THE SUMERIANS. Pre-requisites for Civilization Agriculture developed in the Fertile Crescent around...
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Transcript of THE SUMERIANS. Pre-requisites for Civilization Agriculture developed in the Fertile Crescent around...
THE SUMERIANS
Pre-requisites for Civilization
Agriculture developed in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BCE
Mining and use of copper around 6000 BCE Growth of villages and towns Division of labor Smelting of tin and copper to make bronze
around 3000 BCE > Bronze Age
THE FERTILE CRESCENT
Aswan Dam Draining of the Marshes
Characteristics of Mesopotamian Civilizations City states
Each city had its own king and patron god or goddess City states often warred with each other
Theocracy -- king as god’s representative Highly legalistic
Law Codes Contracts Judicial proceedings and appeals processes
Extensive trading networks Architectural Marvels of Ancient Mesopotamia
Mesopotamian Empires
Tablet of pre-cuneiform scriptSouth MesopotamiaUruk III, end of 4th millenium BC.Clay (?sun-baked clay)Louvre
WritingOrigin and the Development of Writing in Mesopotamia
Writing: PictogramsCylinder Seals
Cylinder Seal with Watergod, Birdman, and DeitiesMesopotamia, Akkadian Period, 2300 - 2200 B.C.
Emory University
Writing: Cuneiform
Cuneiform Cylinder of Nabopolassar Recording Repair of the City Wall of Babylon, Mesopotamia, Babylon
Neo-Babylonian Period, Reign of Nabopolassar, 625 - 605 B.CEmory University
Sumerian Schools Literacy was a highly valued skill Sumerians set up first
institutions of formal education: edubba
Education included writing and mathematics
Tuition paid for education Educated were privileged elite:
government officials, scribes, etc.
Sumerian Inventions Cuneiform writing The wheel Potter’s wheel Sailing ship Pick-axe Brick mold Glass 60-based counting system: 60 minutes to an
hour, 360 degrees to a circle Number positioning Beer Epic poetry
Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur
Akkad
• Sargon the great and his people the Akkadians conquered the region of Mesopotamia.
• They tore everything down.
• They were also very good artisans.
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Nebuchadnezzar II whom ruled Babylon from 605-562 BCE made the gardens for his wife who missed the lush gardens she was used to in Mede
• It had an elaborate irrigation system
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
THEOCRACY:Kings: Servants of the Gods
Sumerian King List
The powerful gods communicate their desires to humanity through the medium of a powerful
priestly class or autocratic king who serves as the intermediary.
- Government of the gods/priest class - Ruler may be divine himself, or chosen by the
god/gods - Each city had its own gods
This system centralizes power in the hands of a small group of people and gives political
decisions a religious authority
The City Center
Temples served civic and religious purposes
Daily sacrifices and rituals
Storage of surplus grain and other foods
Dwelling of priests and priestesses
Locale where craftsmen and artisans could practice their trades
Ziggurats: Temples to the Gods
A stele is a monument that commemorates an historical event.
Victory Stele of Naram Sim c. 2300- 2200 B.C.E. 61/2' tall, sandstone
Continual warfare among Sumerian city states and against invading tribes eventually led to the downfall of Sumerian civilization. But the influence of Sumerian civilization was felt in throughout the Near East, Egypt, India, the Mediterranean civilizations: Crete, Mycenae, Greece, Rome, and in Judeo-Christian traditions.
Gilgamesh, the Hero-King
Ruled in Sumer c. 2700 BCE
Epic of Gilgamesh chronicles his reign
Evolves from selfish to great ruler via: friendship rebellion loss quest recognition of mortality acceptance of responsibility
and service to the goddess Ishtar
Flood Myths
Flood myths are present on every continentThe flood myth…reminds us that life depends on death, that
without death there can be no cycle, no birth. Floods connected with cleansing, washing away of
blunders or evil Spared survivors are heroes of a new life
LAWS: The Code ofHammurabi, ca. 1760
BCE
Law-Codex of Hammurabi,first half of the 18th century BCE, Basalt, Louvre
Full Text of the Code of Hammurabi
2350 bce law reform by King Urukagina of Lagash to protect
exploited citizens 21st c. bce: earliest extant law code from Ur-Nammu (1000 years before
the 10 Commandments