The peoples of Mesopotamia built one of the first civilizations. They developed cities and struggled with organization as they moved from individual communities to larger territorial units and then to empires. They invented writing to keep records, and they created literature. They constructed monumental buildings and developed new political, military, social, and religious structures. The Mesopotamians left detailed records that allow us to view how they wrestled with three fundamental problems that humans have pondered: the nature of human relationships, the nature of the universe, and the role of divine forces in that universe.
Students will be able to:
Explain how floods sometimes helped the farmers of Mesopotamia.
Describe how the Sumerian ideas and inventions that have been passed on to other civilizations.
Compare the social classes of Sumer.
Find the main reason why Hammurabi’s Code was important.
Describe how the Assyrians ruled their empire.
Explain why Babylon was an important city in the ancient world.