CIVILIZATION BEGINS IN MESOPOTAMIA

(TWKO)Mr. Wyka’s World History Honors

Citrus High School

After studying Chapter 2, you should be able to:

• Explain the influence of geography in the rise (and fall) of the first cities and empires;

• Describe the significance of religion;• List major sets of laws;• List characteristics of life in these societies;• Describe the effects of wars & conquests;• Identify the importance of early inventions.

When?

• 3000 B.C. – 5000 years ago.– Roughly 7000 years after the last Ice Age.– Roughly 6500 years after the first temple complex

was built in Göbekli Tepe, Turkey. – About 460 years before the Pyramid of Khufu

completed.– If your direct descendant lived in this time, she

would have been your (great x 140) grandmother.

Where? The Fertile Crescent

The Impact of Geography

• Mesopotamia is at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent, an arc of land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.

The Impact of Geography

• Mesopotamia means “between the rivers”.• Mesopotamia is the valley between the Tigris

and Euphrates Rivers. – Although an arid region, these rivers often

overflow, depositing silt, which makes the soil rich.

– Mesopotamian civilization was one of history’s important early river valley civilizations.

The Impact of Geography

• People in Mesopotamia developed a system of drainage ditches & irrigation works to harness the waters of the rivers and overcome the arid land.– The resulting large food supply made population

growth possible.• Discussion question: What came first, the development

and implementation of irrigation making large populations possible; OR a large population which would supplied the workforce necessary for such a large public works project

The Impact of Geography

• Ancient Mesopotamia covered three general areas: Assyria, Akkad, and Sumer.

• Over the course of millenia, Mesopotamian civilization involved many peoples. – The Sumerians developed the first Mesopotamian

civilization (TWKO) in 3000 B.C.

The City States of Ancient Mesopotamia

• By 3000 B.C. the Sumerians formed city-states centered around cities.– The cities of Ur and Uruk are principle examples. – City-states were the basic political unit of

Sumerian civilization.– Each city-state was more or less independent with

its own gods and king.

Gilgamesh & Enkidu slaying the Bull of Heaven sent by the godess Ishtar.

Gods of the Sumerians

• Although each city had unique gods, there were several chief gods recognized by all Sumerian cities:– Anu the sky god was the chief.– Enlil the lord of storms.– Ishtar (or Inana) the morning & evening star – the

goddess of fertility and love (and curiously, war).

Gods of the Sumerians

• Although the Sumerians worshipped Inana (Ishtar), she was evidently lower in status than the male gods, as seen in this Sumerian poem in which Inana complains to the god Enki (deity of crafts and water):– Me, the woman, why did you treat differently?

Me, the holy Inana, where are my powers?• This shows an obvious decline in reverence for

the Paleolithic / Neolithic earth goddess. Note the owls.

Prefiguring Athena?

The Impact of Geography

• Mesopotamia means “between the rivers”.• Mesopotamia is the valley between the Tigris

and Euphrates Rivers. – Although an arid region, these rivers often

overflow, depositing silt, which makes the soil rich.

– Mesopotamian civilization was one of history’s important early river valley civilizations.

The City States of Ancient Mesopotamia

• The temple was the most important building in each city.– Often built on top of a massive stepped tower – a

ziggurat. – Building was done largely with mud bricks. – Sumerians invented the arch and the dome using

mud bricks. • The Sumerian state was a theocracy – a

government by divine authority.

The City States of Ancient Mesopotamia

• Priests & priestesses were important religiously AND politically.

• Early kings such as Gilgamesh, were considered priest-kings, who traced their authority to the divine.

• The economy was principally agricultural.– Industry & trade were also important.– The wheel was invented (TWKO) around 3000 B.C.

greatly enhancing trade and industry.

The City States of Ancient Mesopotamia

• Sumerian city-states had three classes:1. Nobles• Royal Family, officials, priests, principal warriors.

2. Commoners• Farmers, merchants, fishermen, craftsmen.• Around 90% of the people were farmers.

3. Slaves• Worked on large building projects, worked the farms of

nobles, wove cloth.• Some were captured in battle. Some were born into

slavery.

Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia

• Empire – large political unit that controls many peoples and territories.

• The Akkadians lived north of the Sumerian city-states. – The Akkadians were a Semitic people – they spoke

a Semitic language • The Sumerians were not Semitic. Their origins are a

mystery.

Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia

• Around 2340 B.C., Sargon, king of the Akkadians, conquered the divided Sumerian city-states.– The world’s first empire (TWKO) .– The Sumerian civilization lasted roughly 660 years.– Around 2100 B.C. Amorites from Syria conquered

Akkad and built a new state around the city of Babylon. • The Akkadian Empire last less than 400 years.

• In 1792 B.C., Hammurabi of Babylon reunited the whole of Mesopotamia.

Sargon of Akkad

Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia

• The Law Code of Hammurabi – 282 laws based on a system of strict justice.– Penalties were severe, based on the principal “an eye for

an eye” and varied according to the social class of the victim.

– The largest category within this code focused on marriage and family, showing the importance of marriage to the Babylonians as a cornerstone of society.

– A significant feature of the code was that it was set up in a public place, seen by commoners and noble folk alike.

Hammurabi giving his Law Code

Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia

• Law Code of Hamurabi– Hammurabi’s code expresses the patriarchal

nature of Mesopotamian society. – Women had fewer privileges and rights than men.– Enforced obedience of children to parents.• A father could cut off the hand of a son who had hit

him, for example.

Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia

• Law Code of Hammurabi vs. U.S. Constitution– Hammurabi’s code was applied differently to

different classes of people. – Where in the U.S. Constitution is this practice

forbidden?

Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia

• Law Code of Hamurabi vs. U.S. Constitution– The Fourteenth Amendment calls for the “equal

protection of the laws.”

The Importance of Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia

• Life was harsh in the land between the rivers. – Flooding, droughts, storms, famines, pests in food

supplies, disease.• Mesopotamians believed that the world was

controlled by destructive supernatural forces and deities.

• Polytheistic – believed in many deities.– Archaeologists have identified 3000 distinct gods.

The Importance of Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia

• Human beings were created to serve and obey the gods and goddesses.– And by extension, their sovereigns on earth, the

kings of Mesopotamia. • Although their were shared principal gods and

goddesses, each city, village, and even home, had its own peculiar deity.

Enki of the Waters

The Creativity of the Sumerians• Invented cuneiform (wedge-shaped) writing. • Early Literature – The Epic of Gilgamesh. • Technology – Invented the wagon wheel.– Invented a number system based on 60– Made advances in geometry– Astronomy: Sumerians charted the constellations using

their number system 60• What tool of measurement based on 60 do we use

today?

The Creativity of the Sumerians

• What tool of measurement based on 60 do we use today?

– Watches and clocks measure time using a system of 60.

– Spheres and circles are divided into 360 degrees, divisible by 60.