Download ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- “THE LAND BETWEEN THE RIVERS”

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA:
“THE LAND BETWEEN TWO RIVERS”
GEOGRAPHY
• in the Fertile Crescent
• between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers,
both of which flow into the Persian Gulf
• located in present day Iraq
Mesopotamia
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA GEOGRAPHY
POSITIVES
• abundant amount of clay
• easy till-able soil
• water supply from TigrisEuphrates Rivers
NEGATIVES
• few natural resources
• minimal protection from
deserts and mountains
CITY-STATE:
a self-governing unit made up of a city and its surrounding villages and
farmlands
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA-SUMERIAN
CIVILIZATION
• BELIEVED TO BE SETTLED CA. 3000 B.C.
• DIVIDED INTO CITY-STATES
• HELPED TO DEVELOP THE FIRST FORM OF
ORGANIZED RELIGION
• CREATED ONE OF THE EARLIEST FORMS OF
WRITING
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN
CITY-STATES
• ALWAYS IN CONSTANT CONFLICT
OVER WATER RIGHTS AND LAND
• CREATED WALLS FOR
PROTECTION WITH MOATS
ALONG THE OUTSIDE
• FARMS WERE LOCATED ALONG
THE OUTSIDE OF THE CITY
Sumerians invented:
• the wheel
• units of time – 60 minutes in an hour and 60
seconds in a minute
• a 12 month lunar calendar
• the arch
• the ramp
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN
RELIGION
• Each city-state had their own gods
and goddesses, but the Sun gods
were the most important.
• Life after death was an
extension of life.
Ziggurats
•
•
•
•
large pyramid shaped structures
temples of the main gods
thought to be connected to heaven and earth
Ziggurat: “center for learning and religion”
Ziggurat – Holy Mountain
How to Build a Ziggurat
http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/ziggurats/challenge/cha_set.html
Sumerian Religion
• Monotheism: worshiping one
god.
– “Mono” – means one
• Polytheism: worshiping many
gods.
– “Poly” – means many
Writing:
Cuneiform
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN
WRITING
• CALLED CUNEIFORM (LATIN
FOR WEDGE)
• WRITTEN ON CLAY TABLETS
• NEEDED FOR RELIGION,
GOVERNMENT AND TRADE
• LEARNED IN SCHOOL BY
MALES
How is cuneiform created?
by pressing a pointed stylus into a
clay tablet
cuneiform
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN
ECONOMY
• Make, sell or barter goods.
• Trade helped expansion.
• Development of money…
– Will evolve over time.
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN
ECONOMY
RICH
• government officials
• religious leaders
• traders
POOR
• farmers
• craftsman
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN
PASTIMES
• Entertainment
– No longer had to hunt and gather.
– More time for fun times.
• Rich had more time than poor.
• Activities:
– BOARD GAMES
– INSTRUMENTS
– BARE FISTED BOXING
• Activities geared toward young
and used for socializing.
The invention of Agriculture changed the
way people lived.
• agriculture (farming)
• growth of cities
• division of labor
(specialization)
• trade
• writing and mathematics
Persians
Akkadians
Babylonians
Sumeria
Hittites
Mesopotamian
Civilization
Chaldeans
Lydians
Phoenicians
Assyrians
Hittites
• major advancement:
iron weapons
• Note the locations of:
– Hittites
– Assyrians
– Akkadians
Assyrians
• Chief God: Assur
• major advancements:
chariots and cavalry
Akkadians
• spoke a language related to modern Hebrew and Arabic
“When heaven above was not yet named, nor earth below pronounced by name, Apsu,
the first one, their begetter and maker Tiamat, who bore them all, had mixed their waters
together, but had not formed pastures, nor discovered reed-beds. When yet no gods
were manifest, nor names pronounced, nor destinies decreed, then gods were born
within them.”
Babylonians
• Chief god: Marduk
– Prayed for good harvest
and success in business.
• King Hammurabi
• Hammurabi’s Code
– earliest code of law
– based on equal
retaliation
Hammurabi’s Code
• 282 laws
• harsh punishment for crimes based on equal
retaliation
– “If a man bring an accusation against a man and charge
him with a capital crime, but cannot prove it, the accuser
shall be put to death.”
– “If the slave of a freed man strike the body of a freed man,
his ear shall be cut off.”
• Laws were varied for the wealthy and powerful.
What do you think?
– “If a man bring an accusation against a man and charge
him with a capital crime, but cannot prove it, the accuser
shall be put to death.”
– “If the slave of a freed man strike the body of a freed man,
his ear shall be cut off.”
– “If a man strike a free-born woman so that she lose her
unborn child, he shall pay ten shekels for her loss.”
• “If the woman die, his daughter shall be put to death.”
Chaldeans
• skilled astronomers
• Hanging Gardens of
Babylon (one of the
Ancient Wonders of the
World)
– King Nebuchadnezzar
built them for his
wife
Persians
• located in present day Iran
• spoke an Indo-European language
• religion: Zoroastrianism
– belief in final judgment and training for it
Phoenicians
• Major natural
resource: lumber
from cedar forests.
• Invented the art of
glassblowing.
• Alphabet
– Then adopted by
Greeks and Romans
Lydians
• First to use a money economy.
– An economic system based in the use of money as
a measure of value and a unit of account.