Mesopotamia

media type="custom" key="12052003"
Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning “land between two rivers.” It was a piece of land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. Mesopotamia’s land was very rich in soil even though it seldom rained. The people used it as a great source for crops and were able to start a civilization on it.

The Sumerian people were the first to settle on Mesopotamia. The Sumerians adapted very well to their new land and were able to form city-states. Mud bricks were used to build buildings and temples. The Gods and Goddesses were built massive temples and on them were stepped towers called ziggurats. The ziggurats were used as a way for the people to become closer to heaven and for the rulers to feel as if they owned the city. The people were ruled under a theocracy government, so nobody had the final say except to God or Goddess. The society in Mesopotamia was mainly based off of farming and crops, but the people there were very well known for their work with metal. They were very good traders and could make these products and get money for them. They used a system called the Code of Hammurabi as the laws. They were very strict and were dominated by men.

The Sumerian people were very good with their hands. They were able to create cuneiform and were also able to build tools for the crafts work. Without all of their crops and craftsmanship the Sumerian people would not have been able to operate properly in such a great society.

media type="custom" key="11416792"

**__5 important people__** __**5 terms**__
 * 1) **__Sargon-__** the king of Akkad and the first king of the Agade Dynasty. He is famous for conquering the nearby city-states of Sumeria.
 * 2) **__Hammurabi__**- Made the Code of Hammurabi which were extremely strict. He also gained control of Sumer and Akkad and created a new Mesopotamian kingdom.
 * 3) **__Gilgamesh-__** Story about Gilgamesh who has superhuman strengths and built the walls of Uruk, and who was an historical king of Uruk in Babylonia.
 * 4) **__Sir Leonard Wooley__ ** - (1927) He brought the ideas of wealth and human sacrifice . He was also in a constant war over land and water.
 * 5) **__Nebuchadnezzar__**- (605 B.C.) He was the leader of the Chaldeans who defeated the Assyrians and rebuilt Babylon. He is very famous in biblical text.
 * 1) __**Fertile Crescent-**__ An arc of land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It is called the fertile crescent, because the land of that area is very fertile.
 * 2) **__Ziggurat- __** Massive stepped tower that was supposedly used by Gods to look over the city and to be closer to heaven.
 * 3) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">__**Theocracy**__- A government based off of a system of authority, in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance.
 * 4) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">__**Patriarchal**__- The system that mesopotamian society was ruled by men, and that they were the primary figure. The males had rule over women, children, and property.
 * 5) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">__**Polytheistic**__- A contradiction to monotheistic religion, because it's where you beieve in many Gods. This doesn't mean though that they believe in every God equally.

media type="custom" key="12053161"

__<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">5 Links __ ========
 * [|Mesopotamia] -This link shows geographical features of Mesopotamia and historical information about it.
 * __Ancient Mesopotamia__ - This link shows a lot of pictures about history from ancient Mesopotamia.
 * __Life in Mesopotamia__ - This link shows information on the history of Mesopotamia.
 * __Terminology__ - This link gives a lot of definitions for terms related to ancient Mesopotamia.
 * [|History of Mesopotamia]- This link is about sources to information on Mesopotamia and a timeline on what happens and when it happens.