THE MESOPOTAMIAN EMPIRE

Facts about the Mesopotamian Empire. Suitable for Year 9 History in Cambridge schools.

1. THE MESOPOTAMIAN EMPIRE

2. What Mesopotamia mean? The name Mesopotamia means "between rivers" because it is located between the Tigris and the Euphrates River.

3. WHERE IS MESOPOTAMIA? Mesopotamia is largely corresponding to the modern day Iraq , and also some parts of Syria , Turkey , and Iran .

4. WHO WAS THE FIRST KING? King Hammurabi was the first king.

5. HOW DID THEY GET DEVELOPED? Early settlers in Mesopotamia started to gather in small villages and towns . As they learned how to irrigate land and grow crops on large farms , the towns grew bigger. Eventually these towns became large cities. New inventions such as government and writing were formed to help keep order in the cities. The first human civilization was formed .

6. THINGS MESOPOTAMIAN INVENTED Wheels Chariot Sailboat Money Writing Seeder Plow Math Glass

7. WHEELS The oldest wheel known was found in Mesopotamia dated 3,500 BC. It was made of planks of wood joined together.

8. CHARIOT The chariots were one of the wheeled vehicles that the Mesopotamian people invented. I t has a platform for someone to stand on and wheels. They also would use the chariot to take very important people around the city.

9. SAILBOAT They created the sailboat for getting water from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. They also used the sailboat to go and fish in the rivers.

10. MONEY They invented a kind of money system by using clay tokens for trades. Tokens were of different sizes and shapes. The tokens were put into a clay ball with the number of tokens pressed on the outside.

11. WRITING The Mesopotamian invented a type of writing named " Cuneiform" which translates "wedge shaped". Writing was originally made for keeping track of what they bought or sold. Cuneiform was writing on a clay tablets with a pointed reed called a stylus.

12. SEEDER PLOW The Mesopotamians also invented the seeder plow, which was a revolutionary innovation. It allowed the farmer to simultaneously plow a field and seed it, reducing the time to plant and increasing crop production.

13. THE FIRST CALENDAR The Mesopotamians Invented the first calendar. They used the calendar to see when they should plant their crops and when they should harvest their crops . The solar year was divided into two seasons. The summer included the barley harvest in the second half of May.

14. THE FIRST CALENDAR

15. MATHS The Mesopotamians were experimenting with ways to count, measure and solve mathematical problems. They were the first people to give place values to numbers. They were first to recognize the concept of zero .

16. SHADUF The shaduf is a structure that helps transport water from a river or lake into a ditch or canal .

17. SHADUF

18. GLASS One day some sailors were going to go ashore to rest and cook something to eat. They gathered some wood and started a fire. They were on a beach so the wood and the fire were on top of sand. Surprisingly, the sand under the fire started to melt and this liquid started to run down.

19. After it cooled, it hardened and turned into a clear hard object. The Mesopotamians used the glass for art and initially they didn't use the glass for drinking out of. GLASS

20. GODS OF MESOPOTAMIANS Sumerian Gods Babylonian Gods Assyrian Gods

21. SUMERIAN GODS ANU - the god of the heavens and king of the gods. The city associated with Anu was Uruk. ENLIL - t he god of air, wind, and storms, Enlil held the Tablets of Destiny. These tablets gave him control over the fate of man and made him very powerful. He wore a crown with horns.

22. SUMERIAN GODS UTU - t he god of the sun as well as justice and the law, Utu is drawn holding a saw like instrument. Mythology says that Utu travels across the world each day in a chariot. INANNA - was the goddess of love and war. Her symbol is a star with eight points. NANNA - was also called Sin. He was the god of the moon.

23. BABYLONIAN GODS MARDUK - was the primary god of the Babylonians and had Babylon as his main city. He was considered the supreme god over all the other gods. He had as many as 50 different titles. He was sometimes pictured with his pet dragon. NERGAL - g od of the underworld, Nergal was an evil god who brought war and famine on the people. TIAMAT - g oddess of the sea, Tiamat is drawn as a huge dragon. Marduk defeated her in battle.

24. ASSYRIAN GODS ASHUR - t he primary god of the Assyrians. He was also the god of war and married to the goddess Ishtar. His symbols are a winged disc and the bow and arrow. ISHTAR - s imilar to Inanna, she was goddess of love and war .