Mesopotamia -- Politics

​Mesopotamia -- Politics

Multiple Select

Which landforms were part of Mesopotamia?

PICK 2

• Rivers

• Desert

• Mountains

• Ocean

Multiple Choice

Which two rivers surrounded Mesopotamia? 

• Tigris and Euphrates

• Jerico and Nile 

Multiple Choice

What continent was Mesopotamia on?

• Africa

• Asia

• North America

Multiple Choice

Where was Mesopotamia located?

• Iraq

• United States

• Egypt

• Italy

Multiple Choice

The Sumerians believed in:

• one god

• two gods

• many gods

• no gods

Multiple Choice

The belief in many gods is called:

• Monotheism

• Polytheism

• Religion

Multiple Choice

The people of Mesopotamia invented written language called:

• hieroglyphics
• alphabet
• kanji
• cuneiform

Multiple Choice

When writing was invented ______ ended.

• prehistory

• ancient times

• Stone Age

• common era

Multiple Select

What are two achievements from Mesopotamia that helped with transportation?

• Sail

• Motor

• Wheel

• Engine

• GPS

Multiple Choice

Mesopotamia was the first civilization to:

• elect a woman as a the president

• write a long story about superhero

• start a war with another civilization

• hunt and gather

Multiple Choice

Gilgamesh learned that:

• It is better to be strong than smart

• Power is the most important thing in life

• No one can live forever

Politics is the way that people living in groups make decisions.

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Politics is about making agreements between people so that they can live safely together in civilizations.

Multiple Choice

What topic would be in politics?

• Invention of writing

• farming

• laws and rules

Multiple Choice

What is the point of government?

• To make people wear funny hats

• To provide pets for every citizen that wants one

• To make and enforce rules to keep people safe

• To make people believe what you believe

In Sumer, each city-state was ruled by a king.

​

They believed the gods chose the kings to rule

​

Kings were very powerful​ and had the most power

Monarchy

• Control of government is in the hands of a Monarch (King, Queen)

• Usually they are in charge for life and their children become the new Monarch

• An example of a Monarchy is England (UK), Australia, Japan, Canada

Multiple Choice

What type of government has a king or queen in charge of it?

• Democracy

• Monarchy

• Socialism

• Dictatorship

Multiple Choice

Mesopotamia was a

• democracy

• monarchy

• dictatorship

• civilization with no government

Kings enforced laws and collected taxes.

​

The king led the city-state's army​

Kings had helpers called nobles.

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The nobles helped make laws.​

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Scribes were trained to write in cuneiform and wrote down the laws.​

​King Hammurabi

• ​Hammurabi became the king of Babylon (one of the empires)

• ​He was a good military leader and a skilled ruler

• ​He built many public buildings and helped to promote trade to other lands.

Draw

Locate Babylon on the map

Multiple Choice

Who was Hammurabi?

• A king

• A scribe

• A lawyer

King Hammurabi recorded the laws for the empire​.

​

The Code of Hammurabi was written down on clay tablets and etched into stone. It is one of the oldest recorded codes of laws in the world

​

Multiple Choice

Why is Hammurabi well known?

• He was a scribe and wrote down information.

• He wrote the first laws for an empire.

​Hammurabi's Code

• ​He is best known for his creation of Hammurabi's code

• ​This is a set of law code that people had to follow that lived in his empire

• ​Many of these laws already existed but Hammurabi wanted to ensure that his people understand

​Hammurabi's Code

• ​Includes nearly 300 laws!

• ​The code states what punishments are for the crimes

• ​This was the first time laws had been written down and governed a society.

Multiple Choice

Which civilization had the first recorded laws?

• Egypt

• Mesopotamia

• China

• India

Poll

Does 300 laws sound like a lot?

• No it's not too many.

• Yes that is way too many.

Multiple Choice

Who had to follow the laws?

• People in Mesopotamia

• Everyone around the world

Open Ended

At age 13, Isaac punched his father, Jonathan, in the face because he wouldn’t let him play video games.

What would you do?

Poll

Isaac's hand would have been cut off for hitting his father.

Do you agree with Hammurabi's Code #195 in response to this scenario?

• Yes, the punishment was just.

• No, the punishment was too harsh.

Open Ended

Dr. Bowman performed surgery on Esther.  Sadly, Esther died on the operating table.

What would you do?

Poll

Dr. Bowman's hand would be cut off as a result of Esther dying on her operating table.

Do you agree with Hammurabi's Code #218 in response to this scenario?

• Yes, the punishment was just.

• No, the punishment was too harsh.

Open Ended

Ms. Bennes sneaks into Dr. Irwin's room and steals their laptop.

What would you do?

Poll

Ms. Bennes would be put to death for stealing from Dr. Irwin!

Do you agree with Hammurabi's Code in this scenario?

• Yes, the punishment was just.

• No, the punishment was too harsh.

Hammurabi's Code

• If a man puts out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. (An eye for an eye)

• If he breaks another man's bone, his bone shall be broken.

• If a man knocks out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out (A tooth for a tooth) ​

Subject | Subject

Poll

Hammurabi's Code was _____

• Fair

• Very Strict

Open Ended

One of his laws states, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." What does this mean?