Transcript Mesopotamia
Tamdan Le Caleb Stanfield John Kirkland Melanie Loor (Mes-uh-puh-tay-mee-uh) In Greek, Mesopotamia meant “between two rivers”. Mesopotamia was between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are located in the Fertile Crescent which was between Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, where the richest soil lay. Sumerians created the first civilization with a social class. The top of the social classes were the kings and priests. Scribes, which were people who knew how to write, kept records and accounts, were in the upper-class. Landlords and merchants were also below the kings. Artisans, farmers, and laborers were above the slaves, whom were in the lowest social class. There were large cities that appeared in Sumer. Each city had its own control which formed city-states. City-states are political units with is own government. They then became a dynasty, which is a series of rulers from a family. Sumerians practiced ‘polytheism’. ‘Polytheism’ is the worship of many gods. They believed the gods were like humans. Sumerians believed they fell in love, ate, drank and did so many other things like the way they did. They had ceremonies for them. Built ziggurats, which were pyramid shaped structures to worship them, when they offered them food and drinks. Sumerians developed the first writing system called cuneiform. Scribes are people who knows how to write, using it to keep records and bank accounts. Sumerians began writing literature, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. Sumer built arches, ramps and columns that can be seen in their ziggurats. Sumerians are most famous for their cylinder seals, which are small, stone cylinders used to sign documents and show ownership. The Sumerians also developed the math system using the number 60. This is why a circle has 360 degrees and time is divided into 60 minutes. Sumerians invented the wheel and the plow, which helped them harvest crops. The wheel is now used to do so many things, such as being incorporated into cars, machines and making pottery. Tools and weapons were made of bronze. Sumerians performed basic surgery using medical knowledge that they collected. Sewers were built under the ground as well. Sumer did not have some of the resources that are found today, such as wood and metals. Trading developed from the lack of resources, to get the necessary items needed. The Sumerians traded woven textiles to get the material needed to build their structures, such as the ziggurats, and homes. Babylon developed when a tribe called the Amorites settled in Babylon. The king of the Amorites, King Hammurabi, became the king of Babylon. Babylon had a max population of 200,000 people. King Hammurabi – 1792 BC ruled Babylon using his code of laws called Hammurabi’s Code. Under King Hammurabi’s rule, Babylon became the greatest city in Mesopotamia. Hammurabi’s Code has 282 thorough laws written for everyone to see, dealing with everything from trade to murder. There is a punishment for each law if it were to be broken. After King Hammurabi’s death, Babylon began to weaken until the empire fell. King Hammurabi still honored the Sumerian gods. He allowed priests to continue their power and influence. Babylon had a large temple in the center of the city called a ziggurat that was 300ft tall. Hammurabi’s Code was a part of the Babylonian culture. In schools, the Sumerian language and cuneiform are being taught. Literature and artwork flourished in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar II built the famous gardens in Babylon. To build structures, Hammurabi had improved a tax-collection system to collect money for the projects. The walls of Babylon were once considered one of the seven wonders of the world. They were 50 miles long, 23ft wide and 35ft tall. King Hammurabi increased trade so that Babylon could become more wealthy. Babylon had plenty of agricultural items, but natural resources were scarce. The Babylonians traded the agricultural items for natural resources with people as far as Turkey. The Phoenicians were a well known trading society and experts at sea. Farming was difficult and resources were scarce which is why the Phoenicians had to turn to trade and the sea for their livelihood. As their trade routes grew larger, the Phoenicians began founding colonies by them. Trade brought much wealth to the Phoenicians and created a big name for their country. The Phoenicians would elect a king out of the royal houses only. The king’s power was however limited by the powerful merchant families who had a large influence on the public. Carthage had its own detached government system led by two suffettes (judges). The Phoenician religion was inspired by the powers and processes of nature. Many of the gods however were local and are only known now by their local names. The Phoenicians worshipped in a temple which was considered a dominating spot in the city. Here the temple has political, administrative and economic functions, as well as distinctive religious functions such as sacrifices. The temple was staffed by priests, musicians, divines, scribes and other specialists. The Phoenicians are well known for their alphabet, called the Proto- Canaanite alphabet, which they used to record their activity. This writing system used by the Phoenician traders was proven to work way more efficiently than symbols or pictographs. As the Phoenicians traveled from port to port, many people adopted their alphabet since it made writing easier. The Greeks were among those people and they expanded the alphabet to add vowels and modified letters. The Phoenicians not only influenced the Greek alphabet, but our current modern one as well. Our modern alphabet was remodeled after the Greek alphabet which was remodeled after the Phoenician. The Phoenicians were well known for being at sea and they revolutionized boats that had a sail to do so. The first attempts of the Phoenicians to navigate the sea were rather clumsy and primitive, such as rafts or canoes. The Phoenician vessel was made with a low bow, but had an elevated stern with 15-20 oars. Basically a modified row boat. Phoenician Pleasure vessels and merchant ships have no oars except two paddles for steering. They carry sails reinforced by four ropes and were proven to be one of the better Phoenician ships. According to the Greek, there were two kinds of Phoenician vessels, one for war and another for merchants (known as tubs). Due to trade, the Phoenicians were very wealthy people. The main Phoenician industry was textiles, for they were famous for dyeing their textiles with materials from the sea. It is also believed that the Phoenicians invented glass which was used on their ships and for trade. The Phoenicians also sold local resources, which are limited, but very high in value, such as giant cedar trees used for timber, shellfish used for their textile industry and blown glass in exchange for trade items. The Phoenicians were also known for their handiwork, soliciting silverwork, ivory carvings, fainted glass, etc. http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/peop le-places-kids/iraq-mesopotamia-kids "Ancient Mesopotamia: Science, Inventions, and Technology." Ducksters. Technological Solutions, Inc. (TSI), Feb. 2014. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. <http://www.ducksters.com/history/mesopotami a/science_and_technology.php/babylonian_empire.php>. Khalaf, Salim. " ." Phoeniciaorg RSS. Http://phoenicia.org/. Web. 06 Feb. 2014. <http://phoenicia.org/>. "Phoenician Economy and Trade." Phoenician Economy and Trade. Www.reocities.com. Web. 07 Feb. 2014. http://www.reocities.com/CapitolHill/Parliament/25 87/trade.html Ramírez, Susan E., Peter N. Stearns, Samuel S. Wineburg, and Steven A. Goldberg.Holt World History. Human Legacy. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2008. Print Veith, Walter J. "Babylonian Religion." Amazingdiscoveries.org. 27 Aug. 2009. Web. 7 Feb. 2014. <http://amzingdiscoveries.org/S-deception_endtime_Babylon_salvation_grace>.