Mesopotamia

** 3000 B.C. to 300 B.C. ** ** Ayushi and Elsa **

** Mesopotamia was where one of the first civilizations in the world started. Also named the land between two rivers, Mesopotamia had rich soil to grow all sorts of crops. The **** Sumerians **** were t **** he first to live in this region and were the pioneers of civilization. They invented many creations and discovered several designs which influence our **** lives today. Their form of writing was called the **** cuneiform **** which they used to write //Th// **** //e Epic of Gilgamesh.// After the conflicts arose in the **** city-states of Sumer, Akkadians became the rulers of the region. Sargon, the Akkadian leader, set up the first empire in history which is a large political unit or state. ** ** Eventually, the empire fell due to the attacks of the neighboring hill people and Babylonians were the first to take over the region. **** Ha **** mmurabi, **** the leader of the Babylonians, was famous for creating his strict laws called the Code of Hammurabi. Also called the principle of retaliation (an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth), these laws were a vital part of the system of justice in the kingdom. The importance of religion was another significant part of the daily lives of the Mesopotamia people. They were polytheistic meaning they believed in many gods. Humans were supposed to obey and respect the gods. ** ** Assyrians **** were Semitic-speaking people, just like the Akkadians, who utilized iron weapons to create their empire in the year 700 B.C. They were great at conquering others since they used horse-drawn war chariots for shooting arrows. But within a hundred years, the Chaldeans, also called th **** e Persians, took over. Under their king Nebuchadnezzar, the Persians created satrapies, or provinces. Each province had a governor, or satrap. They followed the monarchy system of government, in which a king or queen ruled. The Persian Empire finally fell around 300 B.C. because of sibling rivalry for the throne. **  

**5 __Most Important People:__** **1. Hammurabi- created the first written laws in his empire** **2. ** **Sumerians- invented the first writing system ** **4.** **Assyrians- first to use iron weapons**
 * 3. ** **Akkadians- set up the first empire in the region **
 * 5. ** **Persians- created trade routes and had the first monarchy system **

**__5 Key Terms:__** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**1.** **Cuneiform- the first writing system used by the Sumerians** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**3.** **Polytheistic- believing in many gods** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**4.** **Satrap- governor of the satrapies (city-states)**
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">2. ** **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Empire- a large political unit or state **
 * 5.** **Monarchy- one person rules the kingdom**

**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">LINKS: **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This History, Our History This site tells you how the Mesopotamians lived and what they did and how their lives influence us today. **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The British Museum The site talks about the ancient civilization that used to live during this time from the work that they did to what they did in their free time. **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Architectural Marvels of Mesopotamia These are the building methods of the Mesopotamians. They tell you how they made their buildings and houses. **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Timeline of Mesopotamia This is the timeline of Mesopotamia. This site tells you what year their accomplishments were. **
 * **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Mesopotamia Questions Quiz yourself with this site which asks you random questions about the Mesopotamia time. **



<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">** “If he does not plant the field that was given over to him as a garden, if it be arable land, the gardener shall pay the owner the produce of the field for the years that he let it lie fallow, according to the product of neighboring fields, put the field in arable condition and return it to its owner.” ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">** ~Hammurabi **

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 * **<span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">3000 B.C. ** || * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sumerian cities emerge in southern Mesopotamia ||
 * **<span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">3001 B.C. ** || * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cuneiform writing invented ||
 * **<span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">2700 B.C. ** || * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Old Kingdom begins ||
 * **<span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">2540 B.C. ** || * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Great Pyramid of King Khufu finished ||
 * **<span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">1792 B.C. ** || * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hammurabi comes to power ||
 * **<span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">1652 B.C. ** || * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Middle Kingdom ends ||
 * **<span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">1567 B.C. ** || * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">New Kingdom begins ||
 * **<span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">970 B.C. ** || * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Solomon becomes King of Israel ||
 * **<span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">539 B.C ** || * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Babylonia falls ||
 * **<span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">521 B.C. ** || * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Darius begins to expand Persian Empire ||