River Valley Civilizations

Chapter 2

I. The Fertile Crescent

A. Geography1. Dominated by desert

2. Locates between the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea

3. Most important are called Mesopotamia (“Land between the Rivers”) – located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

4. Rivers flood once a year – between April and JuneA. Leave rich soil called silt

B. Provides water for irrigation~

I. The Fertile CrescentB. People Move In

A. First People start to settle around 7000 BC

1. They were farmers

a. Advantages of Mesopotamia

1. the rich soil

2. Flat land

3. Abundance of water

4. Warm temperatures

b. Disadvantages

1. Unpredictable flooding

2. Land dried quickly

3. Small land area

4. No natural protection

5. Few natural resources~

I. The Fertile Crescentc. Solutions to disadvantages

1. irrigation system – used to bring water to crops and collect water to hold for

watering2. trade with the people that lived in the

Mountain to the north for natural resources – trades cloth, grain, and crafted tools for stone, metal and wood

C. The Sumerians1. Mysterious people - no one knows their origin (maybe

from the Caspian Sea region)2. Moved to Mesopotamia around 4000 BC3. By 3800 BC their advanced irrigation technology allowed

them to dominate the people already living in the area4. They improved farming techniques, built better roads,

and used boat technology~

I. The Fertile Crescent

C. The Sumerians (cont.)1. City-States

a. City-states created around 3000 BCb. 4 biggest were Ur, Uruk, Kish, Lagashc. Ur (at its height) contained about 30,000 peopled. All city-states built with a ziggurat (walled temple)

at its centere. Around the cities

1. Large farms for growing food2. Hearding lands for animals3. Large orchards~

I. The Fertile Crescent

2. Government1. When the city-states first started forming (3000

BC), priests (called A) controlled the government1. controlled the military

2. administered trade

3. Ran the court system

2. During a time of war, a general took control of the government

3. Eventually the city-states will always be at war and the priests lost their power

4. Later city-states controlled by a monarch (king)~

I. The Fertile Crescent

1. Religion1. Basic beliefs

1. Polytheistic2. Important to the city-states3. Contained hundreds of gods based in nature4. Each city-state worshiped unique gods5. All city-states worshipped four main gods

1. Nammu – Creator of all2. An – male god of the heavens3. Ki – female god of the earth4. Enlil – son of the above, controlled night and day~

I. The Fertile Crescent

1. Religion (cont.)1. Religious officials

1. Each city-state had priests

2. Duties1. Mediator between the people and gods

2. Performed sacrifices and religious rituals

3. Controlled and maintained the irrigation systems

3. For their efforts priests received a portion of the crop grown each year as payment~

I. The Fertile Crescent1. Religion (cont.)

1. Doctrine1. Importance of the gods

1. Crops grew in the wet months because the An and Ki mated (married)

2. During the dry months the crops died because An and Ki died

3. Blooming signified the resurrection of the gods2. Over all belief – humanity was put on earth to serve the gods3. When people died they returned to the heavens to serve the

gods4. Believed in sin – explained people’s hardships and blessings5. Education was unimportant, because the gods would put

knowledge in the people’s brains so they could overcome a hardship

6. Religion was harsh and unsupportive~

I. The Fertile Crescent

2. Culture1. 80% of the people were farmers

2. They had the concept of land ownership

3. After 2300 BC had established money1. Polished pieces of metal

2. Value based on weight

3. Caused1. Banks to be created – for borrowing money

2. People sought wealth – wanted to make money~

I. The Fertile Crescent1. Culture (cont.)

5. Had 5 social classes1. Kings and Nobles – wealthy, literate, most powerful

2. Priests – wealthy, literate, powerful

3. Wealthy Merchants – wealthy, illiterate, little power

4. Framers – poor, illiterate, powerless

5. Slaves – poor, uneducated, powerless

6. Society1. Male dominated

2. Women1. Little protection under law

2. Main role domestication (child bearers, house work, ect.)

3. Harsh life for women~

I. The Fertile Crescent3. Education

1. Priests were educators2. Education took place in the temples3. Only upper class families were educated in the temples

– had to pay4. All other education was done in the home

4. Law1. Created by the central government2. Originally laws not written down3. Victim had to bring the suspect to court4. Presided over by the king5. Hammurabi's Code – created 1792 BC

1. Babylonian king 2. First written law code3. Eye for and Eye~

I. The Fertile Crescent3. Science and Technology

1. Invented the plow, sail, wheel, bronze technology, and the pyramid

2. First to use arches, columns, and ramps3. Had a calendar – based on moon cycles4. Writing

1. Started as pictures2. Evolved into symbols3. Cuneiform oldest writing system – developed in

Sumar4. Used to keep religious records, historical info,

and trade records~

I. The Fertile Crescent4. Empires Appear

1. City-states will weaken because of constant warfare

2. Invaders will also cause problems

4. Sargon of Akkad 9city-state north of Sumar)4. 2350 BC he has taken over most of the Mesopotamian

city-states

5. Created the first empire

6. Control lasted 200 years (2150 BC) – fell due to famine, civil war and invasions

5. Babylonian Empire4. Invade in 2000 BC – took over after the Akkadians

5. Peak of the empire is during King Hammurabi’s reign

6. By 1550 BC empire falls~

I. The Fertile Crescent

5. The Assyrian Empire

1. After the fall of the Babylonians, the Fertile Crescent will be open to many other invaders – the Assyrians, Phoenicians, and Hebrews

2. Military Might

1. 850 BC the Assyrians were the most dominate empire – controlled through SW Asia, the Middle East, and Egypt

2. Able to accomplish dominance by creating a highly advanced and organized military~

I. The Fertile Crescent

3. Beginnings

1. Came from the northern part of Mesopotamia

2. Their flat homeland made Assyria open to invaders

3. Forced to develop a strong military and warlike behavior to combat invaders

4. Military Organization

1. Weapons and Equipment

1. Used iron works to make weapons

2. Wore armor made of iron and stiff leather

3. Wore iron helmets and leather shirts fashioned with iron scales

4. Fought with iron swords and iron pointed spears~

I. The Fertile Crescent

2. Tactics

1. They built bridges to cross bodies of water

2. Before attacking a city they dug out around the city walls to weaken them

3. Foot soldiers would then attack, marching shoulder to shoulder and shoot wave after wave of arrows

4. Battering rams would than knock down the city gates

5. Once inside the Assyrian Army would kill or enslave all inside~

I. The Fertile Crescent

5. Empire Expansion

1. Between 850-650 BC they defeated Syria, Palestine, and Babylonia – also made their way into Egypt

2. Peak of power came around 650 BC

3. Rule

1. The central government controlled the lands closest to the Assyrian heartland

2. Outlying lands were controlled with puppet governments

3. System

1. Local governments – controlled by governors – reported back to the king – responsible for collecting taxes

2. Central government – controlled by the king – also contained the Assyrian nobles~

Mesopotamia

Hammurabi

ChartProblems Effect Effect

Floods Rich Soil Large crops

Long periods without rain

Crops failed to grow

Built irrigation system

No natural defenses

No protection from invaders

Built walls around city

Few natural resources

Did not have materials to build houses and walls

Made bricks and traded with other regions