Transcript Mesopotamia - Cloudfront.net

Mesopotamia
“The land between the rivers”
“The earliest civilization in
history”
“Creation out of Chaos!”
Geographical influence on
Mesopotamia
Known as the “land between the rivers”
 Location – Middle East, “Fertile Crescent”
 Rolling hills, plains, open land, rivers, very few natural
obstacles
 Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
 “UNPREDICTABLE” environment led to a “CHAOTIC”
society

Beginnings of civilization
Mesopotamia was about…

Cooperation – (choose any 5)  Conflict – (choose any 3)
 City-states
 Independent thinking
 Trade
 Rivalries and jealousy
 Controlling the environment
 Warfare
 Religion
 Territory
 Laws and government
 Controlling the
environment
 Number systems
 Written/spoken language
 Time/record keeping
 Knowledge…
Cooperation was vital to
surviving in the Fertile
Crescent, but conflict
has always prevented a
permanent lasting
civilization.
Cultural Characteristics…
 Regions
that were key to Mesopotamian
development – Sumer, Akkad, Ur, Kish, Babylon
(amongst others)
 Trade
throughout the region was vital; allowed for
necessities and growth
Basic Facts
During the 4th Millennium BCE the region and its areas grew in population and
continually developed; concept of CHAOS is significant to
understanding long-term ramifications of Mesopotamia
Two rivers = support system of Tigris & Euphrates
Little rainfall, barley, wheat and peas were main crops
Flat land; few natural barriers
6000 BCE - small scale irrigation began
Sumer (Southern half of Mesopotamia) grew rapidly
5000 BCE - Sumerians in area (elaborate irrigation systems)
4000 BCE - 1st major cites (Sumerians); Neolithic villages vs. Cities
Cities - military and political centers; economic marketplaces; cultural centers
3000 BCE - 100,000 people in Sumer
many Semitic people followed (Akkadian, Aramaic, Hebrew and
Phoenician)
From which regions of Middle East did these peoples originate? –
Arabian/Syrian deserts; intermarried with Sumerians; assimilation
1. Pottery
2. Woodworking
6. Textile
3. leather production
7. Manufacturing
4. brick making
8. Metallurgy
5. Masonry
Charismatic leaders led to a hierarchy
of inherited leadership
Rivalries were primarily over
resources and hatred
Social hierarchy – Ruling
family/government leaders –
priests/artisans/merchants – peasant
farmers – slaves/prisoners/debtors
Cuneiform –
Earliest written
language
Found on clay tablets
Known as “wedgeshaped”
Carvings in wet clay
and then dried
Used a stylus to write
and keep records and
important information
Written language
allowed for rulers to
codify their leadership
Civil law –
Private laws dealing
with personal issues
Criminal Law –
Public laws dealing with
public safety issues
•Religion –
•Polytheistic, control of everything in life and
nature, gods like ordinary people (flaws), gods
favored truth and justice (control) but
experienced suffering and violence (river
flooding)
•Built ziggurats (step pyramids)
•Superstitions, sacrificial offerings of animals
•Believed in a “life after death”
Over-riding mentalities in Mesopotamia –
Live life to the fullest
Death is inevitable
Grim existence in the afterlife (cave of
dust and bone, eat mud, darkness,
ghosts/spirits)
Other Middle Eastern Peoples…
Akkadians
Babylonians
Hittites
Phoenicians
Hebrews
Assyrians
Lydians
Persians
Akkadians
 2400
b.c.
 Southern Mesopotamia
 City-state
 Sargon created first
Mesopotamian empire
 Conquered
environment and
neighbors
Babylonians
 1790
b.c.
 Central Mesopotamia
 City-state
 Hammurabi created
first written
laws…called the
“Code of Hammurabi”
– 282 laws
 “Eye for an eye, tooth
for a tooth”
Hittites
 1600
b.c.
 Northwest of
Mesopotamia
 Warlike cultural group
 Brought “iron”
technology to Middle
East
 Premeditation and
fines for breaking laws
 1200
Phoenicians
b.c.
 Western Middle East
on Mediterranean Sea
 Sea-faring people who
became “greatest
traders of the ancient
world”
 Colony creation
throughout
Mediterranean
 Alphabet
 1200
b.c.
 Western Middle East
 Ancestors of modern
Jews
 Peaceful, hard-working,
valued human life
 10 commandments,
covenant, prophets, Old
Testament stories JUDAISM
 Good vs. evil
 Ethical monotheism
Hebrews
 900
b.c.
Assyrians
 Most hated of all
ancient peoples
 Fierce, cruel, violent,
warlike
 Cavalry, iron weapons,
battering rams
 Killed or enslaved
enemies
 Terrorized
Mesopotamia
Lydians
 600
b.c.
 Western Middle East
 Introduced coins to
world history
 Used barter (trade), but
simplified it by having
a money economy
 500
b.c.
 North of Mesopotamia
 Efficient government
and postal system
 Believed in justice,
fairness, tolerance and
assimilation
 “Why recreate the
wheel?”
 “Lying bad, truth
good!”
Persians
REMEMBER…
The region known as Mesopotamia
consisted of many civilizations that
developed in a crowded, crazy,
chaotic environment; but somehow
this region developed unique cultural
characteristics that transformed
World History.
Mesopotamia
and
Middle East Peoples
3250 b.c. to 500 b.c.