Transcript Ancient Mesopotamia

Ancient Mesopotamia
Early Middle East
Fertile Crescent
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Land between Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers
Land was able to grow
crops and fuel animal
domestication
Floods of the rivers
helped fertilize the
land making it a great
place to start a
civilization
Sumerian Civilization
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First cities formed
along rivers
Ur was one of the first
cities as was Babylon
Sumerian city states
had farming people
who started settling
down together
This made job
specialization and
hierarchies
Sumerian Religion
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Believed in many gods,
Polytheistic
Built temples for worship
called Ziggurats
Belief in afterlife, and we
know that through “The
Epic of Gilgamesh”
Differences of polytheism
and monotheism will form
conflict with Israelites.
Advanced Learning
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System of Writing
called cuneiform
Wedge shaped marks
made using a reed
pen
Used for recording
harvests, myths,
prayers, laws, treaties
and business
contracts.
The Empires of Sumer
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Empires of Sumer were
formed when cities were
taken over by other
cities to form empires.
These empires were
more advanced then
civilized cities and
needed laws to control
the masses of people.
Code of Hammurabi
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Hammurabi had
artisans create a stone
pillar with 300 laws that
were the laws of the
empire that everyone
would follow.
Hammurabi felt that he
was given this right by
the gods to protect the
weak from the strong
Cont. Code of Hammurabi
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First written laws to
govern the state and its
people.
Criminal Laws
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offences against others
First people took law into
their own hands
Set of punishments
encouraged social order
“eye for an eye, life for a
life” seem cruel by today's
standards.
Warfare and Spread of Ideas
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Hittites developed iron
working from ore from
the ground
With weapons,
Mesopotamians
expand and take over
other cities.
Tolerance for
concurred people for
customs and religions
traditions.
Barter vs. Money Economy
Barter – exchanging
one set of goods for
another good or
service
 Money – goods and
services are paid for
with a token of an
agreed value.
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Judaism
Monotheism and civilization
Story of Israel
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2000 BC → 722 BC
Ur gave birth to
Abraham
Abraham moves to
Canaan to today's
Israel/Palestine
Famine → moved to
Egypt
Enslaved, exodus to
land believed God
promised them.
Covenant with God
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Covenant = a binding
agreement
God and Abraham’s
agreement made his
people to the “chosen
people”
Torah or Old
Testament is the
history of the Hebrews
Men of Israel
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Abraham - Father or
the first of the Hebrew
people
Moses - Leads the
exodus or people out
of slavery
David – united
Israelites
Solomon – made
Jerusalem capitol
Story of Isaac and
Ishmael
Lasting concepts
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Cleanliness and
food preparation
– Kosher
10
Commandments
Friday Sabbath