MESOPOTAMIA

character counts: Responsibility

• The name mean land between rivers.

• It describes an ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Middle East.

• Some of the world’s first civilizations developed in Mesopotamia. 

• The earliest known civilization started in southern Mesopotamia in about 4500 BCE.

• The people of Sumer found that the soil was good for growing crops. 

• Because there was little rain, the people built irrigation systems to carry water from the rivers to their fields

• After 4000 BCE. the world’s first cities began in Sumer. Sumerian cities included Kish, Uruk, Ur, and Lagash. In about 3000 BCE

• the Sumerians created the world’s first writing system, called cuneiform.

• The Ancient Sumerians worshipped many different gods and goddesses. They thought that the gods influenced much of what happened to them in their lives.

• Anu - Sometimes called An, Anu was the god of the heavens and king of the gods. The city associated with Anu was Uruk.

• Enlil - The god of air, wind, and storms, Enlil held the Tablets of Destiny. These tablets gave him control over the fate of man and made him very powerful.

• At the center of each major city in Mesopotamia was a large structure called a ziggurat.

• The ziggurat was built to honor the main god of the city. The tradition of building a ziggurat was started by the Sumerians.

• These classes were:

• The King and Nobility: a special relationship with the gods 

• The Priests and Priestesses

• The Upper Class: Merchants

• the Lower Class

• The Slaves.