River Valley Civilizations: Mesopotamia• 3500 to 500 BC

The “Cradles of Civilization”

Where did the earliest civilizations develop?

• River valleys

Why did ancient civilizations develop in river valleys?

• They had rich soil for agriculture because periodic flooding left silt which made the soil

rich in nutrients

They were protected by geographic barriers (mountains, deserts, seas,

jungles, etc.)

Where were the earliest civilizations located and when did they exist?

E M I C

River Valley Civilizations

• Mesopotamia in Southwest Asia• Egypt in Northeast Africa• India in South Asia • China in East Asia• From west to east “EMIC”

(3500 BC to 500 BC)

What were some characteristics of the Ancient River Valley

civilizations?

Mesopotamia: SumerGeography

•Mesopotamia was a region located in the part of the Fertile Crescent that lies between

the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia• Present-day Iraq

(Middle East).

• Protected on three sides by mountains, deserts and the Persian Gulf (but vulnerable to invaders from the north)

• Sumer was the first known civilization• It arose in southern Mesopotamia

Sumerian Government

Sumer• Sumer was made up of 12 independent city- states

each ruled by its own king.• City-state: A city and the surrounding land

Cuneiform:• Cuneiform: the

first written language (wedge writing)

Irrigation:• Irrigation brought water from the rivers to

the fields during the dry summer months

Bronze

• Bronze melted from copper and tin

Other Sumerian Accomplishments

• Plow• Ziggurats• Wheeled vehicles• Number system

based on 60

Babylonian Empire• The first empire to arise in Mesopotamia

• Empire: several peoples, nations, or previously independent states under the

control of one ruler.

Code of Hammurabi

• First set of published laws

• Based on the principle of an “eye for an eye”

• Laws differed based on class