1567 B.C. Cuneiform Great New writing Pyramid of Kingdom invented King Khufu begins finished Sumerian cuneiform script 34 The Great Sphinx and the Great Pyramids at Giza, Egypt, symbolize the power and longevity of Egyptian kingdoms. Death mask of King Tutankhamen of Egypt 521 B.C. Darius begins HISTORY 539 B.C. to expand Babylonia Persian falls Empire Chapter Overview Visit the Glencoe World History Web site at wh.glencoe.com and click 1200 B.C. 900 B.C. 600 B.C. 300 B.C. 100 B.C. 50 B.C. on Chapter 2–Chapter Overview to preview chapter information. 970 B.C. First temple built in Jerusalem King Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem 35 Sumerian ruins at Uruk The Cradle of the Human Race n the winter of 1849, a daring young Englishman made a difficult journey into the deserts and swamps of southern IIraq. He moved south down the banks of the river Euphrates Why It Matters while braving high winds and temperatures that reached 120 In the fertile river valleys of Meso- degrees Fahrenheit (48.9° C). The man, William Loftus, led a potamia, Egypt, India, and China, small expedition in search of the roots of civilization. As he intensive farming made it possible said, “From our childhood we have been led to regard this to support large groups of people. place as the cradle of the human race.” The people in these regions were Guided by native Arabs into the southernmost reaches of able to develop the organized soci- Iraq, Loftus and his small group of explorers were soon over- eties that we associate with civiliza- whelmed by what they saw. He wrote, “I know of nothing tion. The beginnings of Western more exciting or impressive than the first sight of one of these civilization lie in the early civiliza- tions of Southwest Asia and Egypt. great piles, looming in solitary grandeur from the surround- ing plains and marshes.” History and You As you read One of these “piles” was known to the natives as the this chapter, analyze the climatic mound of Warka. The mound contained the ruins of the conditions in Mesopotamia that ancient city of Uruk, one of the first real cities in the world favored certain crops. Compare and part of one of the world’s first civilizations. Southern Mesopotamia’s climate and crops Iraq, known to ancient peoples as Mesopotamia, was one to the climate and crops that were of four areas in the world where civilization began. grown in the Nile Valley of Egypt. What conclusions can you draw from this information? 36 Civilization Begins in Mesopotamia Guide to Reading Main Ideas People to Identify Reading Strategy • Mesopotamia, one of the first civiliza- Sumerians, Akkadians, Sargon, Categorizing Information As you read tions, began between the Tigris and Hammurabi this section, complete a chart like the one Euphrates Rivers. shown below to explain the Sumerians’ • The Sumerians formed city-states and Places to Locate various contributions to civilization. created forms of communication that Tigris River, Euphrates River, Political Life Cultural Life Inventions affect our lives today. Mesopotamia, Fertile Crescent, Uruk, Babylon Key Terms city-state, ziggurat, theocracy, empire, Preview Questions patriarchal, polytheistic, cuneiform 1. How did geography affect the civiliza- tions in Mesopotamia? 2. How did the Akkadian Empire begin? Preview of Events ✦3000 B.C. ✦2750 B.C. ✦2500 B.C. ✦2250 B.C. ✦2000 B.C. ✦1750 B.C. ✦1500 B.C. 3000 B.C. 2340 B.C. 2100 B.C. 1792 B.C. Sumerians establish Akkadians set up Akkadian Hammurabi independent cities the first empire Empire falls comes to power Voices from the Past The following poem reflects the deep despair of the people of Ur after the burning and sacking of their city: Ur is destroyed, bitter is its lament. The country’s blood now fills its holes like hot bronze“ in a mould. Bodies dissolve like fat in the sun. Our temple is destroyed, the gods have abandoned us, like migrating birds. Smoke lies on our city like a shroud.” —Legacy: The Search for Ancient Cultures, Michael Wood, 1995 Constant conflict marked early civilization in Mesopotamia. Invaders flowed into the Reconstructed temple at Ur flat land of the region, and city fought city for land and water. The Impact of Geography The ancient Greeks spoke of the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers as Mesopotamia, the land “between the rivers.” Mesopotamia was at the eastern end of an area known as the Fertile Crescent, an arc of land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. Because this land had rich soil and abun- dant crops, it was able to sustain an early civilization. Mesopotamia was a region with little rain, but its soil had been enriched over the years by layers of silt—material deposited by the two rivers. In late spring, the Tigris and Euphrates often overflowed their banks and deposited their fertile silt. This flooding, however, depended on the melting of snows in the upland CHAPTERCHAPTER 2 Western # Asia Chapter and Egypt Title 37 Ancient Mesopotamia 20°E 30°E 40°E 50°E 60°E EUROPE Fertile Crescent Direction of flow 40°E 50°E Caspian T Sea C ig ASSYRIA r a Aral is C s R Z a p Sea . N u i a Black Sea c a a Euph g s n ra t r E 40°N u s e W M S s AKKAD o ou e R S nt a . s ai ASIA ASIA MINOR ns M o Sardis u n t M a M es Babylon i n ed E op Nineveh i T s te up o SUMER rr h ta i a g ne ra m an t i r S e a i Uruk ea Byblos s s Sidon R . R Syrian Desert Ur Nile Tyre Syrian . Delta Eridu Jerusalem Desert Babylon Susa Ancien t shore LOWER EGYPT Jordan R. 0 200 miles line Dead Uruk Ur 30°N Giza Sea 0 200 kilometers Persian Eridu Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection Gulf Ancient Shoreline Persepolis N P i l e e r R si . an G ulf First Cataract UPPER EGYPT Arabian Second Cataract Several important cultures and civiliza- Desert Red Sea tions developed in Mesopotamia. Third Cataract KUSH 1. Interpreting Maps Identify the Fourth mountain range closest to where the Cataract Fifth Cataract N Tigris and Euphrates Rivers originate. AFRICA W E 2. Applying Geography Skills In 0 500 miles S which direction do the Tigris and Arabian Euphrates Rivers flow? In which direc- Sea 0 500 kilometers tion does the Nile flow? Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection Gulf of Aden mountains where the rivers began. People in the val- Assyria, Akkad, and Sumer. We focus first on the ley could not tell exactly when the floods would Sumerians, the creators of the first Mesopotamian come or how large they would be. civilization. Because of these circumstances, farming in ancient Reading Check Mesopotamia could be done only when people Explaining What role did geography controlled the flow of the rivers. Irrigation and play in the development of Mesopotamian civilization? drainage ditches—part of a large-scale system of water control—made it possible to grow crops on a The City-States regular basis. The resulting abundance of food enabled large numbers of people to live together in of Ancient Mesopotamia cities and made possible the emergence of civiliza- The origins of the Sumerian people remain a mys- tion in Mesopotamia. tery. By 3000 B.C., they had established a number of When we speak of Mesopotamian civilization, we independent cities in southern Mesopotamia, includ- are referring to the achievements of several peoples. ing Eridu, Ur, and Uruk. As the cities expanded, they Ancient Mesopotamia includes three general areas: came to have political and economic control over the 38 CHAPTER 2 Western Asia and Egypt surrounding countryside. They formed city-states, goddesses owned the cities. The people devoted the basic units of Sumerian civilization. much of their wealth to building temples, as well as elaborate houses for the priests and priestesses who Sumerian Cities Sumerian cities were surrounded served the gods. The temples and related buildings by walls.
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