Transcript Mesopotamia: the rise of civilization

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember, amateurs built the ark,
professionals built the Titanic.
Mesopotamia After Hammurabi
The ancient Sumerians were very smart people:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cuneiform
Law codes
Literature
Schools
Numbering system
Kiln-dried bricks & pottery
Lunar calendar
Potter’s wheel
The wheel
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The wheelbarrow
Sailboats
Bronze tools and weapons
The plow
Frying pans
Razors
Cosmetic sets
Shepherd’s pipes
harps
How did Sargon earn a
place in our history books?
• About 2350 BC,
Sargon led the
people of Akkad in
conquering Sumeria
and establishing the
world’s first empire.
The Hittites,
1600 bc- 1200 bc
examples of Hittite iron swords…
A Phoenician sailing vessel
•
The Phoenician Alphabet, circa 1400 bc
The
Hebrews
• Monotheism
• 10 Commandments
• Removed the gods
from nature
• Assertion of human
dignity
•
Shalamaneser I –
boasted of blinding
14,000 captives
• One of the ancient monuments discovered in the ruins of ancient
Assyria has this inscription by King Asshurizirpal (reign began in 883
BC.) of a conquered city:
"Their men, young and old, I took as
prisoners. Of some I cut off the feet and
hands; of others I cut off the noses, ears, and
lips; of the young men's ears I made a heap;
of the old men's heads I built a minaret."
• Imperial Palace of Nineveh, capital of Assyria
•
Assyrian Imperial Palace at Nippur
Nubuchadnezzar, 605-562 BC
• The Ishtar Gate
Cyrus the Great and his sons after him effectively administered their
large empire by:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Divided into 20 provinces (satrapies)
Special agents who answered only to the king
Use of an official language (Aramaic)
Network of roads and postal system
Common system of weights and measures
Empire wide coinage
Fusion of Near Eastern cultural traditions
Promoted one religion: Zoroastrianism
(Ahura Mazda & Ahriman)
Historical Summary:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sumerians
Akkadians- Sargon
Amorites (Babylonians - Hammurabi)
Hittites
Phoenicians, Hebrews,
Assyrians
Chaldeans/Medes = Neo-Babylonia
Persians/ Cyrus The Great
Alexander/Macedonians/Greeks
Any questions?