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Sumerian Civilization
Archaeological excavations indicate that between 4000
B.C and 3500 B.C other nomadic people migrating from
the Armenian Plateua northwest of the delta , conquered
the delta region.
The newcomers, the Sumerians, created the first known
civilization in ancient Middle East.
That civilization that emerged in Tigris-Eupharates Valley
differed in many ways from Egyptian civilization.
The Sumerians outlook on life, their government and their
religion were unlike those in Egypt.
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
Oldest known
civilization
Cradle of human
civilization
Old Testament
Nebuchadnezzar
Ziggurat (right)
Hanging gardens
The Fertile Crescent:Crossroads
of the World
The Tigris-Euphrates Valley lies in the eastern end of the Fertile
Crescent, an area that stretches from the Persian Gulf to the
Mediterranean sea.
The Fertile crescent received its name from the rich soil of the region and
its half circle or crescent shape
The Fertile crescent has often been called the crossroads of the world
because it commands access to three continents:Asia, Africa, and
Europe.
Unlike Egypt, the Fertile Crescent has few natural barriers. The Arabian
and Syrian deserts offered less protection to early civilizations that the
Libyan Desert did in Egypt.
The positions of the region made it subject to frequent migrations and
invasions. Waves of migrating peoples descended from the mountains
north and west of the Tigris-Eupharates Valley.
Invaders such as Hittites swept into the Fertile Crescent from Asia Minor
because of the migrations and invasions, Fertile crescent was the site of
frequent warfare.
Geography
Earliest civilizations
rose in the valleys
between the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers.
Some say this Fertile
Crescent was the real
Garden of Eden.
Tigris and Euphrates Rives
Land Between Two Rivers
The Greeks called the Tigris and Euphrates Valley
“Mesopotamia” meaning “land between two rivers. Like the
Nile in Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers dominated the
lives of the people in Mesopotamia.
The two rivers originate in the rugged highlands of the
Armenian Plateau and run parallel for over 1, 000 miles(1, 600
kilometers).
In the spring or early summer, melting snows from the
mountains sometimes cause the rivers to overflow. However
the floods of the Tigris and Euphrates unlike those of the Nile,
are unpredictable.
In ancient times, many floods swept across lower
Mesopotamia. About 4,000 B.C flood waters deposited a bed
of clay eight feet(2.4 meters)thick. The flood destroyed farms,
villages, and animals and drowned many people.
Despite the danger of the flood, however, the rivers
supported the development of an advanced civilizations.
Trade along the rivers contributed to the wealth of
Mesopotamian cities.
Silt left by floods made the soil fertile, Good soil meant
that the people living in Mesopotamia could rely on a
stable food supply in most recent years.
In what modern day country was
the Fertile Crescent?
Kingdoms of Mesopotamia
Sumerians
Babylonians
Assyrians
Persians
Sumer, 3200-2350 Sargon’s Empire, 2350- The Dynasty of Ur,
B.C. 2320 B.C. 2100-2000 B.C.
The King
The Governors
The Aristocracy
The Peasantry
Kish was one of the twelve city-states of ancient Sumer civilization. In this
city lived the famous and magnificent Akkadian King Sargon of Agade,
founder of the first Empire in history. One of the earlier kings in Kish was
Etana who "stabilized all the lands" securing the 1st dynasty of Kish and
establishing rule over ancient Sumer and some of its neighbors. The title King
of Kish became synonymous with King of Sumer.
Ruins of Kish
The Sumerians
invented writing.
This is cuneiform.
Babylonians wrote
using this “wedge-
shaped” writing on
clay tablets.
The Beginnings of Writing
Farmers needed to keep records.
The Sumerians were very good farmers. They raised animals such as goats and cows
(called livestock). Because they needed to keep records of their livestock, food, and
other things, officials began using tokens.