Early Civilizations

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Early Civilizations
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I. In the Land of Sumer
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A. Geography of Mesopotamia 1. Mesopotamia -
Greek for land between 2 rivers (a rich area of
land between the Tigris and Euphrates in
present- day Iraq) 2. Fertile Crescent -
Crossroads of the World - access to 3
continents - Africa, Asia, and Europe
unpredictable flood seasons
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no protection from natural boundaries this
led to constant migrations of Indo-European
people from the area between the Black and
Caspian seas this also led to constant
invasions and frequent warfare this led to
cultural diffusion (the process where an existing
culture adopts the traits of another and the
two eventually merge into a new culture)
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B. The Sumerian City-States (independent cities
with their own govts, orchards, and
fields) 1. Social organization priest
initially ruled the city-states from ziggurats
(great temples which served as both religious
and administrative centers) eventually,
priests gave way to military leaders kings,
priests, nobles, govt officials ---- merchants,
farmers, artisans ---- slaves 2. Trade -
as early as 3000 B.C. began trading w/SW Asia
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Ziggurats
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C. Sumerian Culture 1. Religion
polytheistic - worshiped many gods gods also
guarded individual cities each Sumerian
worshipped a personal god 2. Scientific
achievements invented the wheel in 3700
B.C. arithmetic and geometry - use of 60
(seconds, minutes) mapped constellations
developed a system of weights and measures which
served the ancient world until the Roman
period
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3. Development of Writing began as
pictograms (small pictures) on clay tablets
eventually developed cuneiform -simplified
pictograms or script used to represent
sounds instead of objects recorded events,
myths, and stories scribes did most of the
recording - they were very competitive -
here is a recording on a clay tablet You
dolt, numskull, school pest, you illiterate, you
Sumerian ignoramus, your hand is terrible it
cannot even hold the stylus (pen-shaped
instrument) properly it is unfit for writing
and cannot take dictation. And yet you say you
are a scribe like me.
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Cuneiform
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II. Empires in Mesopotamia
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A. The Akkadians Semitic speakers - Hebrew
Arabic (closely related languages) 1. Sargon
I a. held a high position under the king of
Kish b. mid-2300s - left Kish and established
his own city of Agade, or Akkad c. from
Akkad, he conquered all of Sumer d. Ruled a
territory that stretched from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Persian
Gulf e. 1st empire builder known to
history f. after Sargon, the rulers of Ur
brought much of the old Akkadian empire under
their rule but fell to invaders from the east
in about 2000 B.C.
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Sargon I
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B. The Babylonians - around 1800 B.C. Amorites
settled Babylon 1. Hammurabi - assumed the
throne in 1792 B.C. a. reunited
Mesopotamia b. outstanding general, excellent
administrator, and a patron of the
arts c. best remembered for the Hammurabi Code
- collection of legal rulings regulating
everything from divorce, contracts, and
physicians fees to ag and commerce (code put
forward the principal of an eye for an
eye) if 1 gentleman struck another he paid
a small fine, if a slave struck a
gentleman, he lost an ear put forward the
idea of social justice (obviously not
class consciousness)
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C. The Hittites conquered the Babylonians in
about 1550 B.C. 1st to make use of iron
weapons civilization was almost unknown until
excavations in the 19th century revealed
the extent and importance of their culture
Hittite Society 1. King (war chief, religious
figure) 2. Nobles 3. Soldiers
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Assyria
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D. Assyrians in about 1100 B.C. established
an empire that included the entire Fertile
Crescent and Egypt (see map on p. 40) 1st
great capital was Assur which gave the people its
name 1. Army 1st to organize their army
into regular units of a uniform size
all adult men served in the army iron
weapons, cavalry, battering rams,
archers 2. Techniques of control
established a standardized system of law and
govt built a road network throughout their
empire
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Aramaic - language used throughout the
region ruled their empire through terror,
inflicting enormously cruel punishments on
any who defied or opposed them ? when the
Assyrians conquered the kingdom of Israel
about 722 B.C., they deported most of the
Israelites to Assyria and settled Babylonians
and others in Samaria. The remaining
Israelites soon lost their own identity and
mixed w/the Samaritans and so became known as
the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel (Diaspora -
scattering) ? when the Assyrians captured
Babylon, about 700 B.C., they tortured and
beheaded prisoners, enslaved women and
children, and reduced the city to
rubble
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E. The Chaldeans 1. Nebuchadnezzar led
armies which defeated the Assyrians at the battle
of Carhemish conquered the kingdom of
Judah and deported the entire population
to Babylon, in what became known as the
Babylonian Captivity had the hanging
gardens built for his wife according
to legend 2. Overthrown in 539 B.C. by the
Persians
Babylonian ruins
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Hanging Gardens
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Hanging Gardens (continued)
Archaeological evidence shows that the Chaldeans
used a chain pump to water the plants of the
hanging gardens
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F. Persians 1. Cyrus - conquered Fertile
Crescent in about 550 B.C. treated conquered
people with tolerance allowed them a measure
of self-government and respected their
religions and customs 2. Darius - Cyruss
son-in-law completed the task organizing the
vast Persian Empire divided the empire into
20 provinces, or satrapies each satrapy was
ruled by a governor, or satrap, who
collected taxes and administered uniform laws
Kings Eyes and Ears - agents used to spy on the
governors
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improved the Assyrian road system - Great
Royal Road - stretched from Asia Minor to
Susa with stations providing
fresh horses on the way for messengers -
Sound familiar?
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3. Religion polytheistic Zoroaster -
prophet reformer, launched a major
religious reform movement in present-day Iran
called on people to worship one god, Ahura
Mazda taught that the earthly world was a
battleground between the good forces of
Ahura Mazda and the evil forces of
Ahriman wrote the Zend Avesta - emphasized
ethical, or moral, conduct, a final day of
judgment, and the individuals role in
determining his or her salvation. Later,
Hebrews and Christians stressed similar
concepts. conquered by Alexander the Great
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THE END!!!!