Mesopotamia

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Mesopotamia

• The land between two rivers

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• Geography-
• Lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
• Modern day Iraq
• Why did people settle there? The answer is.

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• SOIL
• SOIL
• SOIL?
• FERTILE DIRT

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• This area is part of what is called
• The Fertile Crescent
• Consists of extremely fertile soil
• Rivers provide water, soil, fish,clay,reeds for
  building etc.

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First Cities

• The first cities developed in Sumer around 3500BC
• Cities shared culture and language
• Did not share rulers
• Each city had its own form of laws, gods and king
  
• called a CITY-STATE

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The Sumerians

• 3500BC-2000BC
• Invented Writing to keep records, Codify laws,
  transmit knowledge
• Men and women wore shirts of sheepskin with
  fleece still attached soldiers and servants wore
  short shirtsRoyalty wore long shirts
• Men and women had long hair pulled into a bun
  sometimes the men were shaved to discourage
  vermin
• Royals wore gold jewelry

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• One group to move to Sumeria were the Akkadians a
  Semitic tribe (language similar to Arabic and
  Hebrew)
• Formed their own country called Akkad
• Many clashes with Sumerians

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Clothes

• Shirt, loin cloth and tunic
• Shoes were made of leather and had an upward
  curve to the toe

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Early Writing

• Scribes Very important writers who kept records
  for the king (highly respected)
• The earliest writing in Mesopotamia was a picture
  writing invented by the Sumerians who wrote on
  clay tablets using long reeds called a STYLUS.
• cuneiform- which is derived from two Latin
  words cuneus , which means "wedge," and forma ,
  which means "shape."

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• Sumerian clay tablets

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Literature

• The Epic of Gilgamesh, is one of the oldest works
  of literature in the world. This epic is a
  collection of stories about a hero named
  Gilgamesh.
• Gilgamesh travels the world in search of eternal
  life. On his journey, he meets the sole survivor
  of a great flood that destroyed the world.
  (Archaeologists have found evidence suggesting
  that a catastrophic flood devastated Mesopotamia
  somewhere about 4,900 years ago.) By the end of
  the story, Gilgamesh has learned the greatest
  truth of all- that even heroes must die

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• This epic offers a glimpse into Sumerian
  civilization. We learn that the people believed
  in powerful goddesses who exhibited very human
  emotions.
• The Sumerians valued gold, copper, and gems, rode
  in wheeled chariots, and used mules to carry goods

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• Sumerians practiced POLYTHEISM- The belief in
  MANY gods
• Myths told of punishment and rewards of the gods
• Music food and statues were used to honor the
  gods

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Fall of Sumer

• I think that title is pretty funny!
• ANYWAY
• City- states fought over land and water
• Whenever a society is weak, other
  people can come in and conquer it.
• Babylonians conquer in 1700s BC

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The Babylonians

• Conquered the Sumerians
• King Hammurabi (1792-1750BC)
• Code of Hammurabi
• An eye for an eye
• First organized set of laws
• CODE OF LAWS.doc

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• Social and political organization
• The King he had military powers.
• The Governors they governed the territories of
  the kingdom. They were generals and judges at the
  same time.
• The aristocracy they were priests and traders.
• The peasants the people who work the land.

The King
The Governors
The Aristocracy
The Peasantry
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Social Class

• Nobility- Kings and members of government
• Freemen- Artisans and tradesmen
• The poor- farmers
• Slaves- Worth nothing wives and children sold to
  pay debt. Many were.
• Foreign captives and children of slaves

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Family

• This was a PATRIARCHAL society
• Marriage was contractual
• Man had one wife, but many concubines
• Man could sell his children into slavery to pay
  debts
• Women were not that important
• Divorce was O.K. if wife couldnt have children

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The Assyrians 1600-612BC

• They conquered the Babylonians
• Very warlike- Had an army
• Swords made of IRON
• Very cruel warriors
• They were conquered by the Chaldeans

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Geography

• Assyria is located in north Mesopotamia two great
  rivers run through Assyria, the Tigris and the
  Euhprates, To the north and east of Assyria lie
  the Taurus and Zagros mountains.. These two
  features create a geographical boundary between
  Assyria and the neighboring land to the south.
• To the south of Baghdad lies Babylon.

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The Chaldeans

• After the fall of Assyrian power in Mesopotamia,
  the last great group of people dominated the
  area.
• They had suffered under the Assyrians
• The city of Babylon finally rose up against its
  hated enemy, the city of Nineveh, the capital of
  the Assyrian empire, and burned it to the ground.
  
• The chief of the Babylonians was Nabopolassar

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• Nabopolassar was succeeded by his son,
  Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC).
• Nebuchadnezzar was the equal of all the great
  Mesopotamian conquerors combined
• he conquered the Phoenicians and the state of
  Judah (586 BC)
• "New Babylonians," or Chaldeans forced a large
  part of the Jewish population to relocate. this
  deportation marks the beginning of the Exile in
  Jewish history.

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Gate of Ishtar
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• Under Nebuchadnezzar, the city of Babylon was
  rebuilt with great splendor.
• It would eventually become one of the most
  magnificent human cities in the area of the
  Middle East and Mediterranean.
• The entire period dominated by the Babylonians.
  Babylon in 555 BC came under the control of a
  king loyal to the Assyrians,

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Nabonidus (555-539 BC), placed the Assyrian
moon-god, Sin, above the Babylonian's principal
god, Marduk. Priests and those faithful to
Babylon would welcome Cyrus the Conqueror of
Persia into their city and end forever Semitic
domination of Mesopotamia
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• The center of the Middle Eastern world shifted to
  Cyrus's capital, Susa, and it would shift again
  after the Greeks and then the Romans.
• For almost two and a half centuries, Mesopotamia
  and Babylon dominated early civilization in the
  Middle East

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• Sumerians 3500-2000 BC
• Babylonians 2000-1155 BC
• Assyrians 1600-612 BC
• Chaldeans New and Improved
• Hittites 1750-1200 BC

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Summary

• Where- Between Tigris and Euphrates rivers
• When- 3500BC-2000BC
• First Civilization
• Invented written language
• Mathematics 60 seconds-60 minutes
• Divided the circle into 360 parts
• Developed a twelve month calendar based on lunar
  cycles
• Used the wheel and made vehicles
• Invented the plow and the sailboat
• Ancient wonders of the world