I.  Geography
   A. meaning of Mesopotamia 
       The Land Between the Rivers
        the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers --
        yearly floods enriched soil
   B. fertility caused by yearly floods spread
       the Agricultural Revolution -
        by ca. 3100 B.C. Sumerians lived
        in cities
   C. agriculture improved using irrigation,
        plows
   D. trade expanded using carts and boats
   E. technological developments: wheel,
       potter's wheel, copper tools
   F. constant warfare between city-states
       over land, resources
   G. general pessimistic attitude of
        Mesopotamians
Characteristics of Mesopotamian Civilization
II. The Sumerians    & Akkadians
   A. location of Sumer
   B. Early City States:
       i. Ur
       ii. Uruk
       iii. Lagash
   C. importance of religion --
    The Sumerians and Their Gods
       i. the ziggurat
       ii. government -- priests - kings --
           theocracy eventually replaced by
           kings
       iii. market place
  D. General cultural characteristics
        i. specialization of labor: priests,
           soldiers, craftsmen, scribes
        ii. Cuneiform
           pictographs on clay Tablets    
      Before the Printing Press

        iii. schools for scribes - provided
            historians with records of business
            transactions, laws, religious beliefs
        iv. mythology
III.  Empires
    New Societies in West Asia
    War and Politics in Sumer and
    Akkad to Sargon
   a. The Akkadians
      i. empire from Persian Gulf to
         Mediterranean Sea
      ii. the Akkadian Language   
     b. The Amorites  (Babylon)
         conquered Mesopotamia
      i. cultural achievements: influenced by
         Sumerians
         a. mathematics - advances in algebra
             and geometry
         b. astronomy
         c. architecture -- ziggurat at
             Babylon/observatory
         d. the reign of Nebuchadnezzar
             i. Hanging Gardens
             ii. the Babylonian Captivity
         e. Hammurabi's Code of Laws
             influenced all aspects of life
            i. punishment based on an eye for
               an eye, a tooth for a tooth
            ii. inequalities between classes
            iii. slaves and women under the
               code
The Code of Hammurabi with definitions
         f. mythology:
            i. creation legend
            ii.  The Epic of Gilgamesh:
   Religion in Sumerian Life
              a. the story
              b. what it reveals about
                  Mesopotamian Kingship and
                  the city state
              c. the outlook on life and the
                  afterlife:
                  i.  The serpent and the plant
                  ii. Gilgamesh and immortality

   Mesopotamia

      Old Sumerian Age

      Empire of Sargon of Akkad    

      Images of  Classical Akkad      

      Mesopotamian Timeline

       Ancient Near Eastern Art

       The Ancient World Web

       Hyper History Online