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The Sumerians and Judaism
Chapter 2-4, 2-5
The Sumerians and Judaism
• Babylonian Empire-Babylon, the capital of
Babylonia, an ancient empire of Mesopotamia,
was a city on the Euphrates River, in what is now
southern Iraq. Historically, Babylonia refers to the
First Dynasty of Babylon established by
Hammurabi and to the Neo-Babylonian Period
after the fall of the Assyrian Empire. Babylon
became one of the most important cities of the
ancient Middle East when Hammurabi (17921750 BC) made it the capital of his kingdom of
Babylonia.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• The Babylonian Empire
•
The Sumerians and Judaism
• Hammurabi the Lawgiver- 1792 – 1750 B.C.
• Babylonian king who set down first written code of laws
• Hammurabi, first ruler of the Babylonian empire, holds the claim of
restoring order and justice to Mesopotamia. Although Hammurabi
did conquer other city-states to expand his empire, he let the rulers
of the cities-states live and justly ruled the people with fair laws.
• Hammurabi wanted his subjects to obey him because they liked him
and believed he made just, fair laws and not because they were
apprehensive of his formidable military.2
• In about 1786 B.C. he wrote 282 laws governing family, criminal
punishment, civil law, ethics, business, prices, trade, and every
other aspect of ancient life known as “the Code of Hammurabi”
which he set up where everyone could read them.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• Hammurabi image
The Sumerians and Judaism
• The Code of Hammurabi Image
The Sumerians and Judaism
• Criminal Law- One section of Hammurabi’s
code dealed with criminal law. Criminal law is
the branch of law that deals with offenses
against others such as murder, assault or
robbery.
• Civil Law- Under Hammurabi’s code; this is the
branch of law that deals with private rights
and matters such as business contracts,
property inheritance, taxes, marriage, and
divorce.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• The Hittites, like other invaders helped with
the spread of ideas.
• Hittites and the Secret of Ironworking
spreads- The Hittites pushed out of Asia Minor
and into Mesopotamia in 1400 B.C. They
learned how to extract iron from ore. The
tools that they made with iron were harder
and cheaper than those made with bronze or
copper.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• The Assyrians- lived in the Upper Tigris;
learned to forge iron weapons.
• By 1100 B.C. they expanded across
Mesopotamia. For 500 years they were seen
as the most fearsome warriors in History.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• Nebuchadnezzar and the Hanging Gardens• After the Assyrians fell, the ruthless
Babylonian empire revived Babylon led by
Nebuchadnezzar.
• Near Nebuchadnezzar’s palace were the
famous hanging gardens built for his wife who
was homesick for the hills where she grew up.
• These Hanging Gardens were one of the Seven
Wonders of the World
The Sumerians and Judaism
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon-
The Sumerians and Judaism
• The Persian empire takes over BabylonThough Babylon had thick walls it failed to
hold back the Persian armies, and Babylon fell
to Cyrus the Great.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• The Persians practiced tolerance or
acceptance of the people that they
conquered.
• Satrap- Governor of the Persian Empire.
• Darius’ set of Laws- Darius was a Persian
Emperor from 522 B.C. to 486 B.C. Darius
created a set of laws from the people that he
conquered..
The Sumerians and Judaism
• Zoroaster Religion- Created by the Persian
thinker Zoroaster who helped unite the
empire. Zoroaster lived about 600 B.C. He
rejected the old Persian Gods. He taught that
a single wise God, Ahura Mazda, ruled the
world. Ahura Mazda was in a constant battle
against Ahriman, the prince of lies and evil.
Each individual had to pick which side to
support. The teachings were in the book,
Zend- Avesta.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• The Phoenicians- Gained fame as sailors and traders. They
occupied a string of cities along the eastern Mediterranean
coast. The area that is now Lebanon and Syria.
• Colony- The Phoenicians traded with people all around the
Mediterranean Sea. To promote trade they set up colonies
from North Africa to Sicily and Spain.
• Alphabet-the Phoenicians created the alphabet that we use
today, a system in which every symbol or word represents
spoken sounds.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• According to the Torah, a man named Abraham lived
near Ur in Mesopotamia. About 2000 B.C. he and his
family migrated to Canaan. Abraham is considered
the founder of the Israelite nation.
• The Book of Genesis, the first book in the Bible,
states that they migrated to Egypt during a famine;
they were enslaved and later escaped from Egypt.
Moses led their exodus; they entered the land of
Canaan.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• By 1000 B.C. the Israelites set up a kingdom
called Israel.
• Their King, David, united the Kingdom into
one nation.
• David’s son, Solomon, turned Jerusalem into
the capital of Israel.
• Solomon’s building projects required heavy
taxes and after his death the people revolted
dividing Israel in the North and the South.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• Israel was divided and now located to the
North, Judah was located in the South.
• Weakened by the division Israel fell to the
Assyrians in 722 B.C.
• Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the great temple
and forced the Israelites into exile in Babylon.
During this period of captivity the Israelites
became known as the Jews.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• Jews practiced a monotheistic religion.
• Israelites believed that god had a covenant, or
binding agreement with Abraham. In return
for their obedience the Jews saw themselves
as God’s chosen people.
• Israel’s society was patriarchal, which means
that fathers held legal and moral authority.
• Women had few legal rights.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• The heart of Judaism are the “ Ten
Commandments”, which was a set of laws
that Jews believe God gave them through
Moses. The first four commandments stress
religious duties towards God. Such as keeping
the Sabbath, a holy day for rest and worship.
• Jewish spiritual leaders are called Prophets,
who warned that those who failed to follow
his laws would lead their people to disaster.
The Sumerians and Judaism
• The Prophets also preached a strong code of
ethics, or moral standards of behavior. They
urged both personal morality and social
justice.
• More than 2,000 years ago, many Jews left
their homeland, this Diaspora, or scattering of
people, sent Jews to different parts of the
world
• Judaism influenced Christianity and Islam.