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The Ancient Middle East Mesopotamia • “Land b/w two rivers” – b/w Tigris and Euphrates Rivers – Frequent Flooding – Need for advanced network of canals spurs an advanced government. Characteristics of Mesopotamian Civilizations City states Each city had its own king and patron god or goddess City states often warred with each other Highly legalistic Law Codes Contracts Judicial proceedings and appeals processes Extensive trading networks The Ancient Middle East:Mesopotamia Sumerians created the first known civilization in the ancient Middle East. Rise of the City-States Large towns cooperate w/countryside for mutual defense. Supervised the development and maintenance of the canals. Frequent fighting b/w Mesopotamian cities. Religion Ziggurat – Home or temple of the City-State God Believe in more than one God Natural events blamed on the gods. City-States were built around Ziggurats. The god or spirit of the Ziggurat watched over the fortunes of the town. Ziggurats also contained tombs, and temples for priests. The City Center Temples served civic and religious purposes Daily sacrifices and rituals Storage of surplus grain and other foods Dwelling of priests and priestesses Locale where craftsmen and artisans could practice their trades Religion Fear of natural disasters and invasions contributed to the Sumerians believing that at death they would descend to a dark underworld forever. Religion and City States People were wholly dependent on their city’s god for food and protection. Sumerians did not worship their rulers as god. Instead, they worshiped their Kings. Ancient Sumerian record keepers marked pictographic symbols in soft pieces of clay with a pointed reed. The clay tablets were then baked to make them hard. We call the Sumerian’s writing system cuneiform. Cuneiform means wedged shaped, because the marks in the clay were wedges. The first pictographs were simple. A writer would draw an object like a fish or a broom to communicate to others. This system worked well in a simple society, but it would be difficult to describe abstract concepts such as justice or liberty in pictographs. Many Chinese people continue to use a pictographic system today, but the government has endorsed the Pinyin system of phonetic writing. Eventually, most cultures developed phonetic writing systems where a symbol represents a sound rather than an object. English speaking people, agree that the symbols D-O-G refer to an animal. English, French, Spanish, German and Russian are examples of phonetic languages. Phonetic languages make small typewriters and computer keyboards possible. Imagine a different key for every single word! CUNEIFORM Sumerian writing developed around 3100 BC Symbols were engraved on clay tablets Scribes kept business records and poems on tablets Written Language Cuneiform – the use of wedge-like shapes. With the development of cities came a more complex economy and more complex social structures. This cultural evolution is reflected in the tokens, which begin to appear in a much greater diversity of shapes and are given more complicated designs of incisions and holes. Sumerian Schools Literacy was a highly valued skill Sumerians set up first institutions of formal education Education included writing and mathematics Tuition paid for education Educated were privileged elite: government officials, scribes, etc. Legacy of Sumerians Cuneiform writing The wheel Potter’s wheel The Sail Pick-axe Brick mold Glass 60-based counting system: 60 minutes to an hour, 360 degrees to a circle 12 Month Calendar Beer Epic poetry Arches, Columns, Ramps Sargon of Akkad unifies Mesopotamia: world’s first empire, ca. 2240 B.C. The First Empire • Around 2350 B.C. Sargon, and Akkadian Soldier founds the first empire. – Extends from S. Mes. To the Med. • Adopted cuneiform and religion of Sumerians. • Fixed canals and sent armies to protect caravans. • Other empires were found. – Babylon • 1700 B.C. Hammurabi carves out an empire. Reign of Hammurabi of Babylon, 1792-1750 B.C. Hammurabi • Best known for code of laws • 282 Laws - 3,600 lines of Cuneiform – Trade, family, labor, real estate, & property. – Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth. – Harsh punishment, yet distinguished from major & minor offenses. – State was the authority. The Iron Age • In 1600 B.C. Babylon fell to invaders • Around 1550 B.C. the Hittites controlled the area. – First to use Iron weapons. – Advantage over opponents. – 1200 B.C. the Iron Age takes off. The Assyrian Empire • 1100 B.C. Conquests begin • Harsh and brutal empire. – “I cut their heads and like heaps of grain, I piled them up.” • 700 B.C. Babylon captured. • By 625 B.C. Empire extends from fertile crescent to the Nile River valley. Assyrian Government • Provinces ruled by governors responsible to the King. • Build roads to each province. • Deported people that disagreed with government. • World’s first library at Nineveh – 22,000 clay tablets. The Persian Empire • In 550 B.C. Cyrus becomes king of Persia. • Within 20 years Cyrus controls the fertile crescent. – Tolerance of conquered people. – Allowed them to self-govern – Respected their religions. • By 500 B.C. controls territory from India to Egypt. Persian Empire • Improvements – Road Systems – Great Royal Road • Efficient Government – Darius (Father of Xerxes) – Satrapies – individual provinces • Collected taxes and administered laws. • Inspectors sent into each province as well • Religion – Belief in good or evil. – Zorastrians – Zend Avesta – Hymns and religious poems • The person had control of his or her salvation. • Believed in Ethical and Moral conduct. • Believed in Final Day of Judgment. Early Small States • Phoenicians – Small city-states in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea near present day Lebanon. Cyprus to Gibraltar. Carthage. – Purple dye and Royalty. – Introduced the less advanced people to civilization. – Created an easy alphabet of 22 symbols. • Later adopted by the Greeks. Lydians and Hebrews • Lydians – Introduced the money economy or coin system. – Coins could be stored – Introduction of Set Prices. • Hebrews – 2000 B.C. Hebrews settle near Palestine. – Believed God to be the driving force of civilization. – Created Old Testament – Around 1800 B.C. famine forces the Hebrews to Egypt. Hebrews • In Egypt, Pharaohs enslave Hebrews • The Hebrews followed Moses – Moses presents the 10 Commandments – Obedience to God allows the Hebrew to stay together as they settled and established the Kingdom of Israel in 1025 B.C. Moses Was main “covenant holder” of God. – Said that the Hebrews would be protected and that they were the “Chosen People” Hebrew Legacy • Monolithic religion or the belief in one god. • Hebrew Law – – – – – No one was above God not even the king. Ethical world view. Ten commandments. Old Testament (The Torah) Women had few rights, but were respected. Hebrews, cont. • Kingdom of Israel – David of Solomon reigns from 1000-930 B.C. • Israel Flourishes • Jerusalem created as the Capital under Solomon – In 772 B.C. the Assyrians conquered Israel. • Thousands are exiled across the world. • Later controlled by the Persians, Greeks, and Romans.