Transcript Amorites/Babylonians (2000

History / Evolution of Civilization
02-MESOPOTAMIA
Prof.Dr. Halit Hami ÖZ
Kafkas Üniversitesi/Kafkas University
Kars, Turkey
[email protected]
MESOPOTAMIA

If you went today to Nippur, you would see little or nothing...nothing to
indicated that, for nearly two thousand years, this was one of the greatest
centers of civilization on the face of the earth.
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And this give rise to a question. Not, "why did Nippur disappear?"
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That's easy. Rivers shifted, and it was no longer a good place for a city so
people settled elsewhere.
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The more important question is, "Why did it last so long?"
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And, with Mesopotamia in general, that's an important question.
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I would suggest that, like Egypt, Mesopotamian civilization lasted for more
than 2000 years because, for the most part, it did an excellent job
providing physical security, ethical guidance, and emotional fulfillment to its
members.
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MESOPOTAMIA

I will be talking about four phases of
Mesopotamian society,
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the Sumerian phase (roughly 3000-2000 BC)
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the Amorite or Babylonian phase (roughly 20001500 BC),
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the Assyrian phase (roughly 1000-612 BC), and
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the Chaldean or Neo-Babylonian phase (roughly
612-539 BC).
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Sumer (3000-2000 BC)

The Sumerian phase of Mesopotamian history is similar to the Old
Kingdom of Egyptian history in that this is the period during which
foundations of Mesopotamian were laid civilization laid.
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However, conditions in Mesopotamia were different, and Sumerian society
had to take a different approach than Egyptian society.

Like Egypt, Mesopotamian civilization development depends on a river--in
this case, two rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates.
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Mesopotamia is Greek for "between the rivers," a good name for this land.
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The Tigris and Euphrates are more unpredictable than the Nile with
frequent destructive floods.
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Also, Mesopotamia is not a land fortified by nature, but a land very
vulnerable to invasion.
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Sumer (3000-2000 BC)
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As a result, the initial success of Mesopotamian civilization
depended more on local organization rather than on unity.
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The Mesopotamian city-states (similar to the Egyptian
nomes) remained independent during the first centuries
of Sumerian development,
with Ur,
Isin,
Lagash,
Uruk,
Nippur and
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the rest all governing themselves and the farming region
immediately around each city state.
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Sumer (3000-2000 BC)
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Local cooperation was made possible by allegiance to an "Ensi," governor, and able man
who (in some instances) might have been elected by the people he governed.
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Also important, the Sumerian priests.
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The priests helped, not just with religion, but with organization of the farming regions.
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Mesopotamian conditions meant that farming had to be a cooperative occupation.
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Water had to be directed away from where it wasn't wanted and directed to where it was
wanted.

The priests helped organize the control of water and the development of land, and they
directed other farm operations as well.
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Essentially, the temples became the grain elevators: the places where crops would be
stored, and seed stored to plant at the next planting time.
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Sumer (3000-2000 BC)
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To do an effective job, the priests needed a way of keeping records.
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They developed cuneiform writing, writing done with a wooden stylus on wet clay tablets.
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Because the Sumerians (and later Mesopotamians) wrote on clay, we know a lot more
about them than about many other civilizations.
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Once baked, the clay tablets last and last, and, even after 5000 years, they are often still
legible.
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Archaeologists have uncovered thousands of cuneiform tablets.
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80% of them are just business records, but there's plenty of other stuff as well:
stories, laws, proverbs--even accounts of a typical school day!
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"History begins at Sumer," said Samuel Noah Kramer, and that's exactly right. The
Sumerians are the earliest people who have left behind the kinds of records historians
need to explore the kinds of subjects they are interested in.
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Sumer (3000-2000 BC)
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The invention of cuneiform allowed the Sumerians to keep accurate records of farm and
business transactions, and spurred economic development.
In addition, it made possible great advances in mathematics.
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While can do simple arithmetic in one's head, problems of any complexity at all can't
easily be done without writing.

The Sumerians developed a base sixty number system (a sexegesimal system) that enabled
them to do much harder addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems.
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It was a system particularly appropriate for working with fractions--very useful for the
practical mathematics the Sumerians needed.

They could now become good at some fundamental engineering problems: able to figure
out how to do a better job with dams, canals, walls, etc.
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And speaking of walls, the Sumerians did construct great defensive walls around their
cities. In time of war, people from the surrounding agricultural community could come
into the city itself and be relatively safe from invasion.
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Sumer (3000-2000 BC)
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The Sumerian city states did a fairly effective
job providing physical security.
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They also did a good job providing ethical
guidance.
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One source of ethical guidance: written
laws.
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Here are some samples of Sumerians laws:
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Sumerians laws
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1. If a man entered the orchard of another man and was seized
there for stealing, he shall pay 10 shekels of silver.
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2. If adjacent to the house of a man the bare ground of another
man has been neglected and the owner of the house has said to
the owner of the bare ground, "Because your ground has been
neglected someone may break into my house; strengthen your
house, and this agreement has been confirmed by him, the owner
of the bare ground shall restore to the owner of the house any of
his property that is lost.
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3. If a man rented an ox and damaged its eye, he shall pay onehalf of its price.
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Sumerians laws
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4. If a slave girl or slave of a man has fled into the heart of the
city and it has been confirmed that he or she dwelt in the house
of another man for one month, he shall give slave for slave. If he
has no slave, he shall pay 15 shekels of silver.
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5. If a man married a wife and she bore him children and those
children are living, and a slave also bore children for her master
but the father granted freedom to the slave and her children, the
children of the slave shall not divide the estate with the children of
their former master.
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6. If his first wife dies and after her death he takes his slave as a
wife, the children of his first wife are his heirs.
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Sumerians laws
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7. If a man's wife has not borne him children but a
harlot from the public square has borne him children,
he shall provide grain, oil, and clothing for that harlot;
the children which the harlot has borne him shall be
his heirs, and as long as his wife lives the harlot shall
not live in the house with his wife.
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8. If a man turned his face away from his first wife,
but she has not gone out of the house, his wife whom
he married as his favorite is a second wife; he shall
continue to support his first wife.
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Sumerian proverbs.

One doesn't want to have to regulate every
aspect of life.
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A successful society gets its people to internalize
its values.
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One very good (and frequently used) was of
doing this is to state those values in a particularly
memorable way, often as what's called a proverb.
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Here are some sample Sumerian proverbs. Note
the values reflected in each.
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Sumerian proverbs.
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1. Into an open mouth, a fly enters.
2. The traveler from distant places is a perennial liar.
3. Friendship lasts a day; kinship lasts forever.
4. A sweet word is everybody's friend.
5. A loving heart builds the home; a hating heart destroys the
home.
6. A scribe whose hand moves as fast as his mouth, that's a
scribe for you!
7. A singer whose voice is not sweet is a poor singer indeed.
8. In a city without dogs, the fox is the overseer.
9. Don't pick it now; later it will bear fruit.
10. Who has much silver may be happy; who has much grain
may be glad; but he who has nothing can sleep
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The Sumerians had other sources of emotional fulfillment.:Religion

Like the Egyptians, the Sumerians were polytheistic, and, like the Egyptians, the Sumerians
identified their gods with the forces of nature.
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But the Sumerians were a lot less optimistic about their gods.

Understandably so! While for the Egyptians natural forces were generally predictable and
benificent, the natural forces in Mesopotamia were unpredictable--sometimes good, always
necessary--but often destructive.
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It's not surprising, then, that the Sumerians didn't regard their gods as kindly.
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They viewed An, Ki, Enlil, Shamesh and the rest as capricious and sometimes actively
hostile to human beings.
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It's not surprising that the the Sumerians didn't expect kindness from their gods after-life.
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Nothing good awaited after death: one ate dust and drink dirty water--not much to look
forward too.
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The Sumerians had other sources of emotional fulfillment.:Religion
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So, how could such a religion help provide emotional fulfillment? Lots of ways.
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One: it explained the meaning and purpose of life.
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The Sumerians had a complex mythology help them understand the world and their place
in it.
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According to these myths, Enlil created mankind from the dust of ground to serve the
gods.
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That's why life is so hard! But life is also meaningful.
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Each city-state regarded itself as the particularly property of one of gods, and, whatever
work one did for the city--well, that was work for your city's god or goddess.
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The Sumerians built huge ziggurats in the center of their cities, huge towers with a temple
on top. This was a source of pride, and a constant reminder that your city was the city of
your particular god or goddess.
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The Sumerians had other sources of emotional fulfillment.:Religion
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Also, the Sumerians had hundreds of religious rituals designed to
please the gods.
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Did this do any good?
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Well, at least it made them feel they were doing what could be
done.
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Sumerian rituals helped them with big issues of life--things like
death.
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Of all arbitrary events, death is the worst.
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Sumerians learned to get control over death! With sacrifices!
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The Sumerians had other sources of emotional fulfillment.:Religion

Some of you might think all this not very emotionally
fulfilling.
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But Sumer had other sources of emotional fulfillment.
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The civilized Sumerians were wealthier than barbarians who
surrounded them.
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They produced beautiful works of art and music, and they
could produce luxury items none of the nomadic peoples
around them could match.
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And if all this wasn't enough, well, the Sumerians had plenty
of beer. Malt does more the Milton can to justify God's ways
to man....
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The Sumerians had other sources of emotional fulfillment.:Religion
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Pretty good? Yes, but, just like Egypt,
there were some potential problems.
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While the Sumerians had done a
reasonably good job protecting
themselves from natural disaster and
barbarian invasion, they were less
successful in solving an ongoing problem:
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war between city states.
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war between city states
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Frequent war seems to have led to a change in government.
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The Ensi (governor) gave way to the Lugal (great man, or king).
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But this was a problem. A lugal might do a good job protecting you, but his greed for more might
ultimately make conflicts worse.
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The eventual solution was to move in the direction Egypt had gone much earlier--unity for the whole
country.
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One of lugals, Sargon of Akkad c. 2300 BC) became strong enough to defeat all the others. He became
the first empire builder known to history.
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Sargon's reign was a real blessing: trade improved, warfare ended. The story was similar to that of Egypt
under the Pharaohs, but with a different ending.
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Sargon's successors were not primarily concerned with welfare of people and became tyrants. This
provoked rebellion--and made Sumer vulnerable to invasion.
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The Sumerian period lasted about 300 more years, but no ruler was able to establish a lasting empire-until the Sumerians were invaded by a new people, Amorites or Babylonians.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)

The Amorites, like the Hyksos, were a people very similar to the
patriarchs you read about in Bible: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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They were shepherds wandering with flocks. Around 2000 B.C.,
these Amorites began moving into Mesopotamia and taking over.
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But the Amorites did not destroy Sumerian civilization. They
adopted many of its characteristics for themselves--and even made
improvements on what the Sumerians had been doing.
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This led to the next stage of Mesopotamian civilization, the
Babylonian phase. Why is it usually called that and not Amorite?
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The name is taken from what becomes the great capital city,
Babylon.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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Babylonian civilization got off to a good start.
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They preserved all the good things from Sumer, the engineering
techniques that enabled the Sumerians to control rivers, the
cuneiform writing that enabled them to preserve and pass on
knowledge, etc. But the Babylonians improved on Sumer in lots of
ways.
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For one thing, the Babylonians were better governed. Instead of
warring city states and unstable empires, Babylon, led by
Hammurabi around 1750 BC, created a strong, stable empire,
probably the largest empire the world had yet seen.
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The empire was excellent for trade. The Babylonians preserved
and adapted the business-like ways of Sumerians, and created a
wealthier society.
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Code of Hammurabi
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1. If a man has accused a man and cast against him an
accusation of murder and has not proved it against him,
his accuser shall be put to death.
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2. If a man has opened his ditch for irrigation and has
been slack and has consequently caused the water to
carry away his neighbor's field, he shall pay corn
corresponding to the crop of the field adjoining it.
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3. If a man strikes the daughter of a freeman and causes
her to cast that which is within her womb, he shall pay
ten shekels of silver for that which is within her womb. If
that woman dies as a result, they shall put his daughter to
death.
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Code of Hammurabi
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4. If a surgeon has made a major incision in a freeman with a
bronze instrument and saved the man's life, or opened an eyeinfection with a bronze instrument and so saved the man's eye, he
shall take ten shekels of silver. If a surgeon has made a major
incision in a freeman with a bronze instrument and caused the
man to die, or opened an eye-infection with a bronze instrument
and thereby destroyed the man's eye, they shall cut off his hand.
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5. If a builder has built a house for a man and has not made his
work sound, so that the house he has made falls down and causes
the death of the owner of the house, that builder shall be put to
death. If it causes the death of the son of the owner of the house,
they shall kill the son of that builder.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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Now the individual laws here are no better than the
Sumerian laws, and sometimes they are worse.
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But the Code of Hammurabi has the advantage that it was
the law code for a much broader territory and for a much
longer period of time.
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This was nice for businessmen, since they didn't have to
worry about different laws in each place they did business.
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Another advantage is that a long-lasting law code does tend
to be better internalized. People absorb the values of the
code and just take them for granted.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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The Babylonians surpassed Sumerians in
other ways, e.g. math and science.
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The Babylonians could solve quadratic
equations, and they kept better
astronomical records, e.g., the tablets of
Amisaduga.
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This meant a better calendar: important
to the success of agriculture.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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The Babylonians also made improvements on Sumerian religion.
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They had basically the same gods, but they added important variations to the creation
story.
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They Babylonian creation account (the Enuma Elish, "When from Above," tells of the
Babylonian god Marduk's defeat of Tiamat and Kingu, the forces of chaos and evil.
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It explains how Marduk becomes the chief of the gods rather than Enlil.
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Note that Marduk is a great champion of order over chaos.
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The Babylonians saw their society as involved in exactly that: the subduing of chaos. But
note something else.
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Marduk creates mankind from the dust of the ground, but (also) from the blood of the evil
Kingu. This seems to be a recognition of the fact that every one of us has a potential for
evil within ourselves--a very important realization!
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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Perhaps greatest way Babylonians surpass
Sumerians was in literature.
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The Babylonians developed the Epic of Gilgamesh,
an epic poem based on earlier Sumerian stories.
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The real Gilgamesh was a Sumerian king.
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But the Babylonian epic far surpasses anything
written by the Sumerians--at least, it surpasses
those Sumerian works we know about.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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Gilgamesh is an epic poem, a long poem centered
around a larger-than-life hero.
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Great national epics of this type to seem to play a
role in emotional fulfillment, giving people a sense of
shared culture, values, and dreams.
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The poem uses poetic techniques (e.g., foreshadowing
and repetition) particularly useful in a society seeking
to bring order out of chaos.
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Also, the Epic of Gilgamesh deals with ethical issues
particularly important to Mesopotamia.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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Notice the problem for Uruk at the
beginning: a king who has become a tyrant.
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What to do? Rebel? Very bad. Better to
simply ask the gods for help.
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Notice that Gilgamesh is specifically told by
the gods not to abuse his power: "deal justly
with your servants, deal justly before
Shamash."
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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Note also the story of Enkidu, the wild man caught by
the trapper using a most unusual bait, a woman.
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Enkidu is trapped: and notice something
important. The writer realizes the important role
women play in civilizing men.
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Also note that Enkidu, who would like to go back to
the simpler way of life, finds that he can't.
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Message: once you've tasted civilization, going
back to nature just won't work.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight--then become
friends.
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The message here seems to be for the
peoples of Mesopotamia to put aside
their conflicts and rivalries, to become
friends, and then see all the amazing
things possible if former foes learn to be
friends.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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But not all foes can be made friends.
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Gilgamesh and Enkidu capture Humbaba, the guardian of the Cedar
forest.
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Now the choice seems to be to enslave Humbaba or to kill him.
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This is similar to a situation the peoples of Mesopotamia must have
often faced: does one kill defeated enemies, or enslave them?
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The story here suggests that there is no single right answer: there
are advantages and disadvantages to both courses of action.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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Then we have the situation where Ishtar falls in love with
Gilgamesh and wants him to be her lover.
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His response? No way!! Why? Well, Ishtar represents the
force of erotic love, and there is an important message here.
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Erotic love can be dangerous, capricious, and
destructive. Watch out!
At Ishtar's request, Enlil sends the Bull of Heaven to punish
Gilgamesh, but Enkidu and Gilgamesh dispatch the bull.
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But now the gods decide the two friends must pay a price:
Enkidu will die.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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Enkidu is angry at his impending death, but Shamash consoles him:
you've had a good life, people will mourn for you.
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Shamash does not promise Enkidu a better life after death-probably because Mesopotamians don't think anything good awaits.
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This brings us to the heart of poem: how do you handle
death? Gilgamesh goes in search of the plant of youth/life.
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He finally meets Utnapishtim, the Babylonian equivalent of Noah.
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He finds the plant, but the snake eats it. Message: struggle as much
as you like, but death comes in the end.
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In view of this, is there any consolation possible other than that
given Enkidu? Well, perhaps. Look at the end of the story.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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Gilgamesh could find consolation in wisdom, in history (the tale of days
before flood), the hope that his story would live, and in the work of his
hands, the work he had done for Uruk.
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The message of the story: work hard for your city state, work on its walls,
its farms, and its gardens.
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You don't have long in this world, but your city will endure.
Now all this would make you think Babylon doing an excellent job
providing physical security, ethical guidance, and emotional fulfillment, and
that's pretty much true.
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But around 1550, Babylon went into a period of stagnation. A group of
foreign invaders, the Kassites, took over the administration of the empire.
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They didn't make any changes (so it seems), but there were no advances
either.
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Amorites/Babylonians (2000-1550)
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[V. Gordon Childe argues that, in most societies, a privileged
elite takes over and absorbs the good things the society
produces for itself.
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Those who actually do anything constructive wind up at
subsistence level, and, since anything "extra" they produce
gets taken by privileged parasites, they have no incentive to
innovate.
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Cultural stagnation is the result. The elites focus solely on
maintaining their privileges and there is no motivation for
creativity.]
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Changes did come around 1000 B.C. when a new people
began to dominate Mesopotamia, the Assyrians.
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Assyria (1000-612 BC)
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The Assyrians dominate a third great phase of Mesopotamian history.
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Actually, Assyria, in north Mesopotamia, had been a fairly important center
of Mesopotamian civilization a long time before 1000 B.C., but (although
there was an earlier Assyrian empire) it's not until around 1000 B.C. that
they began to dominate.
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Prior to that time, Assyria was often on the short end of things.
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Assyria suffered invasion after invasion from formidible foes like the
Horites, Mittani, Hittites, Moshku and the Aramaeans.
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Because of this, the Assyrians had to develop a warlike civilization simply in
order to survive.
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Eventually in Assyria, we see a society almost totally dedicated to warfare.
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Assyria (1000-612 BC)
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The Assyrians use the engineering techniques developed in
earlier Mesopotamian history for things that would help in
warfare
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They applied Mesopotamia science to warfare (e.g., using
astronomy to predict eclipses so that they could attack at a
time when enemies would likely be disheartened)
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The god Asshur (origininally an agricultural god) became a
war god
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Assyrian art focused on war (and, occasionally, hunting)
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Assyria (1000-612 BC)
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Devoting themselves to war enabled the
Assyrians to conquer a large area, and
(eventually) to create the largest empire the
world had yet seen, but holding on to this
empire was difficult.
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To try to prevent revolt by already
conquered peoples and to try to intimidate
new potential targets, the Assyrians ended
up resorting to terror.
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Assyrian Laws

1. If a man has caught a man with his wife, and a charge is
brought and proved against him, they shall kill both of them;
there is no guilt for this.

If he has caught him and brought him either before the king
or before the judges, and a charge is brought and proved
against him, if the husband of the woman puts his wife to
death, then he may put the man to death;

if he cuts off the nose of his wife, he shall make the man a
eunuch and the whole of his face shall be mutilated; or if he
lets his wife go free, they shall set the man free.
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Assyrian Laws

2. If a woman has damaged a man's testicle in a
quarrel, they shall cut off one of her fingers.... if
she has damaged the second testicle in the
quarrel, they shall tear out both her....

3. Married women must be veiled, as must a
concubine accompanying her mistress.

But a harlot shall not be veiled; her head must be
uncovered, and (if not) she shall be beaten fifty
stripes with rods and pitch poured over her head.
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Assyrian Laws

4. If a woman by her own deed has cast that which is
within her womb, and a charge has been brought and
proved against her, they shall impale her and bury her
not.

If she dies from casting that which is within her
womb, they shall impale her and not bury her.

5. Leaving aside the penalties for a man's wife which
are inscribed on the tablet, a man may flog his wife, he
may pluck her hair, he may strike and damage her
ears. There is no guilt involved in this.
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Assyrian Laws

6. If a man divorces his wife, if it is his will
he may give her something; if it is not his
will, he shall not give her anything and she
shall go out in her emptiness.

7. If a man has lain with his male friend
and a charge is brought and proved
against him, the same thing shall be done
to him and he shall be made a eunuch.
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Assyria (1000-612 BC)

Note the low status of women and the problems with
adultery, abortion and homosexual rape.

The harshness of the penalties suggests a society where
these things are totally out of control: and no wonder!

Men that behave like Assyrian men did on the battlefield
aren't going to come home and be model husbands and
citizens.

Note especially the complete failure to protect the rights of
women here: generally, one of the first signs of a sick,
decaying society.
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Assyria (1000-612 BC)

Still, for a time, the Assyrians were a powerful people,
and they controlled a great empire.

But a cruel society always has problems, and Assyria
was constantly facing revolts and rebellion.

And when they were finally weak, their enemies hated
them so much they destroyed them utterly.

Alexander the Great couldn't even find the ruins of
Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, so thoroughly it had
been destroyed.
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The Chaldaeans (Neo-Babylonians) 612-539 BC

The fall of Assyria brought in the last great phase of Mesopotamian civilization, the
Chaldaean (or Neo-Babylonian) phase.

The Chaldeans were part of a coalition that had destroyed Assyria, and soon the Chaldean
ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, controlled an empire almost as large as that of the Assyrians.

But Nebuchadnezzar was more than a conqueror. He had a great dream: to restore
Babylonian greatness.

He made Babylon his capital, building splendid walls around city. He attempted to go back
to pre-Assyrian ways, the ways of Hammurabi.

In religion, he went back to Marduk, building a splendid new Ziggurat.

In law, he used the Hammurabi Code rather than cruel Assyrian laws. He beautified his
capital, creating the Hanging Gardens. All this to try to restore a measure of confidence.
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The Chaldaeans (Neo-Babylonians) 612-539 BC

To some extent, it worked. The Chaldean empire was wealthy and
powerful--probably more powerful than the Babylon of
Hammurabi.

It was certainly wealthier, probably richest society of face of
earth. But Nebuchadnezzar's great attempt failed after a very brief
time. (612-539) Why?

The long years of warfare Assyrian dominance had changed
Mesopotamina character. Pessimistic from beginning, they were
now even more pessimistic.

Astral religion, the belief that all human events were determined by
the patterns one could read in the heavents, led to a de-emphasis
of personal responsibility and to moral decay.
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The Chaldaeans (Neo-Babylonians) 612-539 BC

How far had morals collapsed? One good measure is treatment of
women.

The prostitution rate was enormously high. Herodotus tells us that
(after the collapse of the empire) all Babylonian women had to
work as prostitutes.

That's probably not true, but Herodotus visited Babylon himself,
and certainly the rate of prostitution was high, even before the fall
of the empire.

This is an indication that women no longer being supported by
men, and that they had no other alternative.

But possibly an even clearer indication of what had gone wrong is
the story of how the Chaldaean empire fell.
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The Chaldaeans (Neo-Babylonians) 612-539 BC

The last king of Babylon, Belshazzar, found has capital city (Babylon)
attacked by the Persians.

No immediate worry, thought Belshazzar. It's party time! He trusted the
walls for defense, and didn't even bother to prepare properly for the
emergency. The city fell (first) without any effort at defense.

But it gets worse! The Chaldeans decided to rebel and throw off the
Persian yoke.

Cyrus came back and beseiged Babylon, leading to food shortage. How do
you save food?

The Babylonians numbered off the women remaining in the city, and killed
nine of ten of them, leaving the tenth to bake bread for them.
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The Chaldaeans (Neo-Babylonians) 612-539 BC

In a healthy society, men give their lives
before allowing any harm to their women.

It's a sick, sick society where men will kill
their women to try to save their own
worthless lives.

It's not surprising that this civilization wasn't
going any further and that it would be
replaced by the very different civilization
Cyrus and his Persians brought to the
region.
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