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Ancient Mesopotamia: the Rise of Sumer

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Ancient Mesopotamia: the Rise of Sumer Ancient Mesopotamia: The Rise of Sumer www.michaela-augusta.com Sumerian statues – used in religious services http://www.vnc.qld.edu.au/enviro/sumer/sumermap.gif Sumer o In Southern Mesopotamia, the world’s first advanced society developed - Sumer o Around the year 3200BCE o They mainly lived in rural areas o Rural - Countryside o Centers of Sumerian life were urban areas o Urban - City Clip Art Sumer o Sumerian civilization was divided into city-states o City-State - A city and all the land around it (similar to a small country) o City-states often fought each other o Looking for more land and resources o City-states had large armies and walls o Two of the most powerful city-states in Sumeria were Ur and Uruk o One king of Uruk was named Gilgamesh http://media.onsugar.com/files/ons1/279/2797639/32_2009/bcd29c387064269a_gilgamesh.jpg Sumeria http://www.google.com/imgres?q=map+of+Sumer&hl=en&biw=1 280&bih=598&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=ASQbaJXsxthIeM:&imgr efurl=http://www.crystalinks.com/sumermaps.html&docid=4BYv WW0gAdaiuM&w=523&h=472&ei=lz9ETqWnFuT50gGsqenPC Q&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=62&page=1&tbnh=127&tbnw=141&star t=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=65&ty=20 The akkadian empire o Another group of people lived in Mesopotamia called Akkadians o Different than Sumerians o Although they had a similar culture o The Akkadians set up the world’s first empire under Sargon the Great http://www.markville.ss.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/projects/classof2008/chong2/yuen/sargon-bust.jpg Sargon the great o Sargon the Great was the first ruler to have a permanent army o His soldiers were more well-trained than others o Sargon the Great established the world’s first empire around 2730BCE, which including conquering Sumeria o Empire – Land with different territories and people under a single ruler o Sargon ruled for more than 50 years! o His empire lasted for around 125 years after his death o Many later Mesopotamian kings were inspired by Sargon the Great Akkadian empire http://www.memo.fr/Media/Empire_Akkadien.gif Religion and society o Religion was one the most important aspects in the life of a Sumerian o The Sumerians practiced Polytheism o Polytheism - worship of many gods o The Gods could punish or reward the people o Every city-state had its own god/goddess o Priests had a lot of power in Sumeria o They were upper class o They did all their work in temples or Ziggurats http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/pics/aasumer.jpg Courtesy: Dan Swartos Courtesy: Dan Swartos Courtesy: Dan Swartos Social order o Priests were in the upper level of Sumerian social hierarchy o Social Hierarchy - division of society by rank or class (class system) o Men – had all the political power and made laws o They were usually the only ones educated o Women took care of the home and children o The daughter of Sargon, Enheduanna wrote hymns o The first female writer in history .
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