Chapter 2MESOPOTAMIA

1. GeographyThe first civilizations appeared in the area of the Fertile Crescent: from the valley of the Euphrates and Tigris (Iraq) to the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine)

Get situated by comparing the map of Mesopotamia with a modern map of the region.

Make sure that you can find:

-Babylon near modern Baghdad-Phoenicia in modern Lebanon-Jerusalem in Palestine/Israel -The Nile river in Egypt-Turkey in Asia Minor

1. Geography

1. Geography Etymology:

mesos (Gk: middle) potamos (Gk: river)

Meso-potamia: “land between rivers”

The area between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris.

Approximately modern Iraq

2. Historical OverviewA succession of different peoples occupied the same territory and assimilated elements of the previous culture. (Learn the ones marked in yellow)

3000- 2350 BCE Sumerian (Gilgamesh)

2350-2000 BCE Akkadian (Sargon)

2000-1600 BCE Neo-Sumerian (Gudea)Babylonian

(Hammurabi)

2. Historical Overview

1600- 850 BCE HittitesElamites

850- 612 BCE Assyrian (Ashurnasirpal II)

612-538 BCE Neo-Babylonian (Nebuchadnezzar)

538-327 BCE Persian (Cyrus, Darius)

3. Sumerian Civilization Their economy was

based on agriculture.

They introduced technological innovations:

Plow Channels of

irrigation Wheel Sailing boats (trade

through the river)

3. Sumerian Civilization Successful development of agriculture:

– only a portion of the population had to engage in food production.

This made possible the specialization of labor: – while some farmed the land, others took care of

manufacturing, trade and administration. Excess crops were

used for trade or as goods for recreational/ ritual consumption (i.e. beer)

3. Sumerian Civilization Their agricultural success allowed the Sumerians

to grow and establish the first great urban centers:

Uruk, Lagash and Ur (10,000-50,000 inhabitants)

Royal Standard of Ur This object gives us a glimpse into the structure of

Sumerian society. Each side offers a different scene.

Royal Standard of Ur (2600 BCE)

Side 1: Peace and Prosperity

Standard of Ur (2600 BCE)

Side 1: Peace and Prosperity This side shows a banquet scene. The king and nobles feast at the top. The king is larger than anyone else

symbolizing his power over others. Servants are particularly small to signify

their lowly status. Peasants or foreigners (dressed differently)

bring goods to the king. This side represents opulence: the

kingdom is prosperous.

3. Sumerian Civilization

Side 1: Military Conquest This side illustrates the conquest of enemy

troops. Chariots trample the enemy. War captives are led by soldier to the

presence of the king. The size of the king, his position in the

middle of the composition, and the orientation of the other figures toward him denote his importance.

This side shows the military might of the king.

3. Sumerian civilization Politics:

– Monarchy with extreme divisions between social classes Ruler Aristocracy (rich landowners, wealthy

merchants, priests, military chiefs) Small business people, traders, artisans… Small landowners and tenant farmers. Slaves (captured in war or prisoners)

4. Religion Gods personified the forces

of nature which threatened human existence. Anu: heaven god Enlil: air god Ea/Enki: water god Ninhursag/ Belitini: mother

goddess Sin: Moon god Shamash: Sun god Innana/Ishtar: planet Venus, love

and war goddess Marduck: Patron of Babylon

Kudurru (boundary post) of Melishihu, Babylon 1202-1188 BCE

4. Religion See the chart in p. 34 in your textbook. You

should be able to identified in this stele the symbols of the following deities:

Anu Shamash Ishtar Enki Marduk

4. ReligionMesopotamian religion

was:

- Polytheistic (many gods)- Anthropomorphic (gods

have human traits)- Humans are seen as

imperfect and obligated to some higher being.

4. Religion

To placate these powers religion becomes a system of transaction between humans and gods.

As propitiatory devices Sumerians used prayer, sacrifice, and ritual.

Religion is based on the idea of “do ut des” (Latin for “I give so that you give back”. This means that humans offer sacrifices to the gods so that the gods help them in return.

5. Architecture

Khorsabad, the fortified city and palace of Sargon II (721-705 BCE) Mesopotamian cities where surrounded by a wall. For a reconstruction of Babylon, see this video

from the movie “Alexander”.

5. Architecture

Sumerians used clay bricks as the primary material for their buildings.

They used post-and-lintel constructions for entranceways

Overseeing the city there was a ziggurat (platform topped by a temple)

5. Architecture

Ziggurat at Ur (2100 BCE)

5. Architecture

Like other similar buildings a ziggurat imitates a mountain: an elevation the gods (of the sky) inhabit.

Unlike Egyptian pyramids, ziggurats are not funerary monuments (tombs). They are temples (the house of a god).

6. Writing Sumerians were the

first people to create a system of symbols representing a human language: they invented writing.

Their writing system is called cuneiform.

It consisted of incisions made with a wedge-shaped reed on clay tablets.

6. Writing

Archives and extensive libraries

7. Literature Epic of Gilgamesh

An epic is a long narrative poem that recounts the deeds of a hero in quest of meaning and identity.

Gilgamesh probably ruled over the Sumerian city of Uruk around 2700 BCE.

Originally a Sumerian tale, preserved in Akkadian.

8. Other examples of Sumerian Sculpture and Crafts

Lyre and goat from the Royal Cemetery of Ur (2600 BCE)

8. Recapitulation3,000- 2,350 BCE Sumerian (Gilgamesh)

2,350-2,000 BCE Akkadian (Sargon)

2,000-1600 BCE Babylonian (Hammurabi)

1600- 850 BCE HititesElamites

9. Akkadian Civilization (2,350-2,000 BCE)

Sargon I (2332-2249 BCE) Adopted Sumerian culture

Head of an Akkadian Ruler, from Nineveh (Kuyunjik) Iraq. c. 2300-2200 B.C Bronze, height 12” (3.7 cm). Iraq Museum, Baghdad. Lost wax technique.

10. Babylonian Civilization (2,000-1600 BCE) Code of Hammurabi

(Babylon, 1700 BCE) First code of law Includes criminal and civil

law (protection of property).

To some extent it interprets justice as retaliation (punishment = crime).

Law resides in the written code rather than on the king’s wishes.

11. Recapitulation850- 612 BCE Assyrian

(Ashurnasirpal II)

612-538 BCE Neo-Babylonian (Nebuchadnezzar)

Medean

538-327 BCE Persian (Cyrus, Darius)

12. Assyrian Civilization 850- 612 BCE

- Use of iron for weaponry.

- Extensive empire (it occupied all the Middle East including Egypt).

Lamassu or winged lion

Assyrian Civilization 850- 612 BCE

Assyrian collection- Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.

12. Assyrian civilization 850- 612 BCE

Ashurnasirpal II, Nimrud (883-859 BCE)

13. Hebrews Originated in Mesopotamia

(garden of Eden, Noah’s Ark, Abraham of Ur).

Moved to Canaan, then Egypt, settled in the Sinai/ Dead Sea region.

Later founded Jerusalem (Solomon- 961-933 BCE).

Split kingdom: Samaria/ Jerusalem

587 BCE -Jerusalem captured by Nebuchadnezzar (deportation to Babylon)

520 BCE. Return to Jerusalem and reconstruction.

13. Hebrews

Covenant Ten

Commandments Ethical

monotheism

12. Neo-Babylonian 612-538 BCE

Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar

, 604-562 BCE

Ishtar Gate and the throne room, from Babylon, Iraq. C. 575 B.C. Glazed brick, height of gate originally 40’ (12.2 m) with towers rising 100’ (30.5 m., Staatliche Museen zu

Berlin).

12. Neo-Babylonian 612-538 BCE

13. Persian Empire 538-327 BCE

Persepolis, capital of the Persian Empire.

During the 6th and 4th centuries the Persians occupied Mesopotamia.

They had a formidable and prosperous empire.

Persian ruler Darius and his son Xerxes attempted to invade Greece on two different occasions.

We will study the wars between Greece and Persia later on in the semester.

Did you know that…? Ancient Persians did not

speak a Semitic language (like Hebrew or Arabic). They spoke an Indo-European language (like Hindi, German, and English).

Modern Iranians descend from Ancient Persians. Their language, called Farsi, is Indo-European, and it is not related to Arabic, although they use Arabic letters to write it.Here are some examples of names of family relations you may recognize: madär : mother pedar : father baradar: brother

Did you know that…? The movie “300” deals with the Persian invasion of Greece? Here are some pictures of Xerxes in the movie and the real

Xerxes so that you can compare the two.

Hairless Hollywood Xerxes Bearded real Xerxes