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Mesopotamia Greek: Land Between the Rivers Tigris Euphrates Modern Day Iraq Settled Agriculture in an Unstable Landscape Irrigation Agriculture Agriculture 5,000 BC Farming: hot and dry Depended on irrigation Canals constructed to carry water to fields Ox-drawn ploughs = turned over ground Fields left unplanted to replenish nutrients Sumerians and Semites Sumerians/people living in Mesopotamia at the start of the historical periods Created framework of civilization Semitic - family of languages spoken in western Asia, Northern Africa and Ancient Hebrew Cities, Kings and Trade Villages and Cities Mesopotamia: villages and cities Farming families banded together to protect each other, work together, share tools Village society: companionship and potential marriage partners Cities -villages From a successful village, came smaller villages which eventually all emerged to form an urban center City State -small independent state Religious and Political Leaders Mesopotamians open new land to agriculture by building and maintaining irrigation networks Canals brought water to fields Dams raised the levels of the river so water could flow into the canals Drainage ditches carried water away from flooded fields Dykes protected fields near the river banks from floods Irrigation systems required leaders to help organize Cities had centrally located temples that housed the cult or deities who watched over the community Temple owned land and stored donated worship gifts Leading priests: political and economic roles Lugal : emerged in Sumerian cities (King) Priests/temples retained influence because of wealth and religious mystique Early Regional Empires Some city/states became powerful enough to dominate others Far reaching conquests of some states were motivated because of the need of resources The alternative was to trade for raw materials Merchants employed by palace or temple only two institutions with the financial stability and long distance connections to organize the collection and transport of the goods Mesopotamian Society Social Classes Temple Leaders and Kings control large agricultural estates Palace administration collected taxes from subjects Elite class acquired large land holdings Soldiers and religious officials received land in return for their services Three social divisions 1. Free land-owning class Royalty High ranking officials Warriors Priests Merchants Artisans and shop keepers 2. Dependant farmers and artisans Legal attachment to royal temple or private estates made them the primary rural work force 3. Slaves Employed in domestic service Slaves and Peasants Came from mountain tribes Captured or sold by slave traders Unable to pay debts Identified by distinctive hair style freedom - shaved off tell-tale mark Women In societies where agriculture dominated hunting and gathering, women lost their standing and social freedom Hunting gathering societies - provided food by doing most of the gathering Because food was now more abundant, women's primary role was to bare more children Gods, Priests and Temples Gods People saw the gods as being human with bodies and senses Mesopotamians feared their gods because they thought they were responsible for natural disasters that had happened State Religion Communities showed devotion to gods who protected the community Built temple compounds which housed priest offices, craft shops, chapels etc. Most visible part of the temple compound was the Ziggurat Private Religion Not much known Did place votives in sanctuaries Archeologists found amulets and representation of a host of demons that suggested belief in magic Technology and Science Writing Earliest inscribed tablets found in the chief temple found in Uruk date from the time when the temple was the most important institution within the community. Writing originated from a system of tokens used to keep track of property sheep, cattle or cartwheels Usual method of writing involved pressing the point of a sharpened reed into a moist clay tablet Cuneiform -strokes and wedges Transportation, Metallurgy and Engineering Boats and barges dominated in the south where water channels cut up the landscape In the North, donkeys were chief animals Warfare Early military forces: non professional More powerful states built up armies of well trained soldiers Mathematics and Science Base 60 number system in which numbers were expressed as fractions or multiples of 60 Egypt The Land of Egypt River and Desert Nile: world's longest river River was main means of travel and communication with the world's most important cities located upstream away from the Mediterranean Agriculture entirely depended on river water September: river overflowed its banks Natural Resources Egypt far more self sufficient than Mesopotamia Hunters: wild animals and birds Fisherman: fish Clay for mud bricks and pottery: very abundant Forced labor exploited copper and turquoise Divine Kingship Unification Increased population: complex political organization Egyptians state centered on the King often known as the pharaoh Egyptians considered king to be God sent to Earth to maintain order Royal Tombs Kings were very depended on so their deaths called for elaborate efforts to ensure the well being of their spirits Believed in afterlife. Buried with meaningful things Early rulers: buried in flat topped tombs made of mud brick Pyramids: large triangular stone monument Constructed by stone tools, no machinery other than simple pulleys, levers and rollers