M3 L2 The Sumerians

  The Sumerians developed the first civilization in Mesopotamia.

Vocabulary

​rural empire pictographs architecture

urban​ polytheism​ scribe ziggurat

city-state priests epics

Gilgamesh social hierarchy

Sargon​ cuneiform

An Advanced Society

The City-States of Sumer

•Most people lived in the rural areas and were farmers.

•Cities were the urban centers of Sumerian society.

•A city-state consisted of a city and all of the surrounding countryside.

•The amount of countryside in each city-state depended on its military strength.

•City-states fought each other to gain more farmland.

•City-states, like Ur and Uruk, gained and lost power over time.

•A king of Uruk named Gilgamesh became a legendary figure.

Rise of the Akkadian Empire

•Akkadians built a society north of Sumer.

•The Akkadian ruler Sargon had the first permanent army.

•He defeated all of the city-states of Sumer.

•When his army conquered northern Mesopotamia, he established the world’s first empire. Empire: land with different territories and peoples under a single rule

•Sargon ruled for 50 years. After his death, his empire lasted only a century longer.

•Sumerians conquered the area once again.

Sumerian Religion

•Sumerian polytheism was the basis for all Sumerian society.

  – Polytheism is the worship of many gods.

•Gods had enormous powers.

•In Sumer, priests had great statues built.

  – Priests were people who performed religious ceremonies.

Sumerian Social Order

•The division of society by rank or class is the social hierarchy.

•Kings were at the top of the order because they claimed to be chosen to rule by the gods.

•Social order

-Kings

-Priests

-Skilled craftspeople, merchants, and traders

-Large working class of farmers and laborers

-Slaves

Men and Women in Sumer

•Men generally held the political power and made laws.

•Women generally took care of the home and children.

•Education was generally reserved for men, but some upper class women were educated.

•Some women were priestesses in Sumerian temples.

-Enheduanna, a priestess who wrote hymns, is the first known female writer in history.

  The Sumerians invented the world’s first writing system.

•The cuneiform system involved the use of sharp tools called styluses.

•The Sumerians first used cuneiform to keep business records.

The Sumerians also used their writing skills to write books about history, poems, and math

Cuneiform

•World’s first system of writing

•Cuneiform symbols could represent syllables. Earlier pictographs had represented only objects.

The Sumerians wrote on clay tablets with a stylus​

Scribes

•Writers

•Kept track of items people traded and wrote down government records

•Becoming a scribe was a way to move up in social class.​

Other Uses

•Wrote works of literature, stories, proverbs, and songs

•Wrote poems about the gods and military victories.

•Created epics, long poems that tell the stories of heroes.​

Technical Advances

•Development of the wheel

– Used for carts and wagons

– Potter’s wheel

•The plow increased farm production.

•Sewers under city streets

•Created tools out of bronze​

Math and Sciences

•Number system based on 60

•Calculated areas of rectangles and triangles

•Listed names of animals, plants, and minerals

•Used medicines for healing and catalogued medical knowledge​

Architecture

•Sumerians were skilled in architecture.

•Rulers lived in large palaces.

•Most Sumerians lived in houses with many rooms around a small courtyard. 

•A ziggurat, or pyramid-shaped temple tower, rose above each city.​

The Arts

•Sculptors produced many statues of the gods for their temples.

•Jewelry was a popular item made from imported gold, silver, and gems.

•Engraved cylinder seals are one of Sumer’s most famous types of art.

•Music was played for entertainment and worship.​