THE FERTILE CRESCENT

Nomads from Arabia & Turkey move into Fertile Crescent Area- Modern countries of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, & Iraq- Many chose Mesopotamia – Eastern Fertile Crescent- Located between Tigris & Euphrates Rivers “Land between the Rivers”

Tigris & Euphrates used for farming- Rivers were unpredictable & flooding was dangerous- Not as predictable as the Nile- Farmers built dams & channels to control flooding- Producing an abundance of grain by 4000 bc

Sumerian Civilization- 3500 bc, people settle in Southern Mesopotamia – Sumer- Believed to be home of first cities.- 12 city states in T-E valley by 3000: UR, Uruk, Eridu- Poplulation range from 20,000 – 250,000- Shared common language, culture & religion- Each city had a ziggurat- -Ziggurats were raised temples to the sky- Each city-state was independent- Council – military leaders – kings – hereditary- King – Military leader & Priest- Laws involved fines not punishment- Commerce & Trading important to Sumerians- Developed writing – cuneiform- - Wedge shaped marks made with stylus on wet clay- Sumerians went to school to be writers- Works still exist- Poem “Gilgamesh” was written in 1850 bc.- Similary to Hercules.- Polytheistic Religion- Gods represent nature- Each city-state had its own special god- Believed gods were vengeful- Belived that afterlife was grim & had little control of their daily lives- Sumerians invented wagon wheel, arch, potter’s wheel, sundial- Number system based on 60 & 12 month calendar

Mesopotamian Empires

- 2000 BC – city-states begin to fall to invaders- Sargon I leads Akkadians – 2300 BC- Mother abandons him in a reed basket on the Euphrates river

- Rescued and raised by farmer- Established kingdom in North Mesopotamia – Akkad- Sargon wants to expand empire- Unites city state 800 years before Egyptian new kingdom- Akkadian language replaces Sumerian

Amorites- Expanded into Syria- Overrun Sumerian city-states and capture city of Babylon- Babylon becomes capitol and Hammurabi becomes king- Hammurabi strengthens government- Babylon becomes major trade center – Egypt to China- Produced grain & cloth- “To make justice appear in the land”- Collected laws of different city-states- 282 law sections dealing with daily life- Penalized wrongdoers severely- “eye for an eye”- Laws were written to protect the less powerful- Three classes of Babylonian social classes – Kings, priest, nobles- artisans,

farmers – slaves- Most slaves were captured in war- Used cuneiform for writing- Babylonian empire declines after Hammurabi’s death- Hittites break empire apart