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Civilizations Characteristics of Civilization • Centralized Government – cornerstone to civilization (types of leadership) • Agricultural Intensification – Irrigation projects, dikes to reclaim land, calendar planting system. (secure year round food supply) • State Religion – Religion legitimized government control > government protected religion. • Class Structure – No longer did people have equal access to land. Concept of private ownership emerged. (Divide between nobles and commoners) • Development of Science & Writing – Wheel, baked brick, mortar, simple machines & tools. – Early writing = ownership of goods (inventory). Also now important for laws and religious texts. • Merchants & Trade – Items prizes by the wealthy elite. Merchants become wealthy through the process of trade (new profession) • Occupational Specialization – Food production = job specialization (tax collectors, tanners, goldsmith, brewers, teachers) MESOPOTAMIA: Cradle of Civilization Why did people choose to settle this land first? • “Between two rivers”: the Tigris & the Euphrates – South (Sumer) North (Akkad) later united by Babylonia • Region where humans first abandoned their nomadic lifestyle to form permanent settlements. – Codified laws – Concept of kingship – Buildings for places of worship – Writing – Invention of the wheel Mesopotamia: The Geography • Land is largely barren of stone or timber, soil is dry • South of the Tigris & Euphrates river is the Arabian desert • Climate is harsh: – Summer: hot and dry – Winter: stormy with unpredictable flooding – Spring: major flooding in as rain combines with mountain melt Slide courtesy of mshsugarman Why would people settle in this harsh area? • Euphrates river has natural levees • Levee →embankment caused by the build up of sediment over thousands of years • Natural levees along the Euphrates river provide protection from flooding and easy irrigation of rich fertile land adjacent to the river • Swamps provided fish, water fowl and reeds for grazing animals and building material • Land between the rivers was desert & swamp – hindered unity of Mesopotamia Slide courtesy of mshsugarman Slide courtesy of mshsugarman Northern Mesopotamia: Akkad • More fertile land, hills and plains Southern Mesopotamia: Sumer • Marshy areas and wide flat barren plains. Irrigation necessary here, as was trade for other resources The People • Mesopotamia is a product of 4 distinct ethno cultural groups: • • • • Sumerians Akkadians Babylonians Assyrians • These groups remained largely independent of eachother • Early government was democratic • More complex society = war and rivalry between states led to people appointing a King – lugal (means “big man”) • Eventually, this position becomes hereditary and democratic government declines The Sumerians • arrived about 3000 BCE from central Asia. • Dominant culture between 2900 & 2400 BCE • 4 main social classes – Nobility (Divinely ordained king, King’s family, palace officials & priests ) – Free clients – worked for nobility – Commoners (free citizens who owned land, as well as artisans & professionals) – Slaves Legacy of Sumerian Civilization • First system of writing cuneiform • Divinely ordained monarchy • Legal system • Lunar calendar • Organized religion • The Wheel • Trade Akkadians Sargon (Semitic Chief) • Conquered Sumerians in 2331 BCE and established the capital of Akkad. • Greatest achievement was to unify Mesopotamia and spread the culture to the Fertile Cresent (stretching from Syria to Egypt) • Sargon’s dynasty was short lived and it fell to barbians in 2200BCE. Legacy of Akkadians • Lead by Sargon, the Akkadians established the first empire & unite Mesopotamia • Spread Mesopotamian culture throughout the fertile crescent The Babylonians • 1750 BCE King Hammurabi comes to the thrown. • Mesopotamia reunited under the Babylonians by conquering Akkad and Assyria. • By 1550 BCE unity in decline, next 700yrs is turmoil and uncertainty. Code of Hammurabi • Justice based on retribution. • Divinely inspired • Punishments designed to fit crimes • Punishments differed depending on social status. The Assyrians Assurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE) • Aggressively expanded empire - best army in Near East • Renown for his brutality - ruled by terrorizing conquered peoples • Empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to Egypt • Moved his capital to Kalhu (Nimrud) – built a palace lined with reliefs • Brutality of Assyrians caused revolts in subject states and empire collapsed by end of 7th century • Carved reliefs show military campaigns, Assurnasirpal hunting lions, non-Assyrians naked and in contorted positions Monument Inscription of Assurnasirpal II • "their men young and old I took prisoners. Of some I cut off their feet and hands; of others I cut off the ears noses and lips; of the young men's ears I made a heap; of the old men's heads I made a marinet. I exposed their heads as a trophy in front of their city. The male children and the female children I burned in flames; the city I destroyed, and consumed with fire." Assurnasirpal II at war King Ashur-nasir-pal II of the Assyrian Empire meets a high official during a review of soldiers and war prisoners. He is accompanied by a parasolbearer and is watched over by a winged deity. He holds a bow and a pair of raised arrows, symbolising victory in battle. From the North-West Palace at Nimrud, about 865-860 BC; now in the British Museum. Scene from Nimrud Relief: King Assurnasirpal II of Assyria hunting lions, 883-859 BCE The Persians Cyrus the Great (576-530 BCE) • Replaced Ayssrian “rule by fear” with tolerance and fairness. • Established the Achaemenid Empire – largest the world had ever seen • Brought stability to Persian Empire and would survive 800 yrs until Greeks conquered under Alexander the Great. – Religious differences accepted – Fair taxes and local officials retained – First declaration of human rights Cyrus the Great Wheel • First accounts of the wheel date back to 4BCE. • The country of origin of the wheel is still unresolved. • Although Mesopotamia dates back much further the wheel is a late invention as it would not have been efficient due to the lack or roads. Wooden disk, records as per carvings. Oldest preserved remnant in the form of wooden disk found in Slovenia & dates back approx 5000 yrs ago. Religion & Beliefs The gods • Mesopotamians were polytheistic • Polytheism: Many gods/ deities • Mesopotamians worshipped hundreds of gods • Henotheistic: certain gods were viewed a s superior to others Nature of the gods and man • Man was created by the gods to help hold off the forces of chaos • In turn, the gods would take care of humanity and help them in every aspect of their lives (health, prosperity, fertility, etc..) • Lives of Mesopotamians revolved around their gods – depended upon them like a guardian angel Worshipper statues These carved statues stand in perpetual prayer on behalf of the worshippers who placed them. Note their hands clasped in reverence and their wide eyes staring in awe of the gods The Higher Gods • Only a few gods were major deities • These controlled the major realms of the universe: sky, sun, air, water, etc… • Anu: father of the gods & sky god • Enlil: god of air • Utu: god of the sun & truth and justice • Nanna: moon god • Inanna: goddess of love and war City gods • Every city had a patron god or goddess • This god / goddess would have the largest temple in the city – belief that the god / goddess literally inhabited the temple • Statue of the god was at the very centre of the temple • Priests would attend to needs of god just like a person • Once a year they would even be taken out to inspect the city • Babylonian god – Marduk – rises to be a major deity during the time of the Babyloninan empire Figures at the top of Hammurabi’s Code show King Hammurabi receiving the law from Shamash Significance: • Laws had divine origin • Kings are divinely ordained – divine authority to rule over and judge others Tower of Babel: One of the most famous ziggurats. The Epic of Gilgamesh The Epic • Written between 2000 BCE in cuneiform on 12 tablets • Recounts the adventures of the Sumerian King of Uruk and his quest for immortality • Many adventures explore the themes of love, friendship, courage and the meaning of death and life The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Flood Plot • • • • • Gilgamesh seeks eternal life Meets Utnapishtim who tells how he achieved this Followed his god’s orders to build a boat to hold family, friends and animals God Enlil blesses Utnapishtim & offers him eternal life – a unique gift As a parting gift, Utnapishtim offers Gilgamesh a plant that will make him young again – Gilgamesh is careless and the plant is stolen by a serpent Significance • 1st written piece of literature in history • Reveals a people’s relationship with their gods and their place in the world and the search for the meaning of life • The epic inspired the creation and flood narrative in the book of Genesis & the Greek epic The Iliad • Epic written 2000 BCE; Abraham left Ur in 1900-1800 BCE - he probably was familiar with these stories What is the meaning of life?... Gilgamesh…what you seek you will not find for when the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping. As for you Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child who holds your hand and make your wife happy in your embrace, for this too is the lot of man The Demise of the Mesopotamian Civilization War and Famine War • The various city-states of Mesopotamia fought for control of the land – these brutal conflicts would take its toll on the people and civilization – War is bad for business! Irrigation Techniques: • Irrigation made civilization possible in Mesopotamia – it also destroyed the land • Irrigation water would evaporate due to poor drainage, leaving behind mineral salts • Over thousands of years, the land became infertile – the land could no longer support the people Ziggurat of Ur