Civilizations first developed in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, known as the Fertile Crescent. Two early civilizations were the Sumerians in southern Mesopotamia and the Akkadians in northern Mesopotamia. The Sumerians invented systems like cuneiform writing and irrigation canals, while the Akkadians conquered surrounding areas but faced revolts. Later, the Babylonians, including King Hammurabi, and Assyrians rose to power in Mesopotamia before the Persians invaded and took over Babylon.

1. Chapter 2 Lesson 1 Outline
I. Civilizations
a. Groups of people who have a complex and organized society
within a culture.
b. Each civilization has its own customs, food supply, social
divisions, government, religion and technology.
c. They first developed in southwestern Asia in a crescent-shaped
area.
II. Fertile Crescent
a. Fertile-rich soil.
b. Today, the land of the Fertile Crescent is part of the countries
Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel .
c. Northern area was a plateau and the land was not fertile.
d. Southern area was a plain area and was located between the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
III. Mesopotamia- “The land between two rivers”
a. Was one of the first civilizations
b. Located between Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

2. IV. Tigris and Euphrates River
a. There were fresh water, fish, and very rich soil surrounding the
rivers.
b. Irrigation Systems were canals and ditches that brought water
from rivers to their fields. This allowed farmers to bring water to
their crops when there was little rainfall.
i. Mesopotamian farmers could control the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers by using these irrigation systems.
V. City-States
a. City-states were individual units with it’s own government and
traditions.
b. People in city-states worked in different jobs, such as religious
leaders, soldiers, traders or artisans (craftspeople, potters and
weavers).
i. This is called social divisions
Chapter Two
Lesson 2 and 4 Outline
I. Mesopotamia

3. a. Had many city states
b. Akkad was in the north.
c. Sumer was in the south.
II. Sumer
a. Had fertile land
b. Had mud-brick known as adobe that they used to make homes
and ziggurats.
1. Ziggurats are rectangular stacked temples used for their
gods.
2. Sumerians believed the ziggurats linked heaven and the
Earth.
3. The bigger the ziggurat the important the god.
c. City-states had mud-brick walls that surrounded the city in order
to protect it from nomads and enemies.
d. Sumerians had many advancements, such as cuneiform,
ziggurats, the wheel, and farming methods.

4. 1. Farmers traded their surplus food with others to get goods
that they needed.
e. Sumerians used writing, religion, and technology daily to advance
their civilizations.
f. Sumer had a class society- an organized society that puts
some people in a higher position then others.
(1.) king
(2.) priests and gov’t officials
(3.) artisans, merchants, scribes, farmers
(4) slaves were at the bottom.
III. Akkad
a. Akkad did not have a lot of fertile land.
b. Akkadians were attackers because they were looking for better
farm land.
c. They conquered (took over) many city-states in Mesopotamia to
create the first empire- a large territory with many different
places under the control of a single ruler.

5. d. Constant revolts from the conquered city-states caused the
empire to fall.
IV. Cuneiform
a. Cuneiform was the first system of writing that was invented by the
Sumerians.
b. It is a wedge shaped writing in which each picture stood for a
word, action, or sound.
c. Cuneiform was used to keep government records, such as crop
production, taxes, or population.
V. Polytheism
a. Polytheism is the worship of many gods.
b. Sumerians and Akkadians placed a lot of emphasis on religion.
c. They believed that if their life was good then the gods were
happy.
d. They often made human sacrifices and offerings to the gods to
keep them happy.
e. Religion and government were linked.

6. f. Sumerians believed in divine kingship-the belief that the gods
chose a person to rule the city-state and this power could be
passed down from a father to a son.
VI. Monotheism
a. Monotheism is the practice of worshiping only one god.
b. Abraham was the first man to make a covenant (promise) with
God to worship only one god.
1. He was the first Jewish man.
c. The Torah is the first five books of the Jewish bible.
1. The Torah has the 10 Commandments which provide
people rules on how to worship God.
d. King David united all the Jewish people throughout Egypt and
Mesopotamia and founded Israel.
e. Solomon, King David’s son, built Solomon’s Temple to house the
Torah.

7. VII. Phoenicians and Lydians
a. Phoenicians developed the first alphabet.
b. Phoenicians were adventurous traders in Mesopotamia.
1. Through trading they spread ideas and goods throughout the
Mediterranean Sea.
c. Trading linked the ancient world together and led to cultural
diffusion.
1. cultural diffusion- the blending of different cultures and
ideas.
d. When trading people usually bartered for goods.
1. Bartering is the exchange of goods and services for other
goods and services.
e. Lydians-invented the first coins to make trading easier.
Chapter Two
Lesson Three outline
I. Hammurabi
a. King of Babylon.
b. Hammurabi was a mean ruler who wanted a lot of power.

8. c. Created the Code of Hammurabi.
i. These were rules for behavior.
ii. Laws were created to protect the weak from the strong and
to keep the empire running effectively.
iii. Some laws were very harsh.
iv. The laws had different punishments for different crimes.
v. Believed in an “Eye for an Eye” and Tooth for a Tooth”
II. Babylon
a. Babylon was located in southern Mesopotamia and had fertile
soil.
b. Babylonians relied on irrigation for farming and trade.
c. Babylon was the center for culture and learning.
III. Nebuchadnezzar II
a. Nebuchadnezzar II was the Babylonian king years after
Hammurabi.
b. Nebuchadnezzar II wanted to make Babylon “Great and Glorious”
so he ordered many building projects and created the Hanging
Gardens.

9. c. Nebuchadnezzar II took over some of the Assyrian land when the
empire fell because of revolts.
d. Babylon became the center for trading and learning under
Nebuchadnezzar II’s rule.
i. Babylonians made advancements in math, science, and
astronomy.
e. The Persians invaded Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar’s death and
took over Babylon.
IV. Assyrians
a. The Assyrians developed at the same time as the Babylonians,
except they were in the north.
b. The Assyrians culture was influenced by the Babylonian culture,
except the Assyrians placed a lot of emphasis on war and
conquest.
c. The Assyrian created a large empire that eventually fell because
of the constant revolts.