Transcript Mesopotamia - Mindy Lewis

Middle East: Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
 Mesopotamia means: “land between
two rivers”. The civilization
developed between the Euphrates
and the Tigris Rivers
 The area is often called the “Fertile
Crescent”
 By 3200 B.C. a number of cities are
established by the Sumerians
Major Contribution:
The Invention of Writing
 Origins of writing probably go back to the
9000 B.C.
 4000 BC - realized that drawing tokens
was easier than making tokens
 Developed of cuneiform:
 “wedge-shaped”
 pictographic
system
Sumeria: 3200 BC
Sumeria
 Developed
advanced city-states
 Specialized
 Advanced
workers, social classes
Math: Number system based
on 60 (60 seconds = 1 min.)
 Polytheistic
Sumerian Inventions
 Wagon wheel
 Potter’s wheel
• Sail
• Some of the
(shape
earliest known
containers)
maps
 Number system • New architecture
 12 month
• Metal plow
calendar
Akkadians
 Sumeria fell to foreign invaders
 The Akkadians:
 Nomadic
people f/ Arabian Peninsula
that migrated to Mesopotamia
 Sargon (2300-2200 BC) unites all
Mesopotamian cities (creates first
empire)
 The Akkadians did not rule for long …
Babylonia
 Located in modern day Syria
 Hammurabi--created a system of civil
law (a code with harsh punishments)
 Borrowed heavily f/ Sumerian culture
 After Hammurabi’s death Babylon
declined
Hittites: 1400 BC
Hittites
 Conquered Babylon in 1400 BC
 A strong army with chariots
 Knew how to make iron which was
plentiful and cheap
 Borrowed from Mesopotamian and
Egyptian culture
Assyrians: 1100 BC
Assyrians
 Powerful army / warfare was central to
their culture
 Treated conquered people cruelly
 Large empire with good roads
 Collapsed about 612 BC
Babylon Revived: 612 BC
Babylon Revived:
 Descendents from Hammurabi’s
Babylonians
 At its height during the rule of
Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC)
 Spent a lot of money on Babylon
 Built Hanging Gardens of Babylon
 Empire collapsed after being defeated by
the Persians
Persians: 539 BC
Persians
Cyrus conquered in 539BC, &
eventually conquered from Nile to Indus
 Darius I – the skilled organizer
 Used satraps (governors)
 Tolerant to those who were conquered
 Increased trade and built roads
 Money economy using coins
 Believed in a Single God
 Lost to the Greeks in 480 BC

Meanwhile, those Phoenicians ...
Phoenicians
 A small state with own contributions:
 Sailors
around present day Mediterranean, including Lebanon and Syria
 Manufacturing and trade gurus who set
up colonies
 Created the basis for the alphabet we
use today!
 Spread middle east civilization around
Mediterranean