Mesopotamia
SumeriansSumer, Kish, Eridu, Uruk, Ur (Near the Persian Gulf)
3500BCE
Writing- Pictographs Cuneiform, stylusziggurats templesInvented- plow, arches, sailboat, circle in 360 degrees, wheelIrrigation- Used levees and canals
Separate City-State each had god(s)Monarch king, high priests, (nobles, merchants, scholars, peasants, farmers, slaves)Upper-class boys attended schoolPolytheism – gods – forces of nature
no reward or punishment after deathFlood Story – gods are unhappy with human life, send a floodEpic of Gilgamesh
Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing
Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing
Gilgamesh Epic Tablet:Flood Story
Gilgamesh Epic Tablet:Flood Story
Ziggurat at UrZiggurat at Ur
Temple
“Mountain of the Gods”
Temple
“Mountain of the Gods”
BabyloniansAkkad, Babylon
1792 BCE
Active Traders- wealthy cityAdopted culture of Sumerians when
they conquered themAstronomy/Astrology Horoscope
Hammurabi Law Code “eye for an eye”Hammurabi – efficient leader, cared about
people, wanted JusticePolytheistic had Sumerian gods
would sacrifice to gods for favorsPriests could tell future wealthy
Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750
B. C. E.] CodeHammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750
B. C. E.] Code
HammurabiHammurabi
HittitesAsia Minor, IndoEuropean Language
invade from Asia MinorLooted city of BabylonRetreat to West Fertile Crescent1st to smelt iron
Only major crimes received death penaltyYou could pay fines for penaltiesHad significant religious freedom
1600BCE-1200BCE
A warlike people
A Balance of Power: 1200 B. C. E.
A Balance of Power: 1200 B. C. E.
AssyriansAshur, Upper Tigris River, Ninevah
2000BCE, 900-650BCE, 700BCE Loot/destroy Babylon, 635BCE Civil War
Semetic Speaking from North MesopotamiaAdopt Sumerian cultureFierce effective warriors, 1st to use cavalry, had a standing armyExpand power into Egypt/Fertile Crescent
height of power Meso, Syria, Palestine, Nile ValleyLatitude//Longitude, Used circle, Medical Science, Mail service
Used terror to control enemies, enslaved people they conquered, killed enemy soldiers, deport populations cultural diffusion
Governed large EmpireRespect/feared other people’s godsGods controlled everythingKing of Assyria responsible only to God AshurNineveh is Capital – double walled for protectionLibrary at Nineveh thousands of clay tablets (Gilgamesh)
Jewish Captives: 8c BCE
Jewish Captives: 8c BCE
ChaldeansNineveh, Babylon
612BCE capture Nineveh
Conquer most of Fertile CrescentTrade, canals, buildingsHanging Gardens of BabylonSkilled astronomers predict solar/lunar eclipseCalculate length of the yearGate of Ishtar - Goddess
Nebuchadnezzar – Great Leader, builds Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his homesick wife
PersiansIndo-European language, Empire Indus R. to Europe
539-331BCE Finally defeated by Greeks and Alexander the Great
Empire stretched from Indus River to EuropeRoad System was used to connect Empire together
Imperial Bureaucracy- gov’t organized into different levels and tasks with a king at the top.
Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes expanded EmpireCollected taxes laws fairly executedConquered people let them keep their religion and
lawsSecret Agents Keep king informed, governors and military
leaders were kept in checkZoroastrianism good vs. evil, either rewarded or
punished in the afterlife. Had influence of Judaism and Christianity
Persian “Royal Road”Persian “Royal Road”
Zarathustra [Zoroaster], 7c BCE:
Good Thoughts, Good Deed, Good Words
Zarathustra [Zoroaster], 7c BCE:
Good Thoughts, Good Deed, Good Words
“Tree of Life”“Tree of Life”
Extent of Zoroastrianism
Extent of Zoroastrianism
PhoeniciansWest Fertile Crescent, “Phoenicia”, Tyre and Sidon =
Seaports, Carthage in Africa - Traders
1000BC
Ships highly skilled sailors, greatest tradersLumber, skilled metal workers, invented glass blowing
and purple dyePhoenician Alphabet spread throughout Mediterranean.
Model for later Western alphabets
City-Stateeach with a different KingCopied culture and government of others (Egyptian and
Babylonians)Afterlife sacrifice to please the gods, even children
(extreme cases)
Phoenician Sea Routes
Phoenician Sea Routes
A Phoenician Bireme Ship
A Phoenician Bireme Ship
The “Royal Purple” Dye
The “Royal Purple” Dye
Carthage: Phoenicia’s Mightiest ColonyCarthage: Phoenicia’s Mightiest Colony
LydiansAsia Minor, West Asian Minor = Lydia
600BC no empire
1st to use coined money created a money economy
Barter = trading goods or services for other commodities
Hebrews/JewsCanaan, Enslaved in Egypt
After 100BCE Hyksos kicked out Jews are made slaves in Egypt for 400 yrs
Founder AbrahamMoses Leads Exodus from Egypt, 10 CommandmentsYahweh (God) monotheistic
Diaspora the spreading out (forced or voluntary migration) of Jews from their homeland.
Torah (1st 5 books of Old Testament)
Moses and the 10 Commandments
Moses and the 10 Commandments
A new “covenant” with Yahweh
A new “covenant” with Yahweh