Mesopotamia: cuneiform and the first city-states
FoundationMesopotamia — the land between the Tigris and Euphrates — nurtured the earliest civilisation: the Sumerians built city-states and invented cuneiform and the wheel; later Hammurabi issued a written law code to govern Babylon.
- Two rivers = Tigris + Euphrates; Mesopotamia = 'land between the rivers'
- Sumer: city-states, cuneiform, wheel, base-60; Hammurabi: among the earliest written law codes
- Cities, writing, written law — hallmarks of civilisation appeared first in Mesopotamia
§Text Passage
1Around 3500 BCE, city-states such as Ur and Uruk arose on the plain between the Tigris and the Euphrates, a region the Greeks later called Mesopotamia, 'the land between the rivers'. The rivers flooded on a regular cycle, laying down fertile silt, and farmers dug irrigation canals to bring the water to their fields. Harvests grew steady enough to feed a dense population, and cities, temples and markets followed, each town governing itself as an independent city-state.
2To keep track of taxes and grain stores, Sumerian scribes pressed wedge-shaped marks into clay tablets — cuneiform, one of the world's earliest writing systems. The Sumerians also gave the world the wheel, a lunar calendar and base-60 counting: a minute of sixty seconds and a circle of 360 degrees are both legacies of that system. At the centre of each city-state rose a ziggurat, where priests and the king ruled together and religion was woven into government.
3Around 2300 BC Sargon of Akkad conquered the Sumerian city-states by force and founded the first empire in human history, and rule over the rivers changed hands many times afterwards, with Assyria and Babylon dominating in turn. Hammurabi of Babylon (c. 1792–1750 BC) issued a famous code of 282 clauses carved on a black stone pillar for all to read — 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth' is its best-known rule, and written law open to everyone marked an early step towards the rule of law. In 539 BC Cyrus the Great of Persia took Babylon, and Mesopotamia passed into the Persian Empire.
4The region's cultural legacy runs just as deep. The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest surviving epic, asks lasting questions about heroism, friendship, death and immortality, and it survives thanks to the library of some 30,000 clay tablets that Ashurbanipal built at Nineveh. Cuneiform slowly died out and was deciphered again only in the nineteenth century. Cities, writing and written law are the three recognised hallmarks of civilisation, and all three appeared first here — which is why Mesopotamia is called the cradle of civilisation.
1Summary 重點摘要
Mesopotamia — the land between the Tigris and Euphrates — nurtured the earliest civilisation: the Sumerians built city-states and invented cuneiform and the wheel; later Hammurabi issued a written law code to govern Babylon.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
An independent state made of a city and its farmland, each with its own king and temple, e.g. Ur or Uruk.
Wedge-shaped signs pressed into wet clay with a reed stylus — one of the world's earliest scripts (c. 3200 BC).
The stepped temple platform at a Sumerian city's heart, dedicated to its patron god and central to civic life.
282 laws carved on a stone pillar by Babylon's King Hammurabi, famous for 'an eye for an eye' — among the earliest written law codes.
The arc of rich land from the Persian Gulf up the two rivers to the east Mediterranean — birthplace of farming and cities.
Greek for 'land between the rivers': the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates, in today's Iraq.
The first civilisation-builders of Mesopotamia: they founded city-states such as Ur and Uruk, and invented cuneiform, the wheel and a lunar calendar.
Building canals to bring river water to the fields; with fierce, unpredictable floods, irrigation was the lifeline of Sumerian farming.
3Step by step Steps
- c. 3500 BC: Sumerian city-states riseAround 3500 BC, city-states such as Ur and Uruk arose on the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates — a region the Greeks later named Mesopotamia, 'the land between the rivers'. The rivers flooded on a regular cycle, depositing fertile silt, and farmers dug irrigation canals to channel the water. Harvests grew stable enough to feed a dense population, and cities, temples and markets followed, arranged as independent city-states, each governing its own affairs.
- Sumerian inventionsIn their city life the Sumerians produced a string of far-reaching inventions. Cuneiform began as a temple tool for recording grain accounts and developed into a general writing system; they also gave the world the wheel, a lunar calendar and base-60 counting — the reason a minute has sixty seconds and a circle 360 degrees. At the heart of each city-state rose a ziggurat, where priests and kings governed together, religion and administration closely intertwined.
- c. 2300 BC: the first empireAround 2300 BC Sargon of Akkad conquered the Sumerian city-states by force and built the first empire in human history, folding once-independent cities under a single power. Afterwards rule over the rivers changed hands constantly: Ur, Assyria and Babylon dominated in turn amid nearly endless warfare, and the repeated swings between unity and division kept cultures and institutions mixing across the land.
- c. 1792–1750 BC: Hammurabi and his codeHammurabi, king of Babylon, united most of Mesopotamia during his reign and issued his famous Code. Its 282 clauses were carved on a black stone pillar and displayed in public, covering trade, marriage and compensation for injury, with 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth' the best-known rule. Punishments still varied by rank, yet because the law was written and open for anyone to consult, it marked an important step towards the idea of rule by law.
- LegacyThe region's cultural legacy runs just as deep: the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest surviving epic literature, asks enduring questions about heroism, friendship, death and immortality. Cuneiform gradually died out in later ages and was only deciphered again by scholars in the nineteenth century. Cities, writing and written law are the three recognised hallmarks of civilisation — all appeared first in Mesopotamia, which is why it is called the cradle of civilisation.
- Empires in relay: Assyria, Neo-Babylon, PersiaAfter Hammurabi the rivers saw endless rivalry. The Assyrian Empire (911–612 BC) ruled West Asia with iron-age armies, and Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh stored some 30,000 clay tablets — the Epic of Gilgamesh survives through it. Nebuchadnezzar II of Neo-Babylon (r. 605–562 BC) raised the Ishtar Gate and, by legend, the Hanging Gardens; in 539 BC Cyrus the Great of Persia took Babylon, and Mesopotamia passed into the Persian Empire.
4Diagrams Diagrams
5Worked example Example
Example: why is Mesopotamia called the 'cradle of civilisation'? Analyse with a chain: environment → farming → society → civilisation.
- Environment: the rivers regularly deposited fertile silt, though floods were unpredictable
- Farming: irrigation canals controlled the water → bumper barley and wheat, surplus grain
- Society: surplus fed craftsmen, priests and officials → division of labour
- Organisation: managing irrigation and grain needed institutions → city-states, writing (book-keeping) and law codes emerged
- Result: cities + writing + written law → the recognised earliest civilisation
- Answer: River water and silt made farming productive; surplus created labour and management needs, and city-states, cuneiform and law followed the chain — hence the 'cradle of civilisation'. Tip: for 'why here', push step by step from nature to institutions.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1Name three important Sumerian inventions.
Q2Who issued the Code of Hammurabi, and what was it carved on?
Q3What does the name 'Mesopotamia' mean?
Q4Who built history's first empire?
Q5Which ruler took Babylon in 539 BC, and to which empire did Mesopotamia then pass?
8Recap Recap
- Two rivers = Tigris + Euphrates; Mesopotamia = 'land between the rivers'
- Sumer: city-states, cuneiform, wheel, base-60; Hammurabi: among the earliest written law codes
- Cities, writing, written law — hallmarks of civilisation appeared first in Mesopotamia
- Irrigation fed the city-states; Sargon of Akkad built history's first empire
- The Epic of Gilgamesh = the oldest surviving epic; clay tablets let us reconstruct the earliest history