City-States in Mesopotamia
Why do we need laws?
- To protect people
- Hammurabi's Code
Fertile Crescent
- Only area between Persian Golf and the Mediterranean Sea that doesn't have a desert like climate
- Curved shape and richness make it known as the fertile crescent
- Also called Mesopotamia (gk. meaning "land between the rivers")
- Between the Tigris and Euphrates river
- These rivers flood and lay a bed of silt which makes the land fertile and rich
Environmental Challenges
- Unpredictable flooding combined with a period of drought
- With no natural barriers for protection, a Sumerian village was nearly defenseless
- The natural recourses were limited
- Building resources and other necessary items were scarce.
Solving Problems Through Organization
- To provide water they dug irrigation ditches
- For defense, they built city walls with mud bricks
- Bartering
Characteristics of a City-State
- Advanced cities
- Complex institutions
- Improved Technology
- Record Keeping
- Specialized Workers
Projects such as irrigation systems required leadership and laws-the beginnings of organized government. In some society's, priests controlled the governments, in others, military leaders and kings ruled. In time of war, the priest did not leave the city. Instead, the men of the city chose a tough fighter that could command the cities soldiers. At first the commanders power ended as soon as the war was over, but after 3000BC, wars became more frequent and Sumerian priests and people gave commanders permanent control.
Sumer's city-states grew prosperous due to surplus food produced on their farms. Their surpluses allowed Sumerians to increase long distance trade, exchanging the extra foods and other goods for items they need. This trading with other city-states is a process in which a new idea or product, spreads from one culture to another, which is Cultural Diffusion.
No comments:
Post a Comment