ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA:“THE LAND BETWEEN TWO RIVERS”

GEOGRAPHY

• in the Fertile Crescent

• between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, both of which flow into the Persian Gulf

• located in present day Iraq

Mesopotamia

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA GEOGRAPHY

POSITIVES • abundant amount of clay• easy till-able soil• water supply from Tigris-

Euphrates Rivers

NEGATIVES• few natural resources• minimal protection from

deserts and mountains

CITY-STATE: a self-governing unit made up of a city and its surrounding villages and farmlands

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA-SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION

• BELIEVED TO BE SETTLED CA. 3000 B.C.• DIVIDED INTO CITY-STATES• HELPED TO DEVELOP THE FIRST FORM OF

ORGANIZED RELIGION• CREATED ONE OF THE EARLIEST FORMS OF

WRITING

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN CITY-STATES

• ALWAYS IN CONSTANT CONFLICT OVER WATER RIGHTS AND LAND

• CREATED WALLS FOR PROTECTION WITH MOATS ALONG THE OUTSIDE

• FARMS WERE LOCATED ALONG THE OUTSIDE OF THE CITY

Sumerians invented:

• the wheel

• units of time – 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute

• a 12 month lunar calendar

• the arch

• the ramp

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN RELIGION

• Each city-state had their own gods and goddesses, but the Sun gods were the most important.

• Life after death was an extension of life.

Ziggurats

• large pyramid shaped structures• temples of the main gods• thought to be connected to heaven and earth• Ziggurat: “center for learning and religion”

Ziggurat – Holy Mountain

How to Build a Ziggurat

http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/ziggurats/challenge/cha_set.html

Sumerian Religion

• Monotheism: worshiping one god.– “Mono” – means one

• Polytheism: worshiping many gods.– “Poly” – means many

Writing:Cuneiform

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN WRITING

• CALLED CUNEIFORM (LATIN FOR WEDGE)

• WRITTEN ON CLAY TABLETS

• NEEDED FOR RELIGION, GOVERNMENT AND TRADE

• LEARNED IN SCHOOL BY MALES

How is cuneiform created?

by pressing a pointed stylus into a clay tablet

cuneiform

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN ECONOMY

• Make, sell or barter goods.

• Trade helped expansion.

• Development of money…– Will evolve over time.

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN ECONOMY

RICH• government officials• religious leaders• traders

POOR• farmers• craftsman

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- SUMERIAN PASTIMES

• Entertainment– No longer had to hunt and gather.– More time for fun times.

• Rich had more time than poor.

• Activities:– BOARD GAMES – INSTRUMENTS– BARE FISTED BOXING

• Activities geared toward young and used for socializing.

The invention of Agriculture changed the way people lived.

• agriculture (farming)

• growth of cities

• division of labor (specialization)

• trade

• writing and mathematics

Mesopotamian Civilization

Sumeria

Akkadians Babylonians

Lydians

Hittites

Chaldeans

Assyrians

Persians

Phoenicians

Hittites• major advancement:

iron weapons

• Note the locations of:– Hittites– Assyrians– Akkadians

Assyrians • Chief God: Assur• major advancements:

chariots and cavalry

Akkadians• spoke a language related to modern Hebrew and Arabic

“When heaven above was not yet named, nor earth below pronounced by name, Apsu, the first one, their begetter and maker Tiamat, who bore them all, had mixed their waters

together, but had not formed pastures, nor discovered reed-beds. When yet no gods were manifest, nor names pronounced, nor destinies decreed, then gods were born

within them.”

Babylonians

• Chief god: Marduk– Prayed for good harvest

and success in business.

• King Hammurabi• Hammurabi’s Code

– earliest code of law– based on equal

retaliation

Hammurabi’s Code

• 282 laws• harsh punishment for crimes based on equal

retaliation– “If a man bring an accusation against a man and charge

him with a capital crime, but cannot prove it, the accuser shall be put to death.”

– “If the slave of a freed man strike the body of a freed man, his ear shall be cut off.”

• Laws were varied for the wealthy and powerful.

What do you think?– “If a man bring an accusation against a man and charge

him with a capital crime, but cannot prove it, the accuser shall be put to death.”

– “If the slave of a freed man strike the body of a freed man, his ear shall be cut off.”

– “If a man strike a free-born woman so that she lose her unborn child, he shall pay ten shekels for her loss.”

• “If the woman die, his daughter shall be put to death.”

Chaldeans

• skilled astronomers• Hanging Gardens of

Babylon (one of the Ancient Wonders of the World)

– King Nebuchadnezzar built them for his wife

Persians

• located in present day Iran• spoke an Indo-European language• religion: Zoroastrianism

– belief in final judgment and training for it

Phoenicians• Major natural

resource: lumber from cedar forests.

• Invented the art of glassblowing.

• Alphabet– Then adopted by

Greeks and Romans

Lydians

• First to use a money economy.– An economic system based in the use of money as

a measure of value and a unit of account.