Transcript Akkadian/ Early Babylonian Period (2350

The Cosmopolitan
Middle East
The Seeds of Creativity
Akkadian/ Early Babylonian
Period (2350-1650 BC)
Akkadian/ Early Babylonian
Period (2350-1650 BC)
• Descendants of Shem
– Semitic language (Arabic, Hebrew, etc)
Creative Contributions:
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Standing army
System of royal servants and landholders
Poetry/epic
Written law
Governmental bureaucracy
Mathematics
Akkadian/ Early Babylonian
Period (2350-1650 BC)
• Standing army
– Led by Sargon I the King of Akkad
– Conquered the Sumerians
– Expanded the empire greatly (paid the army
from the spoils of war)
– New lands and territories that had to be
controlled
• Royal servants given new lands
– Very loyal
– Created economic vigor in trade
– Created intelligent division of labor
Akkadian/ Early Babylonian
Period (2350-1650 BC)
• Poetry
– Epic of Gilgamesh
• About 2000 B.C.
• Oldest known literary document
• Account of King Gilgamesh
• Includes a flood story (similar to Bible)
Akkadian/ Early Babylonian
Period (2350-1650 BC)
• Written Law: The Code of
Hammurabi
– Developed by King Hammurabi (~1700 B.C.)
• Great leader, ruled during the cultural
pinnacle of the early Babylonian Period
• Personally supervised navigation, construction
of temples, agriculture, and tax collection.
– First set of laws (predates Moses by 200
years)
– Brought uniformity to society
– Reduced resentment and possibilities for
revolt
– Engraved on 8-foot stella (pillar)
Code of Hammurabi –
Trial by ordeal
"If a man has accused another of laying a
death spell upon him, but has not proved
it, the accused shall go to the sacred river,
he shall plunge in the sacred river, and if
the sacred river shall conquer him, he that
accused him shall take possession of his
house. If the sacred river shall show his
innocence and he is saved, his accuser
shall be put to death. He that plunged in
the sacred river shall appropriate the
house of him that accused him."
Hammurabi Code vs The Bible
• Source: Existing laws
• Religious: Little
• Capital crimes:
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False accusation or witness
Stolen temple goods
Stolen child
Assisted fleeing slave
Adultery
• Justice: Eye for eye or
compensation
• Equality: Changes by rank
• Responsibility: Surgeon,
home builder
• Source: God
• Religious: Strong
• Capital crimes:
– Murder (unless God
delivered him)
– Smite or curse parents
– Steal man and sell him
– Killed fetus
– Adultery
• Justice: Eye for eye or
compensation
• Equality: No differences
• Responsibility: Repeated
ox goring
Akkadian/ Early Babylonian
Period (2350-1650 BC)
• Governmental Bureaucracy
– Established by King Hammurabi
– Administrators paid by the government
(local taxes), unlike Sargon I’s.
– Could keep an eye on empire without
expensive and continuous military
entanglements.
Akkadian/ Early Babylonian
Period (2350-1650 BC)
• Mathematics
– Decimal and sexigesimal system
• 60 and 360 – religious numbers
– Sexigesimal numbers today
• Circle
• Time
– Placeholder concept
– No Concept of Zero
Hittites (1450-1200 B.C.)
• From Anatolia (present day Turkey)
• Creative Contribution:
– Iron
Hittites (1450-1200 B.C.)
• Iron
– Much harder and stronger than all former
metals
• Found in natural state (soft)
– Gold and copper
• Bronze (copper with tin)
• Brass (copper with zinc)
• Iron required much higher temperatures
– Conquered Mesopotamia because of weapon
strength (~1650 B.C)
– Agricultural productivity higher when farming
tools were made of iron
– Started the move from the Bronze Age to the
Iron Age (~1500 B.C.)
Assyrians (900-626 B.C.)
• Creative contribution:
– Torture
• Creativity can be good or bad
• Extremely vicious
• Entire cities surrendered because of fear
• Conquered Mesopotamia from within the
territory of old Babylonian empire
• Capital was Ninevah (Jonah story)
• Captured the 10 tribes and carried them
northward (721 BC)
• Defeated by the Babylonians and Medes
(626 BC)
Egypt
Creativity for Eternity
Egypt
• Began about 3500BC
• Independent for 2000
years
• 31 dynasties
– 4 great kingdoms or
periods
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Old Kingdom
Middle Kingdom
New Kingdom
Late Period (nonindependent)
• Geography was a
blessing and a downfall
Geography and Stability
The Nile River
• Predictable and gentle
flooding
– Replenished the soil, thus
allowing for 3000 years of
continual planting
– Consistent flood times
– Consistent flood amounts
• Planned irrigation
– Allowed for enough crops
for a very large
population
Geography and Stability
Isolation
• Only realistic route for an
invader is over the
Isthmus of Suez
• Egypt able to defend it
• Egypt was not influenced
by outsiders for 1000s of
years
• Even when Egypt
became dominated by
outside rulers, it held
onto its own laws,
culture, religion and
kings.
Creativity
• Creativity and Change
– Old Kingdom was uniting and conquering
– Temples and religion demanded creativity
– Surplus of labor. The Pharaoh put them to
work on elaborate construction projects.
• Stagnant but Stable
– Middle and New Kingdoms
– Fear of upsetting the profitable system,
Egypt stopped creativity
– Delicate balance between gods, nature, and
choices of the people
– Pharaohs lost the ability to bring change
New Kingdom
(1550 - 1050 BC)
• Began with overthrow of the Hyksos.
The pharaoh knew not Joseph (Exodus
1:8)
• Ended with the Third Intermediate
Period, led by foreign rulers and
internal fighting
• Creativity
– Temples
• Luxor and Karnak
– Strong pharoahs
Luxor
Karnak Temple
New Kingdom
(1550 - 1050 BC)
• Strong Pharaohs
– Akhenaton
(monotheistic)
New Kingdom
(1550 - 1050 BC)
• Strong Pharaohs
– Queen Hatshepsut
New Kingdom
(1550 - 1050 BC)
• Strong Pharaohs
– Rameses II (military)
– Moses' enemy?
New Civilizations
Nubia
3100 B.C.E. – 350 C.E.
Nubia
• Located in Nile valley from Aswan south
to Khartoum
• Forms a link between tropical Africa and
the Mediterranean world.
• Natural resources included:
– Gold, semi-precious stones, copper.
Development of Civilization
• Spurred by need for:
– Irrigated Agriculture
– Trade with Egypt
• Nubian and Egyptian culture developed
through mutual influence and borrowing.
Trade and Occupation
• Early Nubia carried out trade with Old
Kingdom Egypt
• Northern part of Nubia was occupied by
Egypt during Middle Kingdom period
Kingdom of Kush
• Kingdom of Kush developed in southern
part of Nubia by 1750 B.C.E.
• Kush noted from metalworking and
construction
• Egypt invaded Kush during New Kingdom
period.
– Resulted in Egyptian occupation that
exploited Nubian laborers
Kushite Pyramids
Kingdom of Meroë
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800 B.C.E.-350 C.E.
This kingdom ruled Egypt as the 25th Dynasty.
Nubian Kingdom had a capital at Napata.
Napata period characterized by Egyptian cultural
influence.
• In 4th century, moved capital to Meroë.
– Better for agriculture and trade
Meroë
• Ruling dynasty of Meroë practiced a
matrilineal family system
• Queens were very influential
• Dominated trade routes
• Used reservoirs to catch rainfall
• Became important center for iron smelting
Decline of Meroë
• Shift in trade routes
• Rise of kingdom of Aksum
• Depredations of camel-riding nomads