Section+2-1+City+States+in+Mesopotamia

Section 2-1 City States in Mesopotamia

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 * Fertile Crescent-** A nickname given by scholars because of its curved shape and richness of soil.
 * Mesopotamia**- A plain, In Greek the word means "land between rivers".
 * City State**- A city and its surrounding land form a city-state, they function much like and independent country would.
 * Dynasty**- A series of rulers that are all from the same family.
 * Cultural Diffusion**- When a new idea spreads from one culture to another.
 * Polytheism**- The belief in more than one god.
 * Empire**- It brings together several people, nations, or even previously independent states.
 * Hammurabi**- The peak of the Babylonian Empire.

People: Sargon

Ideas/Events: Thee was law made that said all women and children were treated fairly when inside the law
 * The Fertile Crescent- A nickname given by scholars because of its curved shape and richness of soil.
 * City States-A city and its surrounding land form a city-state, they function much like and independent country would.
 * Solving problems through organization-the people of sumer woked together to solve the disadvantages of the new land.
 * Rulers and priest share control- Early Sumer government was controlled by the priests becuase of the farmers belief that the gods controlled how the crops grew, the farmers believe that the priest was the connection to the gods and therefore could they could grow a lot of good crops. But In a time of war, the city needed someone who could fiercely lead soliders and win battles, that's when the priest handed controll over to the rulers. Eventually the priest handed full controll over to the considers and rulers.
 * Spreading of cities- they grew prosperous becuase of the surplus of food.
 * Religion of many gods- the Sumarians believed that different gods controlled various forces of nature. Enlil was considered to be one of the most powerful god, he controlled storms and he air. The Sumarians called him a "raging flood that had no rival." the Sumarians made many statues like the Ziggarats, they also sacrificed food and sometimes wine.
 * life in Sumarian society- the sumers had social classes. Kings, landholders, and some priest made up the higher level of the social classes. Next came wealthy merchants, the middle class of Sumerians mostly worked in the fields. Lastly the lowest level of society were the slaves.
 * Sumer science and technology- historians believe that the Sumerians invented that wheel, plow, and sail. They were also thout to be the first to use bronze.
 * Arithmetic and geometry- hey invented number systems in base 60 that formed modern measuring units.
 * Architectural innovations- arches,columns, ramps, and the pyramid shape influenced the city of Mesopotamia's architecture.
 * Cuneiform- Sumarians created a system of writing. Some of the oldest scientific recordings are written with iron a clay tablet.
 * The very First Empire- Sargon took control of both north and south Mesopotamia and he created the worlds very first empire.
 * Silt- thick rich mud that was use for farming to plant crops. This resulted in larg quantities of wheat and barley during harvest time
 * Five characteristics of the Sumarians- advanced cities, Specialzed workers, complex institutes, Record keeping, and Improving technology.
 * Names of City States in Sumer- Urak, Kish, Lagash, Umma, and Ur. Or the center of all of the Sumarian cities.
 * Punishments- the Sumarians used the saying "an eye for an eye" or "a tooth for tooth".
 * Hammurabi's Code- one single book of laws that was ment to unify all cultures in the empire.

Enviromental Challenges: At First people only settled farms on the flat and swampy lands near Mesopotamia before 4500 B.C. People called the Sumarians arrived there around 3300 B.C. The advantage that attracted new settlers was the great soil. But with that good advantage there were three disadvantages to this new land. Because of he lack of natural barriers the Sumarians were basically defenseless. The natural supplies were limited and with flooding being unpredictable sometimes it would be as dry as a desert with little or no rain for week.

The Sumarians solved these problems by digging irrigation ditches forth unpredictable rain the irrigation ditches help store water for drinking and also to grow a surplus of crops.

They solved the lack of barriers by making mud bricks and building walls.

Because the supplies were limited, the Sumarians traded clothing and well crafted tools, in exchange they received raw materials to build with.