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Ancient Mesopotamia Presented by Md. Rabiul Islam Rabi Senior Lecturer, GED Northern University Bangladesh E-mail: [email protected] Cell: 01712-541463 1 2 3 4 Ancient Mesopotamia Introduction Mesopotamian civilization is one of the ancient civilizations. "Mesopotamia" is derived from two Greek terms mesos, meaning ‘middle’ and potamoi, ‘rivers’, so the name literally means ‘land between the rivers.’ Mesopotamia was geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern Iraq. 5 6 Ancient Mesopotamia The Sumerians The first true civilization on planet earth (of which we are aware) developed in Mesopotamia, and the people who built this first civilization are known as the Sumerians. Ironically, little more than a century ago, nothing was known of the Sumerians. The first civilization in history had been lost to history. Slowly, over the past hundred years, and largely due to the efforts of the Universities of Chicago and Pennsylvania, the puzzle has been slowly pieced together. 7 Ancient Mesopotamia Government Sumerians tradition tells the story of a long period of prosperity and a well developed orderly society. Sumerian civilization were not ruled under a definite central government most often. City states were emerged taking a few cities. Main cities among these were Ur, Lagash, Umma, and Nippur. These divided city states were Free and self dependent. The chief of the city state were called the Patesti . He was the Priest, chief of the military, and the chief of irrigation and agricultural system. Patesti can not be said the king but the chief of the City state. Any powerful ruler may combined the City states into a single empire. This was how a united government administration established in the Sumerian civilization. 8 Sumer, 3200-2350 B.C. Sargon’s Empire, 23502320 B.C. Reign of Hammurapi of Babylon, The Dynasty of Ur, 2100-2000 B.C. 9 Sumerians City States 10 Characteristics of Sumerians 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. 11 Ancient Mesopotamia Sumerian Society The Sumerian society can be divided into three groups. They are The Elite class, The Middle class and The lowest class. The rulers, the Priests, The Imperial advisors and all the officers were in the elite class. The doctors, the teachers, Small businessmen, landowners and all the labors were in the middle class. All types of the slaves were in the lowest class. 12 Ancient Mesopotamia Sumerian Culture The most important contribution of the Sumerians were in their writing system which is known as Cuneiform. Different designs or signs represents different symbols were developed into graphs representing people, animals, plants temples, gods and cities. They preserved the symbols after burning the plate of mud. The cuneiform was not universal written system because it was very difficult. It was limited among the activities of the Priests and the officials. Though they introduced the written system, they failed to invent a particular alphabet. 13 THE DEVELOPMENT OF CUNEIFORM: THE DEVELOPMENT OF CUNEIFORM: The Sumerian writing system during the early periods was constantly in flux. The original direction of writing was from top to bottom, but for reasons unknown, it changed to left-to-right very early on (perhaps around 3000 BCE). This also affected the orientation of the signs by rotating all of them 90° counterclockwise. Another change in this early system involved the "style" of the signs. The early signs were more "linear" in that the strokes making up the signs were lines and curves. But starting after 3000 BC, these strokes started to evolve into wedges, thus changing the visual style of the signs from linear to "cuneiform". 14 Cuneiform alphabet 15 16 Sumerian Mythology Sumerian religion were mainly nature worship. They had the faith that every Gods had particular characteristics. They thought that man has been created for the prayer of gods. Their main gods were Shamash, Enlil, Eshtar, Nargal, and Enki. According to their thought Shamash was the source of light and temperature. Other gods were the sources of various opportunities such as rainfall, protection of flood, land fertility, wind etc. The main temple was called the Ziggurat. 17 18 Sumerian Ziggurat 19 Shamash 20 The Babylonians Over the centuries the ability of the "Kings of Sumer and Akkad" to maintain order in Mesopotamia gradually weakened, a new tribe of Semites began to descend into the Euphrates Valley, just as the Akkadians had done under Sargon. These were the Amorites from Syria near the Mediterranean. They seized the city of Babylon, which is about 50 miles south of Baghdad, the current capital of Iraq. The Amorites established their capital and their king, thereby establishing what historians know as the Old Babylonian Empire. Eleven kings would occupy the throne of Babylon, and the sixth of these was Hammurabi. 21 Sargon of Akkad unifies Mesopotamia: world’s first empire, ca. 2240 B.C. 22 Akkadians rise to dominance Semitic speaking people from “upstream” Kingdom centered at Akkad Near the site of the later city of Babylon 2,300 BCE – Sargon conquers the Sumerians Establishes a 200 years empire External attack and internal weakness end the dynasty 23 24 Hammurabi: Hammurabi reigned from 1792-1750 B.C. His name means "My father, the Amorite." From the new-fortified city of Babylon, Hammurabi moved south into the Sumerian cities, which had been occupied by a militant tribe known as the Elamites, who had moved in from the eastern mountains. For thirty years he waged war against these hill people. When he was finally victorious, Babylon achieved such pre-eminence that the entire TigrisEuphrates valley, both lands of Sumer and Akkad, were now known as Babylonia. 25 Once he had consolidated his position through war he established his kingdom upon order, justice, and peace. From this time there survives a large body of correspondence and, more importantly, an eight foot column of black stone engraved with some 282 laws and statutes. The top of the stone shows Hammurabi receiving the law from the sun god, Shamesh. 26 27 28 The Code of Hammurabi He tried to make his subject believe that the laws were divine thus giving them sanctity and enhancing the position of the king. Hammurabi did not originate all the laws but many of them appeared in old Sumerian records. 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. 29 The Code o f Hammurabi If a man knocks the teeth out of another man, his own teeth will be knocked out. If anyone commits a robbery and is caught, he shall be put to death. If a judge tries a case, reaches a decision, and presents his judgment in writing; and later it is discovered that his decision was in error, and it was his own fault, he shall pay twelve times the fine set by him in the case and be removed from the judge's bench. If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn off. 30 The Code o f Hammurabi If during an unsuccessful operation a patient dies, the arm of the surgeon must be cut off. If a freeborn man strikes the body of another freeborn man of equal rank, he shall pay one gold mina. If anyone brings an accusation of any crime before the elders, and does not prove what he has charged, he shall, if a capital offense is charged, be put to death. If a man takes a woman to wife, but has no intercourse with her, this woman is no wife to him. If any one steal the property of a temple or of the court, he shall be put to death, and also the one who receives the stolen thing from him shall be put to death. 31 Nebuchadnezzar II(634 – 562 BC) was a ruler of Babylon in the Chaldean Dynasty, who reigned 605 BC – 562 BC. According to the Bible, he conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and sent the Jews into exile. He is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his wife. The Akkadian name, Nabû-kudurri-uṣur, means "Oh god Nabu, preserve/defend my firstborn son". Nabu is the Babylonian deity of wisdom, and son of the god Marduk. 32 Nebuchadnezzar II 33 34 35 36 37 606 BC - When King Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 606 BC, he left a small number of vinedressers there to keep the land from going fallow, and he put a governor, Gedaliah, in charge. 562 BC - The first documented experiment resembling a clinical trial was conducted by King Nebuchadnezzar who ruled Babylon for almost 60 years, his reign ending in 562 BC. According to the Book of Daniel in the Bible, 38 Religion The Babylonians had many practices and beliefs in their religion. But their chief god was Marduk. The chief objective of the Babylonians behind their worship were to get more benefits from god to escape their sin. They excused their sin that they were not god and could do no better. They were relatively uninterested in after life. They concentrated on improving man’s existence on earth. 39 Ancient Mesopotamia Causes of Decline The decay and death of the Mesopotamian civilization can be ascribed to three main causes: the absence of a national government, the foundation by Alexander and his successors of new cities competing with and eventually superseding the older settlements, and the profound ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural changes introduced by successive waves of invaders --- Persians, Greeks, Arameans, pre-Islamic Arabs --who could neither be kept at bay not assimilated. 40 Persians Akkadians Babylonians Sumeria Hittites Mesopotamian Civilization Chaldeans Lydians Phoenicians Assyrians 41