Mesopotamia

5 Characteristics Of Civilization

Bell Ringer For 11/14/2011

• What are the 5 characteristics of civilization?

Mesopotamia

• Mesopotamia = Greek for “Land between rivers”– Tigris & Euphrates

• Located in what is called Fertile Crescent– Sumerians (Began about 4000

B.C.E.)– Assyrians– Babylonians

• No Natural Boundaries– Difficult to defend– Lacked stone & wood, built walls

out of mud bricks

Fertile Crescent

Five Characteristics Of Civilization

1. Advanced Cities2. Specialized Workers3. Complex Institutions4. Record Keeping & Writing5. Advanced Technology• 2 Important Rulers

1. Sargon of Akkad – Unified Mesopotamia in 2360 BCE

2. Hammurabi – Babylonian emperor, code of laws

1. Advanced Cities

• City-State – A city surrounded by farm land– Economic, Political, &

Religious Center• Rulers of city-states had

absolute power & treated like gods

• Every city had a ziggurat (temple at the center).

• Ex. Of City-States:– Ur & Uruk

2. Complex Institutions• Ways of organizing

people• Religion:

– Polytheistic – believe in many gods

• Only gods were immortal• After death people enter

a realm of shadows• Feel no pleasure or pain

– Theocracy – Religious leaders run the government

2. Complex Institutions

• Ziggurat = city hall & temple– Believed gods controlled

nature• Ex. Angry gods = natural

disaster

– Worshipped gods for protection & good harvests

• Laws:– Hammurabi’s Code of Laws

– 285 laws for society

3. Specialized Workers• Traders/Merchants

– Goods from distant regions; leads to new cities

– Cultural diffusion – spread of ideas from culture to culture

– Participated in bartering (trading goods & services for other goods & services)

3. Specialized Workers

• Artisans – Jewelry, metal-work, pottery, clothing, weapons.

3. Specialized Workers

• Scribes– Educated– Understood writing

system and record transactions

• Priests – carryout & maintain religious tradition

4. Record Keeping & Writing

• Writing made its first appearance in Mesopotamia

• Cuneiform – means “wedge-shaped”– Was written on clay

tablets using a reed– The impressions were

wedge-shaped

5. Advanced Technology

• 3000 BCE• The Plow – Could raise

more crops• The Sailboat & The Wheel

– Able to move goods quickly• The 360 Degree circle &

math system based on 60• Bronze Working• Calender

5. Advanced Technology

Hammurabi’s Code

• 1792 B.C.E.• 282 Laws• Copies engraved on stone• Uniform code of laws

Hammurabi’s Code

• Brought unity to Mesopotamia

• Punishments from fines to death

• Protected:– Family, Property,

Business

Hammurabi’s Code

• Intro To The Code Of Laws:– “When Marduk [a god]

sent me to rule the people and to bring help to the country, I established law and justice in the language of the land…”

Hammurabi’s Code

• 4. “If a man bear false witness [lies] in a case….if that case be a case involving life, that man shall be put to death.”

• 22. “If a man practices robbery and is captured, that man shall be put to death.”

• 129. If a man's wife be surprised (cheating) with another man, both shall be tied and thrown into the water, but the husband may pardon his wife and the king his slaves.

Hammurabi’s Code

• 195. “If a son strike his father, they shall cut off his hand.”

• 196. “If a man destroy the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye.”

Ten Commandments• Around 14-12 BCE• The biblical story of

Moses• Given to Moses on

Mount Sinai• Meant as a guide to

people’s lives

Ten Commandments

• Ten Commandments:1. I am the Lord your God. You shall have no

other gods before me.2. Thou shall have no false gods3. Thou shall not use the lord’s name in vain4. Remember the Sabbath & keep it holy5. Honor your father & mother6. Thou shalt not kill

Ten Commandments

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery8. Thou shalt not steal9. Do not wear bear false witness against your

neighbor10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife

Hammurabi vs. Ten Commandments

• What are similarities?• What are differences?

Class Activity

• You will be numbered off into groups.• You will come up with 5 rules for a successful

classroom • You have 10 minutes to come up with your

rules • You will then share your rules with the class