Transcript MESOPOTAMIA

» 3500 BCE – 395 CE
» 2 of the World’s first great civilizations
» They developed around the same time
» Mesopotamia = The land between 2 rivers
» Is located between the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers, in an area know as the fertile crescent
(known as Iraq today)
» One of the great city-states , part of ancient
Mesopotamia
» Had a magnificent court and a highly
sophisticated society with soldiers, court
servants, musicians, and many others
» Had a profound belief in the afterlife (Leonard
Wooley’s discovery)
» For almost 3,000 years, city-states and empires
rose and fell in Mesopotamia
» Some of the empires were Sumer, Babylonia,
Assyria, and Chaldea
» People of the region made many important
contributions that other civilizations in the
ancient world would build upon
» Which is why today we consider Mesopotamia
a “cradle of civilization”
» Ancient Mesopotamia lay in what we know
today as Iraq, northeast Syria, and part of
southeast Turkey
» Mesopotamia was home to many different
peoples and cultural groups
» Lay at the crossroads of 3 continents – Africa,
Asia, and Europe
» The South had many issues with living where
they did – Flat flood plain, hot & dry summers,
droughts that killed crops and caused famines,
flooding and sudden downpours which turned
the plains into mud, and lastly the flooding
hindered travel and communication
» As people learned to control the flooding, drain
the land, and irrigate the soil, the region
produced excellent results
» The north had it much better
» Rainfall was more reliable & helped produce
superb farmland
» Rivers fan faster and rarely flooded
» Forest covered foothills and mountains which
helped with animal life
» There were cattle, gazelles, antelopes, wild
boars, sheep, and goats
» These people were also closer to the resources
of the surrounding region, such as tin and gold
Think about the advantages…..
There are many!
Pg. 38
Questions 1-4
» 3,500-1,900 BCE
» The Sumerians came down the
banks of the Euphrates and Tigris
rives sometime around 3,500
BCE from the mountains of the
NE.
» Had small farming communities
which eventually grew into the
first great cities of the world.
» The first thousand years
Sumerians lived in independent
city states, ruled by separate
kings.
» Eridu is considered to be the first
city founded by their gods
» 1,900-1,300 BCE
» NS river trade and trade with Arabia, India, Persia, and
Asia Minor increase
» The most significant ruler of the first dynasty was King
Hammurabi (1792 BCE) who created the first code of
law
» Were great traders and they enriched their cultures and
those that they met
» Kassites from the east conquer the area and rule the
valley until they are displaced by the Assyrians (1,555
BCE)
» 1,300-609 BCE
» Learned Iron work from another culture
» Their library contained 22,000 clay tablets, all of
these tablets were Math and Science related
» Mythological and Royal beliefs that were important
to them
» Known for committing wartime atrocities against
unarmed civilians and treating conquered armies
with cruelty
» 609-530 BCE
» A king, Nebuchadnezzar, was noted in the bible as a
warrior king
» The King conquered Judah, and destroyed Jerusalem,
and took many Jews back to Babylon as prisoners
» This empire fell to invaders, Cyrus of Persia who
eventually took over Chaldea
» This group killed the king and the guards of Chaldea,
but spared the city
» The Persians became new rulers of the growing
International world
» There are 2 view points as to why the city-states of
Sumer declined
Viewpoint 1 – Following the death of Sargon, waves of
invaders fought for the best settled lands and the empire
began to fall apart.
Viewpoint 2 – In an attempt to manage their environment,
the Sumerians constructed hundreds of KM’s of canals to
irrigate their fields. Unfortunately, these canals carried not
only fertile silt to the fields, but also became so salty that
nothing at all could be grown. Without an adequate food
supply, the city-states of Sumer went into decline.
» In the early history of Sumer, free citizens
elected an assembly to run the government
» The assembly consisted of 2 houses an upper
and a lower house
» The upper contained the wealthiest citizens,
while the lower contained soldiers
» These members chose judges who were
responsible for enforcing laws, and selected the
military leaders in time of war
» The role of King was created when wars
became more frequent
» The people believed they needed strong leaders
at all times of the year
» Most Kings considered themselves to be living
representatives of a particular god, thus the
system of government in Mesopotamia was a
Theocracy
» What is a Theocracy? (Pg. 484)
» The earliest Kings were elected, however once
people began to consider the Kings as Gods, the
crown passed from father to son
» This marked the beginning of dynasties or
hereditary monarchies in Mesopotamia
» The Assyrian Kings were among the most
powerful leaders in all of Mesopotamia
» Since they eventually ruled an empire from
the Persian Gulf to the Nile River, their far
reaching authority was almost a necessity
» They acted as first judge in the land, supervisor
of all canal construction, and protector of all
farmers and shepherds within their territory
» In times of War, they were present, and took
personal charge of the operation
» The Assyrians faced frequent rebellion from
their people
» They dealt with this by resettlement (Pg. 49)
» What did this policy do?
» Both the Sumerians and the Babylonians developed
law codes
» This was an attempt to collect, organize, and record all
existing laws so that there would be one common code
for all citizens of the empire
» An early code was developed in Ur, where laws were
applied differently to different classes of people
» Nobles found guilty were treated more harshly then
the commoner who committed the same crime
» The most important legal legacy was the law
code established by Hammurabi, King of
Babylonia
» This code had 282 different laws, organized
under headings such as trade, family, labour,
real estate, and personal property
» The code distinguished between minor crime
and major crime
Hammurabi’s Code
» The code established 3 very important legal
principles
1) It asserted that the state is the authority
responsible for enforcing the law
2) It confirmed that social justice should be
guaranteed to all citizens
3) It promoted the idea that the punishment
should fit the crime
The basic principle behind
Hammurabi’s Code:
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth.”
What example is used on Pg. 49?
» Pg. 46 -> Questions 2 & 3
» Pg. 51 -> Questions 1-3(a)
» Read Pg. 50 and answer the following:
» Do you consider Hammurabi’s laws fair and just
or harsh and unjust? What are the main
differences between this code of laws and our
own today?
» Legend – A story retold from the past that is widely
accepted as true.
» Why do civilizations create legends?
» The legend of the “great flood” tried to address a
mystery that dates from an early period in this
civilizations history
» The mystery is , there was a short period where the
clay tablets of the kings ceased to be produced
» This legend made sense to people, even though it did
not explain why the wrath of god was unleashed
» The Mesopotamian gods were considered
anthropomorphic
» Which means they had the traits and appearances of human
beings
» Though they were thought of as immortal they still lived like
everyone else
» Although when a flood would strike a riverbank, people
believed that one of the gods was angry
» It was also believed that Mesopotamians were polytheistic ,
which means they worshipped many gods
» It is believed Sumerians for example worshipped over 3,000
different gods
» There were 4 main gods, god of air, god of heaven,
god of earth and water, and god of heaven
» In Sumerian view, the gods lived in the skies or
heavens and ruled over the earth
» It was believed that the earth was a gloomy
underworld where the dead were entombed
» The god of Enlil (god of air) provided all the universal
laws that governed everything in the universe,
though he broke one of the laws himself and was
banished for a time to the underworld!
» The Babylonians replaced many of the Sumerian gods
with their own, although their functions remained much
the same
» The Assyrians also recognized many of the same gods as
the Sumerians, but worshipped as well a chief god, Ashur
» Ashur was lord of heaven and earth and creator of the
world
» All of the Assyrian kings were closely associated with
Ashur
» One of the other most popular gods among Assyrians was
the mother goddess, Ishtar, the goddess of love and
fertility and the mistress of battle
» These were built to house the gods in
Mesopotamian society
» The people believed that the gods lived in the
heavens and in high places such as on the summits
of mountains, but they also believed that they
came down to earth, hence these tall fascinating
structures
» These buildings were dedicated in the gods honour
and food was placed in the shrine daily for the gods
to eat while they were in the temple
» These were the most
important structures in
any Sumerian city
» The Ziggurat in Ur, built
by King Ur-Nammu in
about 2,110 BCE was
used for over 1,500 years
» These were often the
center of the city
US Soldiers climb the Ziggurat of Ur in 2010
» The people of Mesopotamia feared death
» They believed that once they died they
entered a bleak underworld that was a land of
no return
» Sources refer to it as a place where they would
live alone, and in darkness. Therefore it was
important for people to bring their most prized
possessions with them into the afterlife
» When a King died, the people’s fear of death increased
because they believed it was a bad omen for the future
of the Country
» Leonard Woolley’s discovery at Ur that we previously
discussed revealed that the Mesopotamians would
bury servants of a dead king or queen in the tomb as
well
» The belief was that a royal person should not go on to
the afterlife alone
» In the later period, only statues of servants were buried
in the tomb
» In Mesopotamia the King’s were at the peak of the social
pyramid
» The next on the list was the Priests and Scribes
» Obviously the priests were influential because of the
influence of religion
» The scribes were educated, they were able to read and
write
» The merchant and Artisans were the traders and
craftspeople
» They traded up and down the Tigres and Euphrates rivers,
and even farther into Egypt, Cyprus, and Lebanon
» The common people earned their living from the
land as farmers
» Close family ties were important, and although the
husband was the head of the family, women of
Mesopotamia enjoyed more rights than in most
other ancient civilizations
» Slaves, who performed household labour and various
chores, were at the bottom of the social pyramid and
had no rights
» They were identified by a single name only; when
they lost their freedom their family name was taken
away
» In Mesopotamia there were two types of slaves
» The first group included prisoners captured in battles
against foreign cities
» The second group included debtors who sold
themselves, or members of their family, into slavery for
a number of years to pay off the debt
» In general, most masters treated their slaves well, but
the slaves were expected to work long and hard
» Pg. 56 -> Questions 1-3
» Pg. 58 -> Questions 1-3
» The family was considered important and the birth of
a child was a welcome event
» The father was considered the head of the family, and
had unlimited authority over his children (he owned
his children)
» Women were highly respected, could own land and
property, and could also set up their own businesses
» However, they could not vote or rule, and were not
considered equal to men
» In upper class families, women stayed in a separate
part of the house
» Traditionally, marriages were arranged for their sons and
daughters when the children were still in their teens
» After their wedding day the couple usually lived in the
household of the husband, until the couple was old
enough to set up a household on their own, or if the
family was wealthy, until the father died and they were
granted the estate
» Although monogamy was the rule in Mesopotamia,
some men took in secondary wives called concubines
» These were often members of the slave class and were
tolerated within the household and society
» Boys of the wealthiest families began to attend
school at age 8 or 9
» Children in lower class families were taught the
skills at home
» Boys learned specific trades, while girls were
taught to be wives and mothers
» School day ran from sunrise to sunset, and
discipline was very strict
» The city-states in Sumer were surrounded
by thick, high walls of mud brick
» Inside the walls were streets, public
squares, and marketplaces
» The temple, the most sacred building, was
always located in the center and served as
the focus of most activities
» Made from sun-dried brick with a
low door and a few windows
» An outside staircase led to a flat roof
where people often slept on during
hot nights
» Inside was a single room, which was
cool but poorly lighted
» We know more about their dwellings because
they could afford to build with kiln-dried rather
than sun-dried brick
» They were more permanent which have
allowed archaeologists to determine more
accurately what the homes looked like
» Using your text book sketch the layout of what you
think a wealthy Sumerian home would look like
» In your diagram you must include the following:
- Entrance & entrance hall
- Central court
- Kitchen
- Slave quarters
- Master bedroom & Guest room
- Storage area & Lavatory (bathroom)
» The Sumerians were the first people to harness animals
to their ploughs
» They also were the first to add a seed drill to the
plough
» However, their most significant invention was the
system of dams and canals that they developed to
control the flood waters and to irrigate their fields
» Rushing floodwaters were a major concern, the
government even hired irrigators to help keep the large
canals clear
» In the Northern areas they did not need as much
irrigation to grow crops
» Even still, the Assyrians developed a system of
irrigation
» Agriculture was closely linked to political and social
organizations
» In Sumer, people believed that the land surrounding a
city-state belonged to the god of that city state
» Since priests were the voice of the gods, the priests
leased the land out to the farmers
» Sumerian farmers were expected to return 1/3 of
the proceeds to the god of the city-state
» Then 1/3 to the king to help finance the gov’t
» The final 1/3 was theirs to keep, even though the
gov’t still taxed them on their profit
» Between 2,500 & 2,360 BCE priests raised the taxes
and confiscated the land of any farmer who failed to
pay up
» These actions enraged the farmers!
» Later on this system was deemed unfair,
and much of the land was returned to the
farmers
» During the time of Babylonia and
Hammurabi, individuals were allowed to
own a large portion of land around the
cities
» With the high amount of agriculture production in
Mesopotamia not everyone had to farm
» There were work rooms created within the low walls of
the ziggurats
» Here you would find the following:
- Military dress
- Potters spinning clay
- Carpenters making agricultural tools
- Wagons and ships
- Weavers producing woolen textiles
- Metal workers
» Small boats made of reeds and inflated goatskins,
called keleks, carried goods up and down the
Euphrates and Tigris rivers and along the coast of
Arabia and India
» Babylonian merchant caravans ventured far into Persia
and Asia Minor
» The Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians were
enthusiastic traders
» In time, small trading centers in Ashur and Nineveh
became major market centers where people would
purchase linens from Egypt, pearls from the Red Sea,
and iron weapons from Anatolia (part of Turkey)
»Pg. 65
»Questions 1, 3 & 4
» The Cuneiform language – One of the earliest
forms of writing and was based on picture signs
(pg. 67 in text)
» This language probably developed for the need
to keep accurate records in trade and
agriculture
» People wrote Cuneiform on mud or clay tablets
and then baked them like a brick
» At first these were written in columns and
wrote right to left
» As time passed symbols are clearly written left
to right
» Why the change?
» In long narrative poems or epics, the people of
Mesopotamia preserved ancient legends and
passed on religious teachings, accounts of
disasters, and stories of their heroes
» Epic of Gilgamesh (pg. 68)
» Almost everyone owned a small statue of one
of the gods
» Nearly all of the statues depict a man standing
quietly with hands clasped in prayer
» Mosaics were often used to tell a story
» One of the most famous one’s was found by
Leonard Wooley during his excavations of Ur in
1922
- A standard is a symbol of the power or
authority of the king
- In modern times, we often use a flag as a
standard of king or country
» There were Mosaic’s of battle, which showed
soldiers bringing back prisoners of war to their
king
» Some of the soldiers were depicted riding in
four-wheel chariots
» The depiction of these vehicles is the earliest
evidence we have of the use of the wheel!
» Relief carvings on
buildings were another
important art form
» In some cases they
depicted mythical
animals or figures; in
other cases, they
portrayed an important
king
» Pg. 70
» Questions 1-3
» The Sumerians invented the wheel, and it has
been dubbed Mesopotamia’s most important
technological advance
» Farmers were able to transport 3-4x the weight
in crops and produce
» The invention of the wheel led to pulleys which
made it easier to raise water from wells, helping
with the irrigation process
» The wheel also led to the potters wheel,
beginning fine pottery
» It is thought Sumerians created Bronze by accidently
smelting copper and tin together
» They acquired these two metals in trades with other
nations
» Bronze was an expensive metal to produce but easier
to work with
» Bronze took over from stone as the primary medal for
roughly 2000 years
» It was eventually replaced by iron, which the
Assyrian’s used in Mesopotamia
» The Sumerians could count in 10’s and 100’s, but
they preferred to use 60 as their arithmetical unit
» Why 60? (pg. 71)
» Math was extremely important to the Sumerians
political and economic systems
» They used math to help build canals, keep accurate
records of farming and trading, and calculate taxes
owed to the state
» From the Sumerians we have received the 360
degree circle, the 60 min hour, and the 60 second
minute
» The ancient Mesopotamians believed the stars
controlled the forces of heaven
» They used various groups of stars and their
movements to predict the future
» Astronomers studying the stars worked out a lunar
calendar of 12 months
» Their year was divided into 2 seasons, emesh
(summer), and enten (winter)
» The Chaldeans even used the stars to determine
direction on land or at sea
Homework
» Pg. 72
» Questions 1-3
Test
Tuesday, October 22
(Review Day Friday)