Facts about the Mesopotamian Empire. Suitable for Year 9 History in Cambridge schools.

2. The name Mesopotamia means "between rivers"
because it is located between the Tigris and the
Euphrates River.

3. Mesopotamia is largely corresponding to the
modern day Iraq, and also some parts of Syria,
Turkey, and Iran.

4. WHO WAS THE FIRST KING?
King Hammurabi was the first king.

5. Early settlers in Mesopotamia started to gather
in small villages and towns.
As they learned how to irrigate land and grow
crops on large farms, the towns grew bigger.
Eventually these towns became large cities.
New inventions such as government and writing
were formed to help keep order in the cities. The
first human civilization was formed.

6. • Wheels
• Chariot
• Sailboat
• Money
• Writing
• Seeder Plow
• Math
• Glass

7. The oldest wheel known was found in
Mesopotamia dated 3,500 BC. It was made of
planks of wood joined together.

8. CHARIOT
The chariots were one of the wheeled vehicles
that the Mesopotamian people invented.
It has a platform for someone to stand on and
wheels. They also would use the chariot to take
very important people around the city.

9. They created the sailboat for getting water from
the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. They also used the
sailboat to go and fish in the rivers.

10. MONEY
They invented a kind of money system by
using clay tokens for trades. Tokens were of
different sizes and shapes. The tokens were
put into a clay ball with the number of tokens
pressed on the outside.

11. The Mesopotamian invented a type of writing
named "Cuneiform" which translates "wedge
shaped". Writing was originally made for
keeping track of what they bought or sold.
Cuneiform was writing on a clay tablets with a
pointed reed called a stylus.

13. SEEDER PLOW
The Mesopotamians also invented the seeder
plow, which was a revolutionary innovation. It
allowed the farmer to simultaneously plow a field
and seed it, reducing the time to plant and
increasing crop production.

14. The Mesopotamians Invented the first calendar.
They used the calendar to see when they should
plant their crops and when they should harvest
their crops. The solar year was divided into two
seasons. The summer included the barley
harvest in the second half of May.

16. The Mesopotamians were experimenting with
ways to count, measure and solve mathematical
problems. They were the first people to give
place values to numbers. They were first to
recognize the concept of zero.

17. The shaduf is a structure that helps transport
water from a river or lake into a ditch or canal.

19. One day some sailors were going to go ashore
to rest and cook something to eat. They
gathered some wood and started a fire. They
were on a beach so the wood and the fire were
on top of sand. Surprisingly, the sand under
the fire started to melt and this liquid started
to run down.

20. After it cooled, it hardened and turned into a
clear hard object. The Mesopotamians used the
glass for art and initially they didn't use the glass
for drinking out of.

21. GODS OF MESOPOTAMIANS
Sumerian Gods
Babylonian Gods
Assyrian Gods

22. SUMERIAN GODS
ANU - the god of the heavens and king of the
gods. The city associated with Anu was Uruk.
ENLIL - the god of air, wind, and storms, Enlil
held the Tablets of Destiny. These tablets gave
him control over the fate of man and made him
very powerful. He wore a crown with horns.

23. SUMERIAN GODS
UTU - the god of the sun as well as justice and
the law, Utu is drawn holding a saw like
instrument. Mythology says that Utu travels
across the world each day in a chariot.
INANNA - was the goddess of love and war. Her
symbol is a star with eight points.
NANNA - was also called Sin. He was the god of
the moon.

24. MARDUK - was the primary god of the Babylonians
and had Babylon as his main city. He was
considered the supreme god over all the other
gods. He had as many as 50 different titles. He was
sometimes pictured with his pet dragon.
NERGAL - god of the underworld, Nergal was an evil
god who brought war and famine on the people.
TIAMAT - goddess of the sea, Tiamat is drawn as a
huge dragon. Marduk defeated her in battle.

25. ASHUR - the primary god of the Assyrians. He
was also the god of war and married to the
goddess Ishtar. His symbols are a winged disc
and the bow and arrow.
ISHTAR - similar to Inanna, she was goddess of
love and war.