Mesopotamian political history is first of all dynastic history, the history of states citystates, territorial states, and empires and international. Six thousand years ago, the waters of these rivers provided the lifeblood that allowed the formation of farming settlements. The development of this civilization reflects a settlement pattern that has occurred repeatedly throughout history. Sumerian society emerged into a complex one with nobility, priests and state officials at the top and farmers and slaves at the bottom. Home to the ancient civilizations of sumer, assyria, and babylonia these peoples are credited with influencing mathematics and astronomy. They had similar governments and cultures, but spoke different languages.
Two rivers flow from the mountains of what is now turkey, down through syria and iraq, and finally to the persian gulf. There was no mesopotamian territorial state, and those cities and their rulers who conquered other. Chapter 2 section 1 citystates in mesopotamia sea tigris and. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing in the late 4th millennium bc, an increasing amount of historical sources. As in ur, which chapter 1 describes, the center of all sumerian cities was the walled. Why it matters now the development of this civilization re. Sumerian city states, which fought for control of the river valleys in lower mesopotamia. Download citystates in mesopotamia 6th grade social studies book pdf free download link or read online here in pdf. Then around 3000 bce, they began to form large, wellgoverned city states along the rivers. Mesopotamian civilization 6th grade social studies. These city states had control over a surrounding area. The city of akkad was the center of the worlds first empire, the akkadian empire. At the end of this period, the site declined and the focus of urban.
Read online citystates in mesopotamia 6th grade social studies book pdf free download link book now. Sargon led his soldiers from akkad a city state north of sumer. Mesopotamia has a dry climate, and the flooding of the euphrates and tigris rivers did. A city state is an independent state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory. It concludes with a sketch of a number of theo logical, ethical, and literary ideas of the sumerians which seem. To provide water, they dug irrigation ditches that carried river water to their fields and allowed them to produce a surplus of crops. Mesopotamia sumerian citystates historys historiesyou. During the uruk period 38003100 bce this city consisted of a central zone of public architecture surrounded by sprawling suburban settlement over 1 square kilometer in extent. In these early days, towns were walled for additional protection. Households and the emergence of cities in ancient mesopotamia.
It was a collection of citystates, each ruled by a ruler, ensi, or king, lugal meaning big man. The tigris and euphrates rivers flooded mesopotamia at least once a year. Section 2 pyramids on the nile using mathematical knowledge and engineering skills, egyptians built magnificent monuments to honor dead rulers. Section 3 planned cities on the indus the first indian civilization built. Sumer contained several decentralized citystateseridu. The rise of sumer notes in southern mesopotamia, the worlds first advanced society developed sumer o around the year 3200bce they mainly lived in rural areas o rural countryside centers of sumerian life were urban areas o urban city sumerian civilization was divided into citystates. In chapter 3, you learned how people in the fertile crescent began farming and living in small villages. Sumerian citystates, which fought for control of the river valleys in lower mesopotamia.
Mesopotamian cultural sphere has been foregrounded in certain work. Early urbanism in northern mesopotamia springerlink. A citystate functioned much as an independent country does today. Choose from 500 different sets of mesopotamia quiz city states flashcards on quizlet. Mesopotamia labeled as the uruk period in southern mesopotamia and the late chalcolithic period in the north. Mesopotamia is a region of southwest asia in the tigris and euphrates river system that benefitted from the areas climate and geography to host the beginnings of human civilization. It is a historic region of west asia within the tigriseuphrates river system. The city of uruk, located on the euphrates river side of the land between two rivers, controlled 76 nearby villages and was enclosed within a 4mile long wall of brick. There the priests and rulers appealed to the gods for the wellbeing of the citystate. The governments had individual city states, where each city had its own ruler that controlled the city and the surrounding area. Early leaders tried to forge alliances between other city states and, in doing so, often tried to. Abm studies in mesopotamia so far have focused on citystates of the second millennium bc or empires of the first millennium bc altaweel.
Sumer contained several decentralized citystateseridu, nippur, lagash, uruk, kish and ur. They spent most of their time engaged in conflict over resources. In fact, the word mesopotamia means between rivers in greek. Studies of the early cities and states in southern. The city states of ancient mesopotamia were independent cities constructed around temples and entirely selfcontained within mighty perimeter walls. Citystates were unified with each other only by their shared use of the sumerian language. For more information on ancient sumer, egypt, and china. These villages were located in a land of rolling hills and low plains called mesopotamia modernday iraq. The rise of sumerian city states mastering the content circle the letter next to the best answer. Chapter 2 citystates in mesopotamia sea tigris and euphrates. Sihvuhluhzayshuhn irrigation ihruhgayshuhn citystate. The citystates ancient greek name, polis, was derived from the citadel acropolis, which marked its administrative centre.
City states were unified with each other only by their shared use of the sumerian language. They could act independently, much like a country does today. The name of mesopotamia comes from its location, which was a. Educational articles for teachers, students, and schools including religion, art, daily life, people and kings, sumer, babylon, assyria, persia, city states, science, and more. Solving problems through organization over a long period of time, the people of sumer created solutions to deal with these problems. The civilization of ancient sumer was composed of 12 major city states. As in ur, which chapter 1 describes, the center of all sumerian cities was the walled temple with a ziggurat at its center. In this chapter, youll see how small neolithic villages grew into large. Citystates differed from tribal or national systems in size, exclusiveness, patriotism, and passion for independence. All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. Sea te t m,a o saudi arabia,sumer r ia ta,fertile crescent. Page 2 of 6, the fertile crescent 2500 b c present day persian gulf. Advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and improved technology what were some sumerian city states.
For defense, they built city walls with mud bricks. Kids learn about the history of ancient mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization between the tigris and euphrates rivers. How did geographic challenges lead to the rise of citystates in mesopotamia. Since its first publication in 1964, ancient mesopotamia has re mained the most. The people of akkad, under the leadership of sargon the great, conquered many of the sumerian city states and took control of mesopotamia. Fertile crescent mesopotamia citystate dynasty cultural diffusion polytheism empire hammurabi 1 identifying problems and solutions use a chart to. Mesopotamia sumerian citystates historys historiesyou are. Mar 21, 2020 the city states of ur, kish, lagash, adab, nippur, umma, and uruk came to be the most distinguished of the sumerians city states. Sumerian citystates included uruk, kish, lagash, umma, and ur. Mesopotamia is thought to be one of the places where early civilization developed. City states in mesopotamia for students 6th 8th in this world history learning exercise, students evaluate how sumerians solved 5 problems they faced and list 4 examples of sumerian culture. The history of mesopotamia ranges from the earliest human occupation in the lower sumaya period up to the late antiquity.
Slowly, some people rose to power in a number of the city states. Section 1 city states in mesopotamia the earliest civilization in asia arose in mesopotamia and organized into city states. Even the most powerful city states of this period, sumer and ur, were subject to these issues. In the beginning, they were farmers who lived in small rural villages. Its surrounding walls helped protect the city against. Each city and the surrounding land it controlled formed a city state. They established leader to plan and supervise the projects. Modern coastline \ the akkadian military conquered the independent city states of sumer and united them under king sargon.
May 10, 2016 the sumerian religion had the largest influence on ancient mesopotamia as a whole. The sumerians invent cuneiform writing, making recordkeeping possible. These projects also created a need for laws to settle disputes over how land and water would be distributed this created the first. Apr 10, 2014 the earliest large urban settlement was tell brak in the dry farming zone of northern mesopotamia. Learn mesopotamia quiz city states with free interactive flashcards. Mesopotamia proceed in what most of the contempo rary world of social and historical. The citystates of ancient mesopotamia were independent cities constructed around temples and entirely selfcontained within mighty perimeter walls. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. To defend themselves, sumerians built walls and dug moats around their cities. A n a t o l i a iraq,t a u ru m e,mediterranean ph p. A city state functioned much as an independent country does today. In order to accomplish such feats, the sumerians had to have some kind of organization. The nature and importance of sumerian city states 75 areas outside the walls of the city, and the growth of city states involved ruralisation as well as urbanisation.
Citystates in mesopotamia 6th grade social studies pdf. Sumerians create city states page 30 how did the sumerians govern. Sumerians create city states the sumerians stand out in history as one of the first groups of people to form a civilization. The land of sumer, now the southern part of iraq, is thought to have been the earliest urban civilization in ancient mesopotamia, and perhaps also in the world.