LESSON 4 civilization ancient city-state empire justice You ve learned about how agriculture led to the first villages. Now read this selection to find out how the first villages grew into larger cities. Mesopotamia The Fertile Crescent Over time, the first farming villages grew into civilizations. A civilization is an organized group of people with advanced knowledge. The first civilization was in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia lies between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the Middle East. In fact, Mesopotamia means the land between the rivers. Mesopotamia is part of a larger area called the Fertile Crescent. A fertile region is able to grow crops. Many ancient, or very old, civilizations grew up in the Fertile Crescent. Why did the first civilizations appear in Mesopotamia? Fertile soil made it easier to grow food for many people. Farmers dug ditches to bring water from the rivers to their fields. This is called irrigation. The rivers The Fertile Crescent made it easier to move from place to place. Fertile MESOPOTAMIA People also used the Crescent Akkad rivers for trade. Euphrates River Tigris River Caspian Sea The Great Sea (Mediterranean Sea) Babylon Sumer Lower Sea (Persian Gulf) EGYPT ARABIA Nile River Red Sea 22 Mesopotamia
Sumer The first civilization appeared in southern Mesopotamia about 3000 b.c. It was called Sumer. Sumerians lived in city-states. A city-state was a city and the land around it. City-states were separate and had their own rulers. The Sumerian city-states often went to war with each other. These wars weakened them. About 2350 b.c., the neighboring Akkadians were able to conquer, or take control of, Sumer. Their powerful king, Sargon, set up the world s first empire. An empire is a large area of land ruled by one person. But Sargon s empire did not last. After about 500 years, a new people conquered Mesopotamia. This Sumerian box shows food being brought to a feast as guests listen to a musician play. Hammurabi and the Babylonians The new people were the Babylonians. They built a great city, Babylon, on the banks of the Euphrates. Babylon became a trade center. Under its king, Hammurabi, Babylon conquered its neighbors in the Fertile Crescent. It became a large empire. Hammurabi is famous for his code, or group of laws. He combined the best laws from each city-state. The Code of Hammurabi tried to bring justice, or fair laws, to everyone. The Code explained what deeds were crimes. It covered farm and business activities. It also covered family life. The laws were fair, but they were also cruel. They required harsh punishments for crimes. A punishment is a penalty for doing wrong. Hammurabi created the first code of laws. My Social Studies Vocabulary Go to page 95 to list other words you have learned about Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia 23
A. Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word. 1. a group of laws organized in a clear way 2. very old 3. take control of 4. an organized group of people 5. a city and the land around it 6. penalty for doing wrong - 7. able to grow crops 8. the state of having fair laws 9. a large area of land ruled by one person 10. using ditches to bring water from rivers to farm fields 24 Mesopotamia
B. Circle the word that makes sense in each sentence. Then write the word. 1. An early (code, city-state) known as Sumer was the first civilization. 2. The code of Hammurabi is an (ancient, irrigation) collection of laws. 3. The king of Babylon was famous for his (punishment, code) of laws. 4. Sumer, the world s first (civilization, irrigation), grew up in Mesopotamia. 5. A penalty for doing wrong is known as a (punishment, justice). 6. The purpose of a code of laws is to bring (civilization, justice) to everyone. 7. Digging ditches to carry water to farm fields is called (justice, irrigation). 8. People called the Akkadians were able to (fertile, conquer) or take control of, Sumer. 9. Hammurabi s (empire, city-state) came about when Babylon conquered its neighbors in the Fertile Crescent. 10. A (fertile, ancient) region is able to grow crops. WORD ROOT The word justice comes from the Latin word justitia, which means righteousness. Mesopotamia 25
C. Choose the correct vocabulary word to complete each sentence. 1. The Akkadians were able to, or take control of, Sumer. 2. A was a city and the land around it. 3. Laws like Hammurabi s code are meant to bring to a people. 4. Over time, the first farming villages combined to become a. 5. Mesopotamia is part of a larger area called the Crescent. 6. The Babylonian king created a of laws using the best laws from each city-state. 7. Bringing water from rivers to farm fields is called. 8. The code of Hammurabi often required a harsh for a crime. 9. Sargon, king of the Akkadians, set up the world s first. 10. Many, or very old, civilizations grew up in the Fertile Crescent. 26 Mesopotamia
D. Use each word in a sentence that shows you understand the meaning of the word. 1. fertile 2. city-state 3. civilization 4. code 5. punishment 6. empire 7. irrigation 8. justice 9. conquer 10. ancient Write! Write your response to the prompt on a separate sheet of paper. Use as many vocabulary words as you can in your writing. Imagine that you were asked to create a code of laws, like Hammurabi s. Write the introduction to your code. Explain what the main ideas of your law code are. Mesopotamia 27