•Small Neolithic villages began to grow into large complex cities in a land of rolling hills and low plains called Mesopotamia. •Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means the “land between the rivers.”

Mesopotamia: A Difficult Environment

The first cities were like small, independent countries. They had their own ruler , as well as their own farmland, which provided food. This is why the Sumerians communities were called city states.

The Mesopotamians (Sumerians) environment was hilly and dry with many stones. (rocks)

Food Shortages in the Hills

An area that was good for farming was the foothills of the Zagros mountains because of the mild weather and plentiful rains.

Problems began with the Zagros region because they city state did not have enough land to grow for with an increasing population and food shortages began.

Food Shortages in the Hills

The Zagros people began to move South to Sumner in the plains because of the river access of the Euphrates and Tigris River.

This region was now known as Sumner and its people the Sumerians.

An Uncontrolled Water Supply

Two factors that made farming challenging in Sumner was the rocky soil and the floods in the spring caused by the melting of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from the winter.

The Sumerians built dams and Reservoirs to store water that could be used later.

Building and Maintaining a Complex Irrigation System

Levees were also built in Ancient Sumer to prevent flooding.

Another challenge Sumerians faced was maintaining the irrigation system for constant water supply.

Silt began to build up and clog up the canals , so farmers had to clean them regularly .

Attacks by Neighboring Communities

The Sumerians had to protect themselves from neighboring communities and most built strong walls around their cities built from brick made of mud.

To control the ever important water supply the Sumerians had to cooperate with fellow city states to control the irrigation systems.

From Small Farming Village to large City States

To defend themselves from other city states the Sumerians built walls and moats around their cities.