Transcript File - Fudan World History

Kingdoms and Empires of the
Fertile Crescent:
Sumer, Sargon, and Hammurabi
Pre-requisites for Civilization
 Agriculture developed in the Fertile Crescent
around 9000 bce
 Mining and use of copper around 6000 bce
 Growth of villages and towns
 Division of labor
 Smelting of tin and copper to make bronze
around
3000 bce > Bronze Age
Timeline for Early Mesopotamia
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Settlement
Agricultural Villages
Sumer City States
Gilgamesh
Akkadian Empire
Ur III Empire
Babylonian Empire
Hammurabi
Assyrians
5500 BCE
5500-3200 BCE
3200 – 2350 BCE
2700 BCE
2350 - 2200 BCE
2125 - 2000 BCE
2000-1700BCE
1750 BCE
1700-800 BCE
A Semitic ruler known
as Sargon the Great
conquered the entire
area
Prior to Sargon, the
land between the
rivers was controlled
locally by kings and
royal families.
Sargon was the first
ruler to organize and
unite the city-states of
Sumer and
Mesopotamia under
the Akkadian Empire.
Sargon of Akkad:
The World’s First Empire
[Akkadians]
Sargon
Cylinder seal – Sargon’s brother
The Akkadians, a Semitic people, lived in the
southern region of Mesopotamia.
Sargon became their ruler around 2334 BCE.
Stories vary as to how he came to power; some
believe he organized the military to overthrow his
king, while others believe power was passed down
to him.
Sargon’s empire marked
the beginning of a new
form of government.
Cities were organized
into the world’s first
empire.
Sargon created a
bureaucracy with a
standard set of rules
and procedures.
Sargon used ideas
from cities he
conquered.
Sargon I and Sargon II
Sargon’s Military Technology
Prisoners of war
An Akkadian using composite
bow
Sargon introduced two new forms of military technology
to the battlefield. They were key to his success.
The first was the composite bow made from strips of
wood and horn. It was capable of firing arrows further
and faster than conventional wooden bows.
Composite Bow
Sargon also
introduced the
phalanx structure
of military
combat. The
phalanx was made
by arranging the
soldiers into
equally-spaced
rows of men with
overlapping
shields and
leveled spears.
The phalanx easily defeated unorganized armies.
Soldiers protected each other by forming a human
wall of spears and shields. Most other armies at the
time had no discipline or formation.
Phalanx
Copper Weaponry
Armor
• Copper helmets were
used to protect
soldiers from strong
blows to the head.
• They also had armour
cloaks that covered
the body with metal
disks lined with
leather
Metallurgy Skills
Naram-Sin,
grandson of
Sargon, using
the composite
bow.
Chariots were
also
important in
Sargon’s
campaigns.
Akkadian Art
The Empire of Sargon
Sargon put Mesopotamia under a
single government.
Akkadian became the official language
of Mesopotamia.
By using one language the Akkadians
had better communication and
organization.
Akkadian soldiers
However, after 200 years the Akkadian Empire grew weak.
Cities in Mesopotamia revolted for their freedom.
The Babylonian Empires
Babylonian Math
Babylonian Math and Time
Babylonians used math
primarily for measuring and
counting things such as the
length and width of a canal
and the weight and volume of
grain.
Babylonians used a system
of counting based on the
number 60. This included
their calculation of time and
degrees within a circle.
Babylonians used a 24-hour day, a 60-minute hour, 60second minute, and 60 degrees in a circle.
We continue to use this system today.
Babylonian Numbers
Babylonian Calendar
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Natural units of time – day, month, year
Day ends at sundown
Year ends with harvest
12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days each
– Month length was new moon to new moon
– Extra harvest month determined by
• Observation of crops (to 1700)
• According to crude astronomical observations (1700 – 700)
• According to Metonic Cycle – 7 extra months in 19 years
(700-100 BCE)
Astronomy
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Named constellations
Discovered zodiac
Divided zodiac into houses
Discovered planetary periods
Worked out lunar theory
Several theories for each planet
Predicted lunar eclipses
Babylonian food (today’s
Mediterranean Diet)
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Meat – Beef, mutton, fowl, fish, turtle
Grain – Wheat, barley, emmer
Oil – Palm oil, olive oil
Vegetables – Chickpeas, onion, pea, leek
Fruits – dates, figs, apples, pear, peach, grapes
Flavorings – garlic, saffron, cumin
Beverages – Wine (Geshtinanna), Beer
(Ninkash)
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine20898379
Hammurabi, an
Amorite or Old
Babylonian, reigned
from 1792-1750
BCE.
The Amorites, a
Semitic people,
lived west of the
Euphrates River.
Hammurabi based
his empire in
Babylon; during his
reign he conquered
Sumer and Akkad
and unified
Mesopotamia by
1760 BCE.
Hammurabi
[r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.]
The Babylonians: (Early Period - 20th to
18th c. BC, First Babylonian Dynasty - 18th
to 17th c. BC )
Background: Hammurabi
• Reigned from 1792-1750 BCE
• Hammurabi was the son of a king and
succeeded his father to the throne in a great
Mesopotamian city called Babylon.
– Hammurabi was a powerful king and conquered
cities to the north and south setting up an empire.
– Empire: a group of many different lands under
one ruler
– Hammurabi is best known for his code of laws.
Although his laws were CRUEL they marked an
important step toward a fair system of justice.
Hammurabi’s
Code
Hammurabi, the Judge
Corporal/Physical Punishment
Capital Punishment
Hammurabi's code was based
on several principles.
• Equality before the law did not exist:
there were milder penalties for members
of the aristocracy than for commoners
and slaves.
• When criminal and victim were social
equals, the punishment was equal to the
crime.
• Individuals represented themselves, fair
trials were guaranteed, and judges could
not change a verdict.
Hammurabi’s Code
• The law provided protection for
the consumer.
• The code contains many laws
about farming, irrigation, crops,
and animals.
What should be done to the
carpenter who builds a house that
falls and kills the owner?
If a builder builds a house
for a man and does not
make its construction
sound, and the house
which he has built
collapses and causes the
death of the owner of the
house, the builder shall
be put to death.
What happens if a man is unable to
pay his debts?
If a man be in debt and is
unable to pay his
creditors, he shall sell his
wife, son, or daughter, or
bind them over to service.
For three years they shall
work in the houses of
their purchaser or master;
in the fourth year they
shall be given their
freedom.
What should be done about a wife
who ignores her duties and belittles
her husband?
If the woman has not
been careful but has
gadded about,
neglecting her house
and belittling her
husband, they shall
throw that woman into
the water.
What should be done if a son is
adopted and then the birth-parents
want him back?
If a man takes in his
own home a young
boy as a son and
rears him, one may
not bring claim for
that adopted son.
What should happen to a boy who
slaps his father?
If a son strikes his
father, they shall cut
off his hand.
How is the truth determined when
one man brings an accusation
against another?
if any one bring an accusation
against a man, and the
accused go to the river and
leap into the river, if he sink in
the river his accuser shall take
possession of his house. But if
the river prove that the accused
is not guilty, and he escape
unhurt, then he who had
brought the accusation shall be
put to death, while he who
leaped into the river shall take
possession of the house that
had belonged to his accuser.