Download Mesopotamia Sumerians

Bell Ringer
• TOTAL RECALL!
– Where is Mesopotamia?
– What does the word “Mesopotamia” mean?
– What are natural (geographical) boundaries of
Mesopotamia?
– What is Hammurabi’s Code?
– What is the cultural, political, and religious capital
city of Mesopotamia?
– What were the two competing kingdoms vying for
control of Mesopotamia?
Mesopotamia
Mr. Pentzak
Level One Humanities
Fall 2013
Mesopotamia
• “Between the Rivers”
– Tigris & Euphrates
• A region, not a country!
– Controlled by various societies/civilizations over
time.
– Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians,
Greeks, Romans, etc.
Geography
• Natural Boundaries:
-Zagros Mnts. -Taurus Mnts.
-Persian Gulf -Mediterranean Sea
-Red Sea
-Arabian & Syrian Desert
• Isolated
• Fertile flood
plain
Fertile Crescent
• “Fertile Crescent”
– Arid= (of land or a climate) having little or no rain;
too dry or barren to support vegetation
– Annual flooding of Tigris and Euphrates deposits
silt
– Silt= fine sand, clay,
or other material carried
by running water and
deposited as a sediment
Rise of Civilization
• Agriculture develops about 10,000 years ago
(c. 8000 BCE)
– Hunter-Gatherers previously!
• Neolithic farmers settle in Fertile Crescent
around 6000 BCE
• Agriculture becomes increasingly complex
which in turn makes society more complex
• Villages → Towns → Cities → City-States
• Division of labor, specialization, surplus!
Sumerians
• Settle in the region around 5000 BCE
• A distinct and flourishing culture emerges
– Later civilizations will borrow heavily from them
• Develop irrigation= a system of supplying land with water
by means of artificial canals, ditches, etc., esp. to promote the
growth of food crops
• Inventions: plow, wheeled vehicles, sailboat,
mathematics, astronomy, the arch, writing, potter’s
wheel, and the frying pan
• Bring us out of Neolithic age, Bronze Age! (c. 3100
BCE)
– Iron will replace bronze c. 1200 BCE
Sargon the Great
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Akkadian (North of Sumer, South of Assur)
Conquers most of Mesopotamia
First Empire
Ruled c. 2334 BCE – 2279 BCE
Subsequent kings tried to emulate
Cultural blending as empire spreads
Standardize weights and measures
– Trade!
Hammurabi
• Babylonian King 1792-1750 BCE
• Hammurabi’s Code
– 200+ laws on everything from building codes, fair
wages, divorce, slavery, and major crimes
– Strict punishments
– Consequences based on social rank
Ashurbanipal
• Assyrian King from 668-627 BCE
• Collects cuneiform tablets from all over the
kingdom
– First library
• Promotes culture and the arts throughout
Mesopotamia
• Eliminates many military threats
– Bankrupts the kingdom as a result, upon his death
civil wars and weak leaders
– Paves way for Persian control (Cyrus the Great)
Assyrians
• Northern Mesopotamia
• Constant conflict with Babylonia
• Conquers Babylon
– Destroys, rebuilds (Sennacherib)
– Emulate their culture
Babylon
Babylon
• Possibly built by Sargon the Great
• Major political, cultural, and religious center
of Mesopotamia
• Highly prized-attacked often
• Tower of Babel, Hanging Gardens
City Life
• Ur & Uruk
– First cities
• Walled
• Mud brick cities
• Narrow, crowded streets
– Buildings several stories high
• Ziggurat in center of town
Economy
• Extensive trade networks develop
– Needs/wants- timber, metal ore/alloys, precious
stones, spices
– Traded for agricultural products and textiles
– Wheat, beans, grapes, olives, flax
• Contracts and debts recorded by scribes on
cuneiform tablets
• Several laws enacted regarding trade, wages,
and prices
Religion
• Polytheistic
• Over 3,000 gods. Each city had a patron god
• Statues would be placed in temples so there
would always be something praying to the gods
• Daily sacrifices
– beer, bread, fruit, wine, meat
• Same gods, names change over time
depending on the culture in power
Religion cont.
• Ziggurat- a rectangular stepped tower,
sometimes surmounted by a temple
• Every city had one, and rulers used them to
display their wealth and devotion to the gods
• Marduk was the most important god
• Tiamat (salt water)
• Apsu (fresh water)
Culture
• Similar throughout Mesopotamia, borrow
heavily from one another
• Cuneiform
– One of the earliest forms of written languages
– Clay tablets, reed styluses
• Epic of Gilgamesh
– Gilgamesh c. 2500 BCE, written text c. 1700 BCE
Women
• Not equal to men, but had rights
– See shift in view of Tiamat
• Able to own property, navigate legal issues,
buy and sell goods, operate businesses
• Upper class/religious class were literate
• Married young
– Dowries
– Divorce
Lingo Bingo
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Sargon the Great
Hammurabi
Cyrus the Great
Ashurbanipal
Babylon
Assyria
Tigris &Euphrates
Taurus and Zagros Mountains
Syrian and Arabian Desert
Mediterranean Sea and
Persian Gulf
• Cuneiform
• Ziggurat
• Irrigation
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Silt
Scribe
Epic of Gilgamesh
Tiamat
Apsu
Marduk
Ea
Fertile
Sumerians
Frying pan
Sailboat
Pancakes
• http://history-world.org/sumeria.htm
• http://mesopotamia.mrdonn.org/sumer.html
• http://www.mitchellteachers.net/WorldHistor
y/MrMEarlyHumansProject/PDFs/SumerAchie
veBlurbs.pdf