• Mesopotamia was located in modern day Iraq​ between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

• People settled between these rivers​ for many reasons, but they were often a source of life.

​

​

​Mesopotamia

​The land between two rivers

​

​Why were the Rivers important?

​Rivers provided many benefits for early civilizations:

​-Irrigation for crops

-Water to drink

-Trade

-Fishing

-Transportation​

Social Studies

Mesopotamia

​The Cradle of Civilization

​

• ​Mesopotamia was the birthplace of many things we depend on today: agriculture, written language, government, law, and religion

• ​Mesopotamia is more of a geographic region than one particular civilizations. There were multiple civilizations and empires that existed throughout History here, but they were all bound together by the same culture.

• The people of each civilization within this region used the similar written language, laws and religion.​

Social Studies

Mesopotamia

​City-States

The Region of Mesopotamia was divided up into smaller regions called

city-states.

​

City-states would refer to the large population centers (cities) and the surrounding areas and farmland just outside the city.

​

These city-states ​operated like small independent countries, having their own laws and government.

​

Mesopotamia​

People in Mesopotamia believed in many gods and goddesses...over 1000!!​

​

​The belief in many gods is called polytheism

​

Many early religions were polytheistic​

​

​

​Mesopotamia

​Religion

​

Mesopotamia was an area with a very dry climate. Due to the lack of trees, this meant that most buildings were made of mud bricks instead of wood.

​

​Many cities in Mesopotamia had large temples made of these bricks called Ziggurats.

​

​

​Mesopotamia

​Ziggurats

​

Mesopotamians came up with one of the earliest known systems of writing, called cuneiform​

​

​Mesopotamia

​Writing

​