Transcript Sumer and Babylon

Sumer and Babylon
3000 B.C.
 Around the time that
Menes unified Egypt,
about a dozen small
cities dotted
Mesopotamia. This
area was known as
Sumer.
The Sumerians
 Valued Independence
 Fought against being ruled by others
 Shared a rich cultural heritage
 Worked to control Tigris and Euphrates
 Worshiped similar gods
 Made some of the first wheeled vehicles
and sailboats
Cuneiform
 Invention of writing helped to bring
_________ _____________ together.
 Ancient cities
Cuneiform
 First developed to record farm surpluses.
 Used sharp reeds to scratch the records
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into wet clay tablets
3500 B.C.- oldest tablets
1st symbols looked much like pictures of
what they were describing
Over time, symbols were simplified
500 signs were used
School in Sumer
 Few people could
write, not even kings
 It was an honor to go
to school and learn to
be a scribe
 Boys and VERY few
girls
Steps in School
 1.) Learned how to make clay tablets and
reed pens
 2.) Practiced over and over how to write
basic signs of cuneiform
 3.) Also had to study mathematics so they
could keep accurate records
Trained Scribes
 Could write most anything
 Even wrote love letters and sealed them in
clay envelopes.
 Recorded stories, laws, and songs
 Through cuneiform, we know about an early
Sumerian mythical hero named Gilgamesh.
City-States of Sumer
 City-state: self-governing city that also
governs surrounding villages.
 City-States often went to war to gain
control of floodwater
 Because of this, large walls were built
around the city for protection
Sumerian Kings
 King’s palace could be seen from almost
everywhere in the city
 Kings served as generals, judges, and
canal overseers
 Sumerian kings were not considered to be
gods
RELIGION
 Ziggurat- large building with a temple on
its peak
 Ziggurat stood in the center of town
 Sumerians believed in polytheism
 Polytheism-belief in more than one god
 Ishtar- goddess of love and war
 Enki-god of water
Uniting the city-states
 City-states were united under Sargon, king of
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city-state Kish in 2300 B.C.
Sumerians traded with the Phoenicians.
Phoenicians sent wine and timber and received
Mesopotamian farm products and other goods.
Cuneiform was used throughout Sargon’s
empire, and he could send instructions and
govern over great distances.
Sargon’s rule lasted 56 years, until city-states
rebelled.
The Rise of Babylon
 Almost 500 years passed before another
empire controlled.
 A group of people moved into
Mesopotamia and created the city of
Babylon
 1800 B.C. Hammurabi began a drive to
gain control over the old Sumer and
created a huge empire.
Babylonia
 Rich and Powerful
 Still used cuneiform
 First dictionaries were created so
Babylonians could adopt Sumerian culture
and language.
Code of Law
 1901- Archaeologists found a stone pillar
from ancient Babylon
 Pillar was inscribed with over 200 laws in
cuneiform.
 4000 years old
 Known as the Code of Hammurabi
Code of Hammurabi
 World’s oldest codes of law
 Code of law- written set of laws that apply
to everyone under a government
 Slavery existed
 Not everyone was treated equal
The “New” Babylonia
 After Hammurabi died, about 1750 B.C.,
Babylon began to fall apart.
 689 B.C. Babylon was completely
destroyed by powerful rulers from
Nineweh.
 60 years later, Babylon was rebuilt and
soon became the world’s largest city.
New Babylon
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Great Beauty and Technology
Two massive walls and a moat protected the city
City was split in two by Euphrates River
Connected by moveable bridge and an
underwater tunnel
Huge ziggurat
Grid-style streets, sewer and water systems
Three/Four Story Homes
Hanging Gardens
SORROW
 Not everyone thought
of Babylon as a
wonderful place
 These newcomers
were prisoners from
what is today Israel.