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Mesopotamia: “The Cradle of Civilization” Earliest Civilization: the Fertile Crescent earliest of all civilizations as people formed permanent settlements Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means “between the rivers”, specifically, the area between the Tigris River and Euphrates River (present day Iraq) Lasted for approximately 3000 years Its peoples were the first to irrigate fields, devised a system of writing, developed mathematics, invented the wheel and learned to work with metal The fertile crescent In the spring, the rivers often flooded, leaving behind rich soil for farming. The problem was that the flooding was very unpredictable. It might flood one year, but not the next. Every year, farmers worried about their crops. Irrigation Over time, the farmers learned to build dams and channels to control the seasonal floods. They also built walls, waterways, and ditches to bring water to their fields. This way of watering crops is called irrigation. Irrigation allowed the farmers to grow plenty of food and support a large population. Geographic Conditions Little rainfall Hot and dry climate Windstorms leaving muddy river valleys in winter Catastrophic flooding of the rivers in spring Arid soil containing little minerals No stone or timber resources Then why live in Mesopotamia? NATURAL LEVEES: embankments produced by build-up of sediment over thousands of years of flooding Natural Levee create a high and safe flood plain make irrigation and canal construction easy provide protection the surrounding swamps were full of fish & waterfowl reeds provided food for sheep / goats reeds also were used as building resources History of Mesopotamia Over the centuries, many different people lived in this area creating a collection of independent states Sumer- southern part (3500-2000 BCE) Akkad- northern part (2340 – 2180 BCE) Babylonia- these two regions were unified (1830-1500 BCE and 650-500 BCE) Assyria- Assyrian Empire (1100 -612 BCE) II. Religion Shapes Society A. Sumerian polytheism was the basis for all Sumerian society. 1. Polytheism is the worship of many gods. 2. Gods had enormous powers. 3. Priests had great statues built in Sumer. 4. Priests were people who performed religious ceremonies. B. Sumerian Social Order 1. Social hierarchy: the division of society by rank or class 2. Kings were at the top of the order because they claimed to be chosen to rule by the gods. 3. Social order a. Kings b. Priests c. Skilled craftspeople, merchants, and traders d. Large working class of farmers and laborers e. Slaves C. Men and Women in Sumer 1. Men generally held the political power and made laws. 2. Women generally took care of the home and children. 3. Education was generally reserved for men, but some upper class women were educated. 4. Some women were priestesses in Sumerian temples. a. Enheduanna, a priestess who wrote hymns, is the first known female writer in history. Religion gods were worshipped at huge temples called ziggurats Polytheistic religion consisting of over 3600 gods and demigods Position of King was enhanced and supported by religion Kingship believed to be created by gods and the king’s power was divinely ordained Belief that gods lived on the distant mountaintops Each god had control of certain things and each city was ruled by a different god Kings and priests acted as interpreters as they told the people what the god wanted them to do (ie. by examining the liver or lungs of a slain sheep) Prominent Mesopotamian gods Enlil (supreme god & god of air) Ishtar (goddess of fertility & life) An (god of heaven) Enki (god of water & underworld) Shamash (god of sun and giver of law) Ziggurats Ziggurat of Ur -2000BCE Large temples dedicated to the god of the city Made of layer upon layer of mud bricks in the shape of a pyramid in many tiers (due to constant flooding and from belief that gods resided on mountaintops) Temple on top served as the god’s home and was beautifully decorated Inside was a room for offerings of food and goods Temples evolved to ziggurats- a stack of 1-7 platforms decreasing in size from bottom to top Famous ziggurat was Tower of Babel (over 100m above ground and 91m base) Creation Story The archetypal creation story begins with undefined matter. Then primeval parents generate cosmic gods who, through struggle and conflict, create the universe and mankind. Heroic Quest The archetypal life journey of a hero includes his struggle to prove his physical strength, win political power, and gain spiritual wisdom. Political structure an early form of democracy Frequent wars led to the emergence of warriors as leaders Eventually rise of monarchial system Co-operation was the basis of government Followed leadership of god of the city which was interpreted by a council of leading citizens > or > priests > or leader of the city (ie. king) Mesopotamia Sumerians Social, economic and intellectual basis Irrigated fields and produced 3 main crops (barley, dates and sesame seeds) built canals, dikes, dams and drainage systems develop cuneiform writing invented the wheel Abundance of food led to steady increase of population (farm, towns, cities) first city of the world, Uruk Developed a trade system with bartering: mainly barley but also wool and clot for stone, metals, timber, copper, pearls and ivory Individuals could only rent land from priests (who controlled land on behalf of gods); most of profits of trade went to temple However, the Sumerians were not successful in uniting lower Mesopotamia Music The Sumerians loved music, and it was important for in both religious and civic life They had created harp and lyre. Overall Established the social, economic and intellectual basis of Mesopotamia First to develop writing in the form of cuneiform Sumerians are credited to have invented the wheel Became the first city of the world However, the Sumerians were not successful in uniting lower Mesopotamia Akkadians Leader: Sargon the Great Sargon unified lower Mesopotamia (after conquering Sumerians in 2331 BCE) Established capital at Akkad Spread Mesopotamian culture However, short-lived dynasty as Akkadians were conquered by the invading barbarians by 2200 BCE Babylonians KING HAMMURABI’S BABLYON • Babylonians reunited Mesopotamia in 1830 BCE • central location dominated trade and secured control • YET AGAIN, Mesopotamia was not unified for long… (6th Amorite king) who conquered Akkad and Assyria (north and south) He build new walls to protect the city and new canals and dikes to improve crops Economy based on agriculture and wool / cloth individuals could own land around cities Artisans and merchants could keep most profits and even formed guilds / associations Grain used as the medium of exchange > emergence of measurement of currency: shekel = 180 grains of barley; mina = 60 shekels Mina was eventually represented by metals which was one of first uses of money (but it was still based on grain) Hammurabi’s Legacy: law code Hammurabi's Code The Louvre, Paris Code of Hammurabi To enforce his rule, Hammurabi collected all the laws of Babylon in a code that would apply everywhere in the land Most extensive law code from the ancient world (c. 1800 BCE) Code of 282 laws inscribed on a stone pillar placed in the public hall for all to see Hammurabi Stone depicts Hammurabi as receiving his authority from god Shamash Set of divinely inspired laws; as well as societal laws Punishments were designed to fit the crimes as people must be responsible for own actions Hammurabi Code was an origin to the concept of “eye for an eye…” ie. If a son struck his father, the son’s hand would be cut off Consequences for crimes depended on rank in society (ie. only fines for nobility) Babylonian Empire Nebuchadnezzar Hanging Gardens Ishtar Gate Babylon’s Hanging Gardens Assyrians, A Warrior Race 10th century BCE, Assyria emerged as dominant force in the north City of Assur- became important trading and political centre After Hammurabi’s death, Babylon fell apart and kings of Assur controlled more of surrounding area and came to dominate Made conquered lands pay taxes (food, animals, metals or timber) Rule by fear as kings were first to have a permanent army made up of professional soldiers (estimated 200 000 men) Made superior weapons of bronze and iron iron changed lifestyles in Mesopotamia in weapons and in daily life ie. replaced wooden wheels and applied to horse drawn chariots • Assyrian reunited Mesopotamia and established the first true empire • However, states began to revolt and ONCE AGAIN, Assyrian Empire collapsed by late 7th century BCE • By 539 BCE, Mesopotamia part of the vast Persian Empire (led by Cyrus the Great) • Persian Empire dominated for 800 years until Alexander the Great The winged creature (right) was found at the palace of Sargon II right at the entrance to his throne-room standing 14 feet tall. Their were four statues on each side and they faced each other. It was believed that the lamassu could frighten off demons. [Oriental Institute, Chicago) Gold of Nimrud The gold of Nimrud is a collection of more than 1,000 pieces of gold jewelry and precious stones from the eighth and ninth centuries B.C. The Queen’s Gold Whoever … removes me from my tomb, or places anyone else with me, or lays hand on my jewelry with evil intent, or breaks open the seal of this tomb, let his spirit wander in thirst in the open countryside. Below, in the Netherworld, let him not receive any libation of pure water, beer, wine, or flour as an offering! May the great gods of the underworld impose on his corpse and spirit, restlessness for all eternity. Persia • • • • • Darius, king of Persia Ruled with justice and tolerance. Adopted a standardized coinage Established a road system Zoroaster, Persian prophet started a new monotheistic religion, good vs. evil and a final judgement, linked to the Magi zoroaster Phoenicians Ancient seafarers Phoenicians • The Phoenicians inhabit the region of modern Lebanon and Syria from about 3000 BC (Palestine and Phoenicia). They become the greatest traders and the best sailors and navigatorsof the pre-classical world. They are also the first people to establish a large colonial network based on seafaring. In all these skills they build on the example of their maritime predecessors, the Minoansof Crete. Phoenicians • An Egyptian narrative of about 1080 BC, the Story of Wen-Amen, provides an insight into the scale of this activity. One of the characters is Wereket-El, a Phoenician merchant living at Tanis in the Nile delta. As many as 50 ships carry out his business, plying back and forth between the port of Sidon and the Nile. Background • "Phoenicia" is a term used by historians for the Canaanites o Name was given to the Canaanites by the ancient Greek • Migrations and invasions of Phoenicia left small traces of the civilization • Phoenicians wrote on perishable products (papyrus) • Records of Phoenicia come mostly from Greek & Roman records • Mass migration and destruction of Canaanite settlements (about 1200 B.C.E., Eastern Mediterranean) forced Phoenicians to a small territory on the coast to the west by 1100 B.C.E. Near • Present day Lebanon, includes parts of Israel and Syria • Expanded trade and established colonies throughout the Mediterranean • Colonies included: o Cyprus- off the Lebanese-Syrian coast o Northern Africa- parts of Libya and Morocco o Southern Spain o Sicily, Sardinia, and Malta- off the Italian coast Political • Rivers and divides of Mount Lebanon made areas for different city-states on the Phoenician coast • Important city states include Byblos, Berytus, Sidon, and Tyre. Dominance of a particular-city state changed over time • Trade gave Phoenician city states wealth & a political role in the Mediterranean • City-States are believed to have been controlled by kings or leading merchant families • Phoenicia was often in conflict with Greece over colonies, particularly Sicily • Phoenician colonies in and around Carthage, Tunisia were powerful political powers in the western Mediterranean o Carthage warred with Greeks and Romans o Protected other Phoenician colonies in the west o Became one of the world's largest cities in 500 B.C.E. Economic • Phoenicia was a major trading power of the Mediterranean • Traded many raw & manufactured goods with food, such as cedar & pine, metals, wine, fish, textiles, ivory, glass, etc. • Traded a valuable purple dye that was extracted from murex snails on the Phoenician coast o Greeks gave the Canaanites the name Phoenicia for their purple dye o Used in Persian, Roman, Hellenistic cultures Religious • Carthaginian religion was polytheistic, similar to Mesopotamian religions • Carthaginian gods had to be pleased with devout worship & sacrifice • Western Phoenicians in Carthage were believed to have practiced child sacrifice to gods • Tophets (enclosed gravestones) contained urns and burned remains of sacrificed children Intellectual • Developed the first alphabetic system of writing • Early Canaanite models were made into symbols representing sounds • Phoenicians made symbols representing consonants, vowel sounds were to be inferred • Greeks added symbols to represent vowel sounds Failure and Transformation • The Assyrian Empire rose to power over the Middle East and dominated civilizations such as Phoenicia, Mesopotamia, and Israel by 650 B.C.E. • During Assyrian dominance, powers of Neo-Babylonian (Chaldaean dynasty of Babylonia) and Medes (Iranian people) rose to conquer Assyria • Assyrian homeland fell to Medes; other territories fell to Neo-Babylonia • Babylonia & its culture was revived and thrived in the 6th century B.C.E. under efforts of King Nabopolassar and King Nebuchadnezzar The First Alphabet Lydians First to use gold & silver coins The Lydian lion, the world’s oldest coin Describe how smaller civilizations such as Phoenicia and the Lydians could exert their influence on the ancient world. Smaller civilizations such as Phoenicia and Lydia could exert their influence on the ancient world by developing ideas and distributing the ideas to the rest of the world. With the Phoenicians, it was their alphabet and with the Lydians, it was their idea of a money economy. The Phoenicians were great traders and as they traded from port to port, they brought their culture to the people they traded with. This allowed them to influence the rest of the world. Development Of WRITING Development of Writing Click here to see the development of writing from pictograms to cuneiform Pictograms: picture to show meaning Ideograms: signs to represent words / ideas Phonetics: signs to represent sounds *Phonetics are the basis of most writing systems Writing Greatest contribution of Mesopotamia to western civilization was the invention of writing allowed the transmission of knowledge, the codification of laws, records to facilitate trade / farming Sumerians wrote on wet clay tablets with the point of a reed > then dried in the sun to make a tablet Scribes were only ones who could read and write and served as priests, record keepers and accountants As society evolved, the first form of writing was developed called CUNEIFORM (meaning “wedge shaped”), dating to 3500 BCE Cuneiform spread to Persia and Egypt and became the vehicle for the growth and spread of civilization and the exchange of ideas among cultures Gilgamesh Gilgamesh is an ancient story or epic written in Mesopotamia more than 4000 thousand years ago Gilgamesh is the first known work of great literature and epic poem Epic mentions a great flood Gilgamesh parallels the Nippur Tablet, a six-columned tablet telling the story of the creation of humans and animals, the cities and their rulers, and the great flood ANALYSIS Gilgamesh and the Nippur tablet both parallel the story of Noah and the Ark (great flood) in the Old Testament of the Jewish and Christian holy books Modern science argues an increase in the sea levels about 6,000 years ago (end of ice age) the melting ice drained to the oceans causing the sea level to rise more than ten feet in one century Royal Tombs of Ur From 1922 to 1934, excavation of the ancient Sumerian city of Ur City famed in Bible as the home of patriarch Abraham discoveries such as extravagant jewelry of gold, cups of gold and silver, bowls of alabaster, and extraordinary objects of art and culture opened the world's eyes to the full glory of ancient Sumerian culture Great Death Pit mass grave containing the bodies of 6 guards and 68 servants grave was a great funeral procession drank poison, choosing to accompany the kings and queens in the afterlife Interesting Facts! Mesopotamia, specifically Babylon used a mathematical system based on sixty as all their numbers were expressed as parts of or multiples of sixty Some parts of the ‘base-sixty’ system still remain today: 360 degrees in a circle, 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in 1 hour Devised a calendar base on cycles of the moon (number of days between the appearance of two new moons was set as a month; 12 cycles made up a year Who was the best? Sumer Closely tied to environment Irrigation techniques for farming wheel Trade- bartering Writing- cuneiform Religion tied to government as priests and kings made decision for gods ziggurats Babylon Production of food through farming Private ownership of land vs ownership by the gods Developed mathematics and calendar system and system of units for currency Hammurabi’s law code Assyria Kings conquered lands to create empire of Assyria Cooler climate could produce crops with little irrigation Deposits of ore allowed for development and use of iron Assyrian army became most effective military force Legacies of Mesopotamia Revolutionary innovations emerged in Mesopotamia such as: codified laws ziggurats Cuneiform Irrigation Metal working, tools Trade transportation wheel Writing mathematics prosperous living based on large scale agriculture