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2. History: Mesopotamia 3000-1600 BOT612: Old Testament Backgrounds 'Ubaid Period: 5000- 4000 BCE • 'Ubaid Period: 5000- 4000 BCE – Site located near Ur, however the distinctive elements found in north Iraq, Syria, Iran and in many sites in Saudi Arabia. – Agriculture: Wheat, barley, millet, and other cereals (irrigation systems) – Graves: cemeteries – Temple: in Eridu (level VII) a high temple built on a terrace. Uruk Period: 4000-2900 BCE • Uruk Period: 4000-2900 BCE – Pottery Changes – Temple: Warka = 1) Celestial god Anu; 2) Inanna (Ishtar) – These were proto-types for the ziggurats. – Writing – Cylinder Seals (Vol. 2: PDF OT/Lectures/) – The Problem of the Origins of the Sumerians. – View – ANE Art Sumer & . . . Pdf – Innin-Dumuzi stories begin to develop. Early Dynastic Period 2900-2300 • Early Dynastic Period: – The Golden Age: ED (Early Dynastic) I ca. 2900-2700 BCE – The Heroic Age: ED II ca. 2700-2500 BCE – The Dynastic Age: ED III 2500-2300 BCE • Political & Social Organizations: – ". . . There is the pattern of urban settlements, which increase in density and size from the late Uruk into the ED III period, so that by 2500 it looks as though 80 per cent of the population resided in substantial cities of more than 100 acres." (Kuhrt, 31) Early Dynastic Period 2900-2300 – Kings & city officials exist – Popular wisdom: Shuruppak gave instructions to his son: 'My son, let me give you instructions, May you pay attention to them! (next line frag.) Do not buy a prostitute, it is horrible, Do not make a well in a field, the water will do damage to you Do not give evidence against a man, the city will . . . . Do not guarantee (for someone), that man will have a hold on you' Early Dynastic Period 2900-2300 • Kings & Cities – City-state in the South, but not in the North – Land owned by: King, temple & private ownership. – Ruler were protectors of the city – Most inhabitants of the city played a role in the cult. – Royal Courts – War: King played a prominent role Early Dynastic Period 2900-2300 • King Lists: – "Several king lists are known from Mesopotamia, some of which try to bridge the obscure, prehistoric times with legendary dynasties. One of these is the Sumerian King list composed in the Isin-Larsa period, c. 1900 B.C. It begins with eight kings who ruled 241,000 years before the Flood. This is followed by a succession of dynasties: First that of Kish credited with over 24,510 years; second, Uruk - twelve kings ruling ruling 2,310 years; Third Ur – four rulers for 177 years, and so down to the Isin-Larsa period. Beginning with First dynasty of Ur it becomes a reliable historical record." [Schwantes, A Short History of the Ancient Near East, 24] Early Dynastic Period 2900-2300 – Society: • "It has been demonstrated that slavery never played a major role in Mesopotamia, probably because it was economically unfeasible, especially for industrial purposes, before Greco-Roman times; slaves were confined largely to domestic duties and represented a luxury in any household." [Hallo & Simpson, The Ancient Near East: A History, 49-50] • The "Uruinimgina reform": "Uruinimgina solemnly promised Ningirsu that he would never subject the waif and the widow to the powerful." (Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East, 39] Early Dynastic Period 2900-2300 • First Dynasty of Ur (c. 2500 BCE) – "The Sumerian king list mentions as first ruler of this dynasty Meshannipadda, supposed to have ruled eighty years. Excavations in Ur have brought to light his name, as well as that of his wife Nintur, and his son Aannipadda, who built the temple in Al-)Ubaid . . . ." [Schwantes, A Short History of the Ancient Near East, 24] – Royal Tomb . . . N.B. Queen Shubad's gold jewery. Standard of Ur: Sumerian, 30002340 B.C.E. Ur-Nina & Family 3000-2180 Harp of Shabad 3500-3000 Goat in Thicket 3000 BCE Sumerian Literature • "Sumerian literature is comparable in sheer size to biblical literature. A recent survey estimates the number of lines so far recovered at approximately 40,000; bearing in mind that most Sumerian literature is poetic in form and that the typical Sumerian verse may be somewhat shorter than the typical biblical verse, this already compares favorably with the total of biblical verses in the Masoretic count, recently calculated at 23,097 (Hallo 1988). Much of Sumerian literature still remains to be recovered." [W. W. Hallo, "Sumerian Literature," ABD: CD-Rom] Sumerian Literature • Genre in the Early Period (2500-2300) – Incantations already from Shuruppak & Ebla, later used to ward off evil spirits. There is no parallel literature in the Bible – "Hymns to deities and their temples are also attested from a very early date. Some of the finest are attributed to Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon of Akkad and the first non-anonymous author in history." [W. W. Hallo, "Sumerian Literature," ABD: CDRom] Sumerian Literature – "Sumerian myths and epics are generically also hymns, but confine praise of their divine or royal protagonist to their concluding doxology, while the body of the poem is narrative in character." [W. W. Hallo, "Sumerian Literature," ABD: CDRom] – "The common man is notably the focus of wisdom literature, so called in imitation of the biblical category though wisdom itself is not prominently mentioned, as it often is in Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. The earliest attested wisdom genres are instructions and proverbs." [W. W. Hallo, "Sumerian Literature," ABD: CD-Rom] Sumerian Literature • Neo-Sumerian Period: 2200-1900 – "The deification of the Sumerian king during this phase led to a certain commingling of sacred and royal literature and to the emergence of several new genres responding to the new ideology. The king was regarded at once as of divine and human parentage, the product of a physical union in which the royal partners “represented” deities, most often Dumuzi and Inanna or their Akkadian equivalents Tammuz (cf. Ezek 8:14) and Ishtar. An extensive body of poetry celebrated these “sacred marriage” rites and, together with more strictly secular love poetry addressed to the king or recited antiphonally by him and his bride, anticipated the Song of Songs in its explicit eroticism." Sumerian Religion • "Each city housed a temple that was the seat of a major god in the Sumerian pantheon, as the gods controlled the powerful forces which often dictated a human's fate. The city leaders had a duty to please the town's patron deity, not only for the good will of that god or goddess, but also for the good will of the other deities in the council of gods. The priesthood initially held this role, and even after secular kings ascended to power, the clergy still held great authority through the interpretation of omens and dreams. Many of the secular kings claimed divine right; Sargon of Agade, for example claimed to have been chosen by Ishtar/Inanna." [http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cbsiren/sumer-faq.html 98/09/20] Sumerian Religion • "The rectangular central shrine of the temple, known as a 'cella,' had a brick altar or offering table in front of a statue of the temple's deity. The cella was lined on its long ends by many rooms for priests and priestesses. These mud-brick buildings were decorated with cone geometrical mosaics, and the occasional fresco with human and animal figures. These temple complexes eventually evolved into towering ziggurats." [http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cbsiren/sumer-faq.html 98/09/20] Sumerian Religion • "The temple was staffed by priests, priestesses, musicians, singers, castrates and hierodules. Various public rituals, food sacrifices, and libations took place there on a daily basis. There were monthly feasts and annual, New Year celebrations. During the later, the king would be married to Inanna as the resurrected fertility god Dumuzi, whose exploits are dealt with below." [http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cbsiren/sumer-faq.html 98/09/20] Sumerian Religion • "When it came to more private matters, a Sumerian remained devout. Although the gods preferred justice and mercy, they had also created evil and misfortune. A Sumerian had little that he could do about it. Judging from Lamentation records, the best one could do in times of duress would be to "plead, lament and wail, tearfully confessing his sins and failings." Their family god or city god might intervene on their behalf, but that would not necessarily happen. After all, man was created as a broken, labor saving, tool for the use of the gods and at the end of everyone's life, lay the underworld, a generally dreary place." [http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cbsiren/sumer-faq.html 98/09/20] Sumerian Cosmology • "From verses scattered throughout hymns and myths, one can compile a picture of the universe's (anki) creation according to the Sumerians. The primeval sea (abzu) existed before anything else and within that, the heaven (an) and the earth (ki) were formed. The boundary between heaven and earth was a solid (perhaps tin) vault, and the earth was a flat disk. Within the vault lay the gaslike 'lil', or atmosphere, the brighter portions therein formed the stars, planets, sun, and moon. (Kramer, The Sumerians 1963: pp. 112-113) Each of the four major Sumerian Sumerian Cosmology deities is associated with one of these regions. An, god of heaven, may have been the main god of the pantheon prior to 2500 BC., although his importance gradually waned. Ki is likely to be the original name of the earth goddess, whose name more often appears as Ninhursag (queen of the mountains), Ninmah (the exalted lady), or Nintu (the lady who gave birth). It seems likely that these two were the progenitors of most of the gods." [http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cbsiren/sumer-faq.html 98/09/20] The Akkad Empire • Lugalzagesi of Uruk: – "Stemming, apparently, from Umma, Lugal-zagesi succeeded, either by force or through a dynastic arrangement, in establishing himself at Uruk and Ur (Cooper 1983b: 33–36). He then added Lagash to his possessions and, by securing for himself the recognition of the Nippur priesthood, became the first S ruler to achieve an effective hegemony over the whole S." The Akkad Empire • Period Names: Agade Empire; Old Akkadian Empire/period; Akkadian Period; Sargonic Period. • Sargon the Great: – "Sargon's origins and rise to power are totally obscured by the various romances associated with him later . . . . a 'rag to riches' story. . . ." [Kuhrt, 48] The Akkad Empire Sargon, mighty king, king of Agade, am I My mother was an e4ntum, my father I knew not; My father's brother(s) dwell in the mountain; My city is Azupiranu, situated on the banks of the Euphrates; My mother, the e4ntum, conceived me, in secret she bore me; She placed me in a basket of rushes, she sealed 'my door' with bitumen; She cast me into the river which did not rise over The Akkad Empire The river bore me up and carried me to Aqqi, the water-drawer. Aqqi, the water-drawer, lifted me out as he dipped his ewer; Aqqi, the water-drawer, adopted me, brought me up; Aqqi, the water-drawer, set me up as his gardener. As a gardener, Ishtar loved me; For [55] years I exercised kingship. The Akkad Empire – "Sargon seems to have been of humble birth." [Hallo & Simpson, 55] – Becomes the cup-bearer to Ur-Zababa of Kish. – Makes Agade his capital & boasts of feeding 5400 daily. – Troops used bow and spears and move with more freedom than Uruk & Ur . . . . – Rule extents into Anatolia, down to the Persian Gulf. – Makes Akkadian the universal language. The Akkad Empire – Makes his daughter Enheduanna a priestess. (See CD-Rom Vol. 1 D:\Enheduanna\index.html) • Rimush – Subdued several revolts – Assassinated after 9 years • Manishtushu – Ruled for 15 years • Naram-Sin – Rules for 56 years The Akkad Empire – ". . . The royal titulary, which hitherto had been content to specify the political or cultic relationship between the ruler and his geographical domain – that is, "lord/high priest of Sumer, king of the nation" or "lord/high priest of the territory of Uruk, king of the territory of Ur." On what appears to be his earliest inscription, Naram-Sin claims, or was accorded, the modest title of king of the Akkad. But about halfway through his reign he introduced the title "king of the four quarters [of the world]" which was assumed after him by all those kings who The Akkad Empire proudly aspired to universal dominion from a Mesopotamian base. Not content with earthly honors, Naram-Sin presently also allowed himself to be entitled "god of Akkad," which at first may have implied only that he was the guiding "genius" or good fortune of his country. The concept of a "divine Naram-Sin" quickly evolved, however, and with it a cult of the living ruler and his deceased predecessors that was, for practical purposes, indistinguishable from the cult of the 'real' gods and, like theirs, centered around the king's statue." [Hallo & Simpson, 60-1] The Akkad Empire – A Period of great battles won by NaramSin (N.B. Victory Stela) – Period of great Art • Shar-kali-sharri • The End of Akkad Empire: – Gutians from Zagros – Amorites from Syria – Hurrians from Anatolia – Lullubi – Elamites The Akkad Empire • Major Significance: – "Sumerian language, culture and military art were superseded by that of the Akkadian." – "The state socialism of the Sumerian cities gave place to a centralized government, operated by a bureaucracy under the surveillance of the crown." – "Trade caravans follow everywhere in the wake of the army." The Akkad Empire – "The tension between the classes is forgotten in the splendor of world dominion." – "The political ascendancy of Akkad is accompanied by the rising prestige of the Akkadian god Shamash, the sun-god of Sippar, son of the moon-god Sin. Together Shamash, Sin, and the Venus-goddess Ishtar Anunitu build the core of an Akkadian religion of astral character which contrasts with the agrarian religion of the Sumerians." [Schwantes, A Short History of the Ancient Near East, 29] Enheduanna: Sargon the Great's Daughter Ur III Period (2100-2000) • From the End of Akkad to the rise of Ur: – "The picture of south Mesopotamia under the last Agade rulers and for a generation beyond is reminiscent of the political pattern of the ED III period, when power was divided among several different local rulers; the main centres now were Uruk, Lagash, Kish, Agade and Gutians in the Diyala." [Kuhrt, 56] Ur III Period (2100-2000) • Utuhegal of Uruk: – "The expulsion of the Gutians was achieved by Utuhegal of Uruk. But Utuhegal did not enjoy his victory long. His vassal, Urnammu of Ur, revolts against him and makes himself "king of Sumer and Akkad." He thus inaugurates the Third Dynasty of Ur which is able to hold the rule for about a century." [Schwantes, 29] Ur III Period (2100-2000) • Urnammu of Ur: – Non-expansionist policy – Collected a law code that was found in Nippur – Nabonidus (7th century BCE) identifies Urnammu and his son Shulgi as those who built the ziggurat at Ur. – The population of Ur at this time was about 25,000 according to Frankfort Ur III Period (2100-2000) • Shulgi – Rules for 50 years after his father. – "The orphan I certainly did not consign to the rich man, the widow I certainly did not consign to the powerful man, the 'man of 1 sheqel' I certainly did not consign to the 'man of 1 mina', the 'man of 1 sheep' I certainly did not consign to the 'man of 1 ox' . . . Hostility, violence, (and) lamentation to Utu (sungod, and god of justice) I caused to disappear definitively; I set justice in the land of Sumer." – Succeeded by Amarsin, Shusin, Ibbisin. Ur III Period (2100-2000) • Gudea, ensi in Lagash – "He left so may sculpture of himself, and so many inscriptions, that no other Sumerian character is so well known as he." [Schwantes, 31] Mesopotamia 2000-1600 BCE • Background: – Ibbisin of Ur defeated by the Elamites. • Kudur-Mabug takes the mountain area of West Iran, Yamutbal • Waradsin . . . . Younger brother, Rimsin. Takes Uruk, Isin and Larsa. – The Amorites move into Western Mesopotamia: • Mari dominated by Amorites • Ishbi-irra takes over Isin . . . . The last in this line is the famous Lipit-ishtar • Naplanum is over Larsa Elamite Rule 2100-2000 BCE Mesopotamia 2000-1600 BCE – Babylon: • Amorite – Sumu-abum • Sumulailu (36 years); collects a law code. – Assyria: • Take Ilishuma and Irishum • The only kings without foreign blood Mesopotamia 2000-1600 BCE • Hammurapi: – "The sixth and best attested of 11 kings in the socalled First Dynasty of Babylon (also known as Hammurabi), whose extensive collection of laws provides numerous correspondences with biblical law. During his 43-year reign the city of Babylon for the first time rose to prominence as the hub of a short-lived but extensive empire, which declined after his death. Although each of the 42 years following his accession year is identified sequentially with an event considered significant (building projects, pious royal donations to temples, wars), like other events in the early 2d millennium b.c. the absolute dates of Hammurapi Mesopotamia 2000-1600 BCE remain uncertain. Astronomical data narrow the likely date for Hammurapi’s first year to the years 1848 or 1792 or 1736 (the so-called high, middle, and low chronology respectively)." [Samuel A. Meier, "Hammurapi," ABD: CD-Rom] – Amorite descent – "There is no king mighty by himself." – ". . . five primary coalitions: 10 to 15 kings follow Hammurapi of Babylon, a like number of kings each following Rim-Sin of Larsa, Ibal-pi-el of Eshnunna, and Amut-pi-el of Qatana, while Yarim-Lim of Yamhad stands out with 20 kings following him." Mesopotamia 2000-1600 BCE – "This balance began to shift when, according to Hammurapi’s 30th-year date formula, he fought and protected his borders against Elam, Assyria, Gutium, Eshnunna, and Malgium; the following year he defeated Rim-Sin of Larsa. In order to defeat Rim-Sin, Hammurapi exploited the combined power of the above-noted royal coalitions by soliciting military support from the kings of Mari and Eshnunna (ARM 2. 33). Kings with foresight advised, “Don’t provide the man of Babylon with auxiliary troops!” (ARM 6. 27); for Hammurapi eventually turned against even those to whom he once turned for help, a notable case being the king of Mari, who had commemorated Mesopotamia 2000-1600 BCE his assistance in his own year date formula: “The year Zimri-Lim went to the aid of Babylon.” – "The year following Rim-Sin’s defeat began an eight-year period of persistent attacks by Hammurapi to the N, beginning with his defeat of the armies of Eshnunna, Assyria, and Gutium. This N campaign was repeated in the following year when he this time defeated Mari and Malgu, returning two years later to demolish their walls. The 37th-, 38th-, and 39th-year date formulas record Hammurapi’s victories against his foes to the N." Mesopotamia 2000-1600 BCE – Prologue to Law Code: "The Shepherd . . . who gathers the scattered people of Isin . . . who causes justice to appear . . . who causes the light to shine for the land of Sumer and Akkad, . . . I uprooted the enemies above and below, I extinguished strife, I promoted the welfare of the land, . . . I tolerated no troublemakers . . . that the strong might not oppress the weak, to guide properly the orphan and the widow." Mesopotamia 2000-1600 BCE – ". . . when Amorite messengers from the N once received an audience with Hammurapi, an inequality in gifts of garments on this occasion was perceived as an insult. Hammurapi was reported to have replied curtly to the messengers as he insisted on his absolute sovereignty: “You always cause trouble for me. Now you are harassing my palace about garments. I clothe those whom I wish; and if I don’t wish, I don’t provide garments!” (ARM 2. 76)." – "Hammurapi is heard elsewhere imperiously insulting visiting dignitaries: “I’ll return the Elamite messengers to their lord without escort!” (ARM 2. 73)." Mesopotamia 2000-1600 BCE – "On the other hand, Hammurapi’s vassal rulers of what is now Tell-Rimah received a report from their son, who notes: “I reached Babylon safely and have seen the king Hammurapi in a good mood” (Dalley et al. 1976: 135)." – "The reign of Hammurapi, with its expanding horizons for Babylon, facilitated the enhancement of enriched cultural and cosmopolitan dimensions in Babylonian society. The flourishing of scribal activity is evident not only in the numerous administrative documents from this period, but also in the quantity of OB literary texts (themselves already heirs to a long tradition), which were to set the standard for future literary activity into the 1st millennium b.c." Mesopotamia 2000-1600 BCE • Successors: – "Under the successors of Hammurabi, Babylon gradually loses its power. Shamshuiluna his son must fight internal revolts and repel an invasion of the Kassites which poured in from the mountains of Luristan. In the south, Ilumailu a descendant of the last ruler of the dynasty of Isin succeeds in breaking away from Babylon, founding by the Persian Gulf the Sea-land dynasty, which remains independent for several centuries . . . . Things go from bad to worse until under Shamshuditana, the last king of the dynasty, the Hittite Mursilis I conquers Babylon in 1531 BC and carries a heavy booty away." [Schwantes, 40]