Why do we need laws?
It was important because it reinforced the role of the government in society and clearly established uniform laws and penalties for crimes.
Fertile Crescent
Arc of land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf
Mesopotamia
land between the rivers
Enviromental Challenges
-Unpredictable flooding combined with a period of little to no rain-Natural resources of Sumer were limited-No natural barriers
Solving problems through organization
-build walls for city's defense-build ditches to control water and produce crops-trade grain, cloth, and tools for raw materials; stone, wood, and medal
Sumerians
first people to form a civilization
Charateristics of civilization
-sumerians build cities surrounding by fields of crops-is a city-state an independent political-each city-state has a temple for the gods
priests and rulers share control
-some military leaders became rulers (dynasties rule after 2500 BC)-dynasty: series of rulers from a family
The spread of cities
Culture Diffusion: process of one culture spreading to others
Sumerians culture
-believes in many different gods-thought gods control forces of nature-gods behave and people are the gods servants-life after death is dark and gloomy
Sumerians Society
-social classes; kings, landowners, and priest are at the top-middle level were the merchants-lowest levels are slaves-women had many rights; they became priests , merchants, and artisans
sumerians science and technology
-inventes: wheel, sail, and plow-make advances in arithmetic and geometrydeveloped: arches, columns, ramps, and pyramids for building-complex system of writing; cuneiform-study astronomy, chemistry, and medicine
first empire builders
-time of war:3000 to 2000 BC (city-states under constant war)-sargon of Akkad defeats city-state of sumer-sargon of Akkad created his first empire-his dynasty lasted 200 years
babylonians empire
-nomadic warriors take control of region around 2000 BC-peaks during the hammurabi's laws/codes
Hammurabi's codes
-first set of laws-282 laws on all aspects of life-set of punishments depending to social classes and gender -for government to take responsibility for order and justice