Section+2-1+City+States+in+Mesopotamia


 * Notes on section 2-1:**

- Fertile Crescent: A piece of land that has a curved shape and has rich land. It includes the land facing the Mediterranean Sea and the plain, Mesoptamia. (Now: Syria, nothern Iraq, Turkey) - Mesoptamia: A plain. "Land between Rivers" - City-state: Includes Uruk, Kish, Lagash, Umma, and Ur. Had the temple of ziggurat right in the middle. - Dynasty: A series of rulers from a single family. - Culutral Diffusion: The process in which a new idea or a product spread frome one culture to another.
 * -Bold Words-**

- Scholars: Came up with the name Fertile Crescent - Sumerians: Liked Mesopotamia because of the good soil - Dynasties: Ruled most of the city-states - Enlil: The god of storms and air was a very powerful god. "The raging flood that has no rivals" - Ugallu: Demons that protected humans from evil demons who caused discase, misfortune, and misery.
 * -Key people-**

__Geography of the Fertile Crescent:__
 * -Key ideas/events-**
 * In South-west Asia, the land known as Fertile Crescent was great farming land because it provided great farming.
 * After the Mesopotamia would get floded once a year, it provided a type of mud called silt. Silt was essential for farmers because they would plant grain in silt and irrigated the fields with river water.

//~Enviromental Challenges with Mesopotamia~// - randoms floods and occasionally little to no rain - unpredictable - defenseless because there were no barriers - Vital materials were scarce

//~Solutions~// - To recieve water they dug irrigation ditches which helped grow crops - Built city walls with mud bricks - In order to recieve vital materials they traded grain, cloth and crafted tools for stone, wood and metal with the people of the mtns. and desert.
 * To get these jobs done you had to have organization, cooperation and leadership.

__Sumerians Create City-States:__ //~Priests and Rulers Share Control~// //~The Spread of Cities~//
 * The summerians was one of the first group of people to create civilization.
 * 300 B.C: The summierans expanded their land and built more cities my kept their same culture just changed rules/government. Each city had a city-state.
 * Farmers believed that priests could communicate with god and give farmers good crops. The priests controlled the irrigation system and for taxes asked the farmers for some of their crops.
 * When war came a commander was chosen and their role would end after a war. After more frequent wars occured commanders had full control of the army.
 * After 2500 B.C. many Sumerian city-states were ruled by dynasties.
 * A large amount of crops lets the Sumer's to trade with people from further away.
 * By 2500 B.C. the Sumer's were exchanging ideas about living in cities with another culture.

__Sumerian Culture:__ //~A Religion of Many Gods~// //~Life in Sumerian Society~// ~//Sumerian Science and Technology~//
 * Summerian's believed in Polytheism. The most powerful god was Enlil.
 * They believed their gods had children, fell in love, etc but were also immortal and all-powerful. Believed in keeping the gods happy by sacrifices.
 * They believed the souls of the dead went to the "land of no return."
 * Social Classes: Kings, Landholders, preists, wealthy merchants, field workers, workshops, captured slaves, and sold slaves(would buy back their freedom)
 * Women: merchants, farmers, or artisans, have property, and join priesthood. Rich woman could learn to read and write.
 * Sumer's invented the wheel. the sail, the plow, first to use bronze.
 * Came up with a number system in order to erect city walls and buildings. It was 60 seconds = 1 minute and 360 degrees in a circle.
 * The ziggurat pyramids need to have arches, columns, ramps. Influenced Mesopotamian civilization.
 * Created writing and astronomy, chemistry and medicine. Made the first map in 2300 B.C. with a clay tablet.

__The First Empire Builders:__
 * 3000 to 2000 B.C. the city-states were constantly fighting and it weakened the culture from other attacks from other non sumerian people. They later seperated to meet their own needs.