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Rainfall fell abundantly in the northern hilly parts. Southward, the climate was arid.

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What are some examples of things that differentiated states from other smaller civilizations and why did they make states different from previous forms of civilization?

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Writing was useful for keeping records of what happened to certain people and civilizations

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Writing was useful for keeping records of what happened to certain people and civilizations

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for some cultures and times, their writing has yet to be decoded and understood

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Our knowledge of ancient civilizations depends largely on the written records of things that happened during that time period. 

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Our knowledge of ancient civilizations depends largely on the written records of things that happened during that time period. 

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Kings in some Sumerian city-stated began to hand down the kingship to their sons

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The first law to be written down is Hammurabi's  code, called for "an eye for an eye." Having a higher social status would allow you to have a smaller punishment compared to someone with a lower social status.

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The first law to be written down is Hammurabi's  code, called for "an eye for an eye." Having a higher social status would allow you to have a smaller punishment compared to someone with a lower social status.

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A lot of the writing from ancient times was passed down through generations, especially the writing involving political and military events, and these were often written and rewritten over and over again.

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Cuneiform is the oldest writing that we have identified, first started in ancient Mesopotamia around 3200 B.C.E. It's identified by the wedge-shaped marks on tablets of clay.

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Most ancient texts survive in their original form because they were inscribed in stone, shells, bone, or other hard materials

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kings made alliances with other powerful viduals, often through marriage.

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The growth of cities is often attributed to the rising complexity of society as a whole. Residents of cities also, or "civilians" thought they were more advanced than rural peoples

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Acting together, priests, nobles, and kings in Sumerian cities used force, persuasion, and threats of higher taxes to maintain order, keep the irrigation systems working, and keep food and other goods flowing.

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- these new larger civilizations called for advancements in technology because of the change from foraging groups to larger civilizations with farming

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We can sometimes tell what some of the most sacred writing was based off of what it was written on. For example, something written on a small clay tablet most likely had less signifigance than something carved into a wall.

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Hammurabi's code mostly focused on family relations and the quality of work.

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Hammurabi's code mostly focused on family relations and the quality of work.

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the state --> organization where people used shared resources

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States coerce people through violence or threats. Ex: put in jail for not paying taxes

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Some individuals owned their own land and paid their taxes through agricultural products or other products of their labor

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The first writing in Egypt was done with ink on papyrus sheets, however those are much more fragile than clay so we don't have many of them

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Most elite landowners were male, but women who held positions as priestesses or as queens ran their own estates independently of their husbands and fathers.

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Cities in Sumer created massive hydraulic projects including reservoirs, dams, and dikes to prevent major floods.

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The first writing discovered from China was on things like turtle shell and bone, but it is probable that there was writing before this, it was just on less durable material.

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larger civilization needed more powerful rulers with political systems like; monarchies, theocracies, and dictatorships, that are still in function today

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Why was writing particularly useful for ancient civilizations?

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When a political body is considered a civilization, they had cities, laws, scientific, theological, and philosophical ideas.  Writing was also used to divide what was considered a civilization or not.

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states had to keep track of events with records, to know when people payed their taxes, went to jail, etc.

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Slaves were on the lowest level of the social hierarchy, being seen and used like animals for physical labor and for the ease and comfort of their owners

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Sons and Daughters inherited from their parents. If a daughter inherited from a dowry, it will remain hers, but is managed by her husband or husbands family after marriage.

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When people in southwest asia wrote on clay tokens, the origins of writing date back to around the 9th millennium.

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When people in southwest asia wrote on clay tokens, the origins of writing date back to around the 9th millennium.

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states strengthened religion with stronger communities all believing in the same thing and worshiping together

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written laws were created to keep states on track, but some of these laws would favor certain people over others ex: social and gender hierarchies

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The wealthier a city is, the more desirable it is to conquerors. Sargon conquered many of these cities with the very first form of an army. These city-states expanded trade routes as far as The Indus River in Southeast Asia. When Sargon conquered these cities, he tore down the walls, changed the local language to his own, and appointed his sons as the leaders of the cities. The Sargon Dynasty ruled Mesopotamia for about 150 years before it collapsed. A lot of power was centered around which city-state had access to water. There were many periods of extended droughts in Mesopotamia so Babylon rose to power because they were centered between two large rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers. Hammurabi was chosen by the gods to be the ruler of Babylon.

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What are the similarities and differences between the Sumerian society and government, and the society and government we have now?

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What was Sargon's role in bringing Akkad and Sumer together?

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Why did Babylon become the most powerful city-state. What was so good about it's geography?

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Neolithic agriculture villages expanded into cites that depended largely on food produced by the surrounding countryside while people living in the cities carried out other tasks.

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In the past historians had viewed places with writing and civilizations as a whole as much more advanced that other rural areas. However, In recent times Historians have realized that this implies that some civilizations are better than others.

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The authority to run the irrigation systems was initially assumed to be run by Sumerian priests. Encouraged and directed by religious leaders, people built temples on tall platforms in the center of cities. These buildings had storage space for grain and other products and animals. Many were embellished with a huge stepped pyramid called a ziggurat with a shrine on the top. To many people who lived in Mesopotamia, many gods or goddesses ruled the world.

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The use of different pictures, symbols and more got incorporated into daily life by after around the 4th millennium. Pictographs- cuneiform, 3200 B.C.E

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The use of different pictures, symbols and more got incorporated into daily life by after around the 4th millennium. Pictographs- cuneiform, 3200 B.C.E

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How did environmental challenges affect Mesopotamian culture?

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How might these ideas have evolved to take place in our world today?

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Writing first developed as a way to enhance the growing power of elites, not to record speech.

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Writing first developed as a way to enhance the growing power of elites, not to record speech.

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Historians have found surviving examples of multiplication and division problems.

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Historians have found surviving examples of multiplication and division problems.

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Sumerians established scribal schools by 2500 B.C.E

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Sumerians established scribal schools by 2500 B.C.E

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What were the origins of writing, mathematics, and poetry and how were they integrated and improved?

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What was the main theme of Hammurabi's code? How do you see the code reflected in our laws today?

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What was the main theme of Hammurabi's code? How do you see the code reflected in our laws today?