9th Grade Global Egypt & Mesopotamia Questions

What environmental challenges did Mesopotamia face?
Unpredictable flooding of the river
Desert-like climate
Limited natural resources for building
No natural barriers for protection, leaving Sumerian villages defenseless

What problems did Mesopotamians solve through organization?
For water, they dug irrigation ditches that took river water to their fields and helped them to produce an extra amount of crops.
They built their own city walls for protection and to defend themselves from mud bricks.
Sumerians traded their food, resources, and clothes with people from the mountains and desert. They received raw materials such as stone, wood, and metal in return.
These activities required organization, cooperation, and leadership. It took many people that worked together to complete these tasks.

What control did priests and rulers share?
Priests and rulers controlled the governments
Priests acted as go-betweens with the gods
Priests managed the irrigation system
Military leaders became full-time rulers
Rulers passed their power to their sons
Priests acted as go-betweens with the gods while giving the farmer's crops blessings.
Priests also managed the irrigation system and collected a portion of crops as taxes.
Rulers passed their power on to their sons, this series of rulers were called dynasties
In war times, rulers took complete control of the cities

How did Sumerian cities spread?
Surplus food was produced on their farms
Exchanged products and ideas
Surpluses of food allowed trade
Participated in cultural diffusion

What gods did the Sumerians worship?
The Sumerians were Polytheistic, which means they worshiped more than one god. Some of these include Enlil, the god of wind, and Ugallu, the god of the underworld. These gods were believed to be immortal and all-powerful while humans were just their slaves. Sumerians said the gods did things that humans do, such as falling in love, having children, and fighting. Sumerians worked hard to gain safety from the gods. This changed after death. Sumerians believed that they went to a 'land of no return'. Here, the gods did not help them.

What was life like in Sumerian society?
Life in Sumarian society was divided by social status. Kings, landholders, and some priests were the top level. They were followed by merchants. All the way at the bottom were the slaves. Most of the Sumerian Society was made up of the people who worked in the fields or workshops. Women were also allowed to own land, and work as merchants, farmers, or artisans.

What was Sumerian technology like?
Invented the wheel, the sail, and the plow
Used arithmetic and geometry
Had architectural innovations
Made cuneiform

Who was Sargon of Akkad?
A conqueror who defeated the city states of Sumer in 2350 B.C.

What was Hammurabi's Code?
A single uniform code of laws that would help to unify the diverse groups within his empire. It had 282 laws and it protected women and children from unfair treatment. It shows the beliefs of Mesopotamians.

What was the Babylonian Empire?
Babylonian was an establishment of Amorites on the Euphrates River