Mesopotamia, located in modern-day Iraq, was home to some of the earliest civilizations and major developments in human history. It consisted of two main regions, Assyria in the north and Sumer in the south, which were organized into city-states ruled by kings with the assistance of councils of elders from powerful families. Cities centered around ziggurats and temples and were connected by roads, leading to growth of trade but also conflicts. Notable Mesopotamian developments included the earliest systems of writing in the form of cuneiform on clay tablets, advances in fields like medicine, the invention of the wheel initially for pottery rather than transportation, and the establishment of the first legal codes

1. MESOPOTAMIA
Ancient Civilizations

2. HOME OF THE FIRST CIVILIZATION
Located in modern-day
Iraq
Two main regions:
• Northern region =
Assyria
• Southern region =
Sumer

3. FORM OF GOVERNMENT
 King + council of elders
 Elders
 Powerful, aristocratic families
 Advise the king
 The king eventually established a dynasty.

4. CITY LIFE IN MESOPOTAMIA
 Temple in the center of the city
 Roads connected farms + town + temple
 Creation of city-states
 Dedicated to patron gods/goddesses
 Competition for trade = frequent wars

5. THE ZIGGURAT
 In the center of the city
 Connected heaven and
earth (god and man)
 The Tower of Babel

6. MESOPOTAMIAN GODS AND GODDESSES
WHAT CAN YOU TELL ABOUT THESE DEITIES?
WHY DO THE EYES LOOK SO BIG?

7. THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING

8. MESOPOTAMIAN WRITING
Cuneiform: Wedge-shaped symbols
Uses a stylus to write in clay tablets
Mostly for record keeping

9. MESOPOTAMIAN CONTRIBUTIONS

10. MESOPOTAMIAN INVENTIONS
THE FIRST MAP
 First map
 Calculations based on 60
(:60, 60 minutes, 360°)
 First wheel – purpose?
 Surgery
 12-month calendar (every 3
years, add 13th month)

11. AN EARLY POTTERY WHEEL
Why was the first wheel
used for pottery?
Why wasn’t it used for
transportation?

12. A MESOPOTAMIAN CALENDAR
Can you find the twelve
months on this
calendar?
Why is the calendar
designed this way?
Why isn’t it laid out in a
grid, the way our
calendars are?

13. MESOPOTAMIAN KINGS

14. FAMOUS MESOPOTAMIAN KINGS
 The Sumerian king list:
 Gilgamesh
 Sargon
 Hammurabi

15. GILGAMESH

16. GILGAMESH: A REAL KING
 Brave but ruthless warrior in
real life
 Legend says he wanted to
find immortality
 Story recorded in a famous
epic poem

17. SARGON

18. SARGON THE GREAT
 An Akkadian king
 Conquered
Sumeria and
Mesopotamia

19. SARGON: FOUNDER OF A MIGHTY DYNASTY
 First king to create
multiethnic, centrally ruled
empire
 Founded dynasty that
lasted for 150 years

20. HAMMURABI

21. HAMMURABI: THE BABYLONIAN LAW-GIVER
 United city-states into
Babylonia
 Famous for “codifying” 282
laws
 Carved laws into eight-foot stele
 Severe laws
 “Eye for eye, and tooth for
tooth”

22. HAMMURABI’S JUSTICE
Top of the stele:
Hammurabi with
Shamash, god of justice
Below that picture are
columns of laws, written
in Akkadian language

23. THE CODE OF HAMMURABI
The Code of Hammurabi
– carved into stone
Why was it important for
law to be written down
(or carved into
something)?

24. HAMMURABI’S LAWS – WRITTEN IN CUNEIFORM
16 columns of text on the
front; 28 columns on the
back.
In prologue, Hammurabi
invokes the gods
In epilogue, discusses the
greatness of his justice
Each law is conditional
(“if/then”)