mesopotamia. every civilization needs to provide: 1. stability 2. explanation 3. invention question:...

Mesopotamia

Every Civilization Needs to provide:1. Stability2. Explanation 3. Invention

Question: Which is most important?

The Ancient Fertile Crescent Area


The Middle East: “The Cradle of Civilization”


Nebuchadnezzar II’s Babylon

Nebuchadnezzar II’s Babylon

I. Mesopotamia: earliest examples of civilization

A. Three Historic Regions1. Sumer: Delta of the River2. Akkad: Northern Semites3. Babylon: Between the rivers

B. Indo-European Migration1. From North Caspian Sea2. Language Family – Ethnicity???3. Records or Early Cities 3500 BC 4. Inter regional traded of metals and timber5. Bronze Age 3000 -1200 BC (Adding copper

to Tin

6. City State Governmenta. Are City States independent?b. Are City States loyal to each other?

7. UR capital of Sumeria8. Need to control rivers - Tigris and

Euphrates crested late, erratically a. Effect on Civilization : Very INSTABLE

Ziggurat at UrZiggurat at Ur

Temple

“Mountain of the Gods”

Temple

“Mountain of the Gods”

C. Politics of Mesopotamia: Attempt at Stability

1. City state 2. Theocratic government –

Government by GOD3. Not enough resources to go around

-- food, water 4. Emphasis on war to get resources 5. More INSTABLITLY

Mesopotamian TradeMesopotamian Trade

“The Cuneiform World”

“The Cuneiform World”

6. Two rare examples of empire a. Akkadians: Sargon the Great

2340 BC b. Old Babylonian Empire (OBE):

Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC)c. Empire = Forced Stability

D. Explanation: 1. Looking outside the three dimensions:

a. TIME, SPACE, MATTER2. Polytheistic 3. Worship of Land and nature central

(agricultural) 4. Divination 5. Highly spiritual people--always looking for

divine guidance 6. No value on individual - people and world

as plaything of gods 7. Human world marked for death 8. Ziggarat temple, reaching towards sky

Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing

Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing

Deciphering Cuneiform

Deciphering Cuneiform

E. Inventions1. Creation of a writing system -

Cuneiniform2. Animal Plows3. Wheel4. Sail boats5. Mathematics: fractions whole #,

square roots, geometry

Hammurabi, the JudgeHammurabi, the Judge

F. Rules for everyone to follow 1. Very important to the creation of

civilization 2. Hammurabi's code

a. Based on idea of social justice (at least among equals) Destroy wicked and oppression

b. Based on an eye for an eye--literally

c. Consumer protection laws • The builder who caused the

death of a man was put to death

• The builder who caused the death of a son had his son killed

• Leader who wronged his soldiers was executed

• If a leader didn't catch a burglar, he had to pay people who had lost goods!

d. Agricultural laws to restrict and equalize land use, water use, trade

e. Marriage, gender, and sex • Adultery acceptable by males • Adultery by wives meant being

thrown in the river (w/ possibility of pardon)

f. Parents and children • Hands chopped off for not

following what a parent says to do

• Possibility of disinheritance

mesopotamia. every civilization needs to provide: 1. stability 2. explanation 3. invention question:...

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