Download 006LD-Mesopotamia-TheFertileCrescent

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LECTURE/DISCUSSION
MESOPOTAMIA: THE FERTILE CRESCENT
A. What is “civilization”?
1. comes from the Latin term for "city"
a. most civilizations do depend on cities
b. cities are crucial b/c they amass wealth and power, allow for
exchange of ideas, promote specialization and trade
2. Characteristics of a "civilization"
a. form of writing> for record keeping, sending communications
b. elaborated political system/organization
c. class or caste divisions including slavery
d. separation of rulers and the ruled
e. warlike and expansionistic
f. inequality between men and women
g. technological changes encouraged
h. artistic and intellectual movements
i. destroys the natural environment
3. "Civilization"  not a synonym for good
B. Mesopotamia: The Tigris-Euphrates Civilization
1. Mesopotamia  one of the few cases of a civilization developed from
scratch (no examples to imitate)
2. Greek for "land between the rivers"  developed on the alluvial plain
between T&E Rivers (present-day Iraq)
3. 4000 BCE  settled by farmers
a. used bronze and copper
b. invented the wheel
c. developed a well-established pottery industry
4. Eventually a need for irrigation required coordination among communities
 basis for political structures; later by 3000 BCE, constructed canals
C. Sumeria (3500 – 2350 BCE)
1. By 3500 BCE created the main framework of Mesopotamian civilizations
 a land of villages and city-states that depended on agricultural (some of
the most important cities was Ur and Uruk)
2. Sumerians were Semitic people who spoke Akkadian
3. Developed a cuneiform alphabet  first known case of human writing
a. Geometric shapes – spoken sounds (over 200 signs)
b. Only a few had time to master the complex skills of cuneiform –
scribes usually from aristocratic families
c. Images were marked on soft clay tablets with reeds and then baked
4. Sumerian Art
a. Frescoes and temples of the gods
b. Statues of gods adorned the homes
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L/D: Mesopotamia: The Fertile Crescent
5. Science/Technology
a. Sumerians founded astronomy
b. Number system based on units of 10, 60, 360
c. Invented the plow
6. Religion
a. multitude of powerful gods (3000) > anthropomorphic (in human
form)  polytheism (Anu, Enhil, Ishtar)
b. each city had a patron god(s)
c. Babylonian Creation Myth - humans were created to be servants of
the gods; failures to obey the wishes of the gods brought
punishment
d. Ziggurats - massive centrally located pyramid-shaped towers
formed the first great monumental architecture; housed the cult of
the deity ("ziggurat" means pinnacle or mountaintop)
1. Tower of Babel
2. sacrifices  after sacrifice people might purchase meat or
visit temple prostitutes
3. Goddess of Love  Ishtar
e. Priesthood controlled the shrines and temples and managed the
deity's wealth
f. Temple held land and some farmers were allowed to farm but had
to pay tithes
g. Priests and people conducted prayers and offerings to prevent
calamities that might destroy the agricultural base of the
civilization (floods, droughts, etc.)
h. An afterlife of punishment  an existence of darkness and dust
(cold / dusty)
7. Political Structure
a. city-states ruled by kings (lugals) who claimed divine authority
1. concept of a god-like king
2. king the earthly representative of god
3. dynastic succession
b. defined boundaries established
c. Government regulated religion
d. provided a court system
e. king's roles:
1. upkeep and building of the temples
2. maintenance of city walls and defenses
3. upkeep of irrigation channels
4. protected the property rights
5. protection of the people
6. collected taxes
f. most powerful Sumerian king  Sargon I(ruled about 2350 BCE) introduced the Akkadian language and first to create a unified
kingdom throughout the region (mainly by united religions)
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L/D: Mesopotamia: The Fertile Crescent
8. Class Structure
a. free landowning class - royalty, officials, priesthood, warriors,
merchants, a few wealthy artists and shopkeepers
1. Kings, nobles and priesthood controlled most of the land
(large agr. Estates) worked by slaves - idea of slavery
introduced
2. slaves were supplied by warfare against other civilizations or
kidnapped; some sold
themselves or their children into
slavery to repay debts
3. owners could beat or brand their slaves, but slaves who
worked hard might earn profits and purchase their freedom
b. dependent farmers and artisans (Free commoners)
c. slaves
1. for mainly domestic service
2. wore a special haircut
9. Women
a. primary role bearing and raising children
b. no political roles
c. able to own property and engage in trade and own slaves
d. some worked outside the home in textiles or breweries, as
prostitutes, bar keepers, bakers
e. exclusively produced the most popular drink, beer
f. as time went on, men became more and more dominant
1. allowed to practice polygamy
2. permitted to have mistresses
3. could sell wife and children into slavery
4. could divorce his wife at will, but he must return the dowry
and pay child support
10. Clothing / Appearance
a. elite men and women adorned their eyes with paints and used
charcoal as an eyeliner
b. painted their faces white and lips and fingernails red
c. men wore stylized false beards
d. oils used for cleansing the body
e. men wore wool wraps, went barefoot and bare-chested; later tunics
f. women wore a fitted dress or drape and braided hair
g. avg. height for men was 5’
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L/D: Mesopotamia: The Fertile Crescent
D. Babylonia
1. Sumerians fell around 2230 BCE
2. Amorites founded a new city  Babylon and Mesopotamia was again
unified. (through increased prestige of the King)
3. King Hammurabi (1792 – 1750 BCE)  the most famous king
a. Initiated a series of aggressive military campaigns and expanded the
empire
b. Best known for his Law Code in scribed on a polished black stone
pillar (one was eventually sent out to all cities)
c. Not truly a code but a collection of case laws
d. Hammurabi sought to regulate the rights and obligations of the
three classes by establishing laws and providing specific
punishments  penalties differed according to class
e. Harsh  a surgeon whose patient died in an operation was
sentenced to have a hand cut off
f. “eye for and eye, tooth for a tooth” (law of revenge)