CIVILIZATION AS DEVELOPED IN MESOPOTAMIA (Geography) FERTILE CRESCENT (a horseshoe or crescent shaped areas of good farmland between river Tigris and Euphrates). As it touched three continents it may be regarded as the crossroads of ancient world. FLOODING (overflow of the two rivers less predictable than Nile though and often very violent) CLIMATE (much harsher than in Egypt): Blazing summers heat and winter storms The Ancient Fertile Crescent Area The Middle East: The Cradle of Civilization EASIER TO INVADE THAN EGYPT as nomads and other powerful fighters often tried to seize the wealth and splendor of the people developing civilizations in the area. Therefore SEVERAL DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PEOPLE CONTROLLED MESOPOTAMIA for some periods and then disappeared. Sumer, B.C.Sargons Empire, B.C. The Dynasty of Ur, B.C. The Amorite invasions, B.C. Reign of Hammurapi of Babylon, B.C. Proto-literate Period ca B.C. most characteristics of Mesopotamia have developed towns and cities rudimentary system of writing and metal technology temple architecture The Early Dynastic Period ca B.C. the Sumerians not the first inhabitants arrived by sea ?? Political organization city-states (12) ruled by kings (lugals) whose main source of wealth was land and therefore often at war for water-rights The State and Urban Revolution: In the city-state (or state), kin and tribal loyalties are, by definition, subordinated and replaced by political ties. What makes a city-state different from an agricultural town is the synergy created by its people interacting with each other on the basis of political relationships rather than traditional blood ties. UR CLAY TABLETS The Beginnings of Writing Farmers needed to keep records. The Sumerians were very good farmers. They raised animals such as goats and cows (called livestock). Because they needed to keep records of their livestock, food, and other things, officials began using tokens. The Beginnings of Writing Farmers needed to keep records. The Sumerians were very good farmers. They raised animals such as goats and cows (called livestock). Because they needed to keep records of their livestock, food, and other things, officials began using tokens. Tokens were used for trade. Clay tokens came in different shapes and sizes. These represented different objects. For example, a cone shape could have represented a bag of wheat. These tokens were placed inside clay balls that were sealed. If you were sending five goats to someone, then you would put five tokens in the clay ball. When the goat arrived, the person would open the clay ball and count the tokens to make sure the correct number of goats had arrived. The number of tokens began to be pressed on the outside of the clay balls. Many experts believe that this is how writing on clay tablets began. The Beginnings of Writing Farmers needed to keep records. The Sumerians were very good farmers. They raised animals such as goats and cows (called livestock). Because they needed to keep records of their livestock, food, and other things, officials began using tokens. Tokens were used for trade. Clay tokens came in different shapes and sizes. These represented different objects. For example, a cone shape could have represented a bag of wheat. These tokens were placed inside clay balls that were sealed. If you were sending five goats to someone, then you would put five tokens in the clay ball. When the goat arrived, the person would open the clay ball and count the tokens to make sure the correct number of goats had arrived. The number of tokens began to be pressed on the outside of the clay balls. Many experts believe that this is how writing on clay tablets began. A system of writing develops. The earliest form of writing dates back to 3300 B.C. People back then would draw "word- pictures" on clay tablets using a pointed instrument called a stylus. These "word-pictures" then developed into wedge-shaped signs. This type of script was called cuneiform (from the Latin word cuneus which means wedge). The Beginnings of Writing Farmers needed to keep records. The Sumerians were very good farmers. They raised animals such as goats and cows (called livestock). Because they needed to keep records of their livestock, food, and other things, officials began using tokens. Tokens were used for trade. Clay tokens came in different shapes and sizes. These represented different objects. For example, a cone shape could have represented a bag of wheat. These tokens were placed inside clay balls that were sealed. If you were sending five goats to someone, then you would put five tokens in the clay ball. When the goat arrived, the person would open the clay ball and count the tokens to make sure the correct number of goats had arrived. The number of tokens began to be pressed on the outside of the clay balls. Many experts believe that this is how writing on clay tablets began. A system of writing develops. The earliest form of writing dates back to 3300 B.C. People back then would draw "word- pictures" on clay tablets using a pointed instrument called a stylus. These "word-pictures" then developed into wedge-shaped signs. This type of script was called cuneiform (from the Latin word cuneus which means wedge). Who used cuneiform? Not everyone learned to read and write. The ones that were picked by the gods were called scribes. Boys that were chosen to become scribes (professional writers) began to study at the age of 8. They finished when they were 20 years old. The scribes wrote on clay tablets and used a triangular shaped reed called a stylus to make marks in the clay. The marks represented the tens of thousands of words in their language. THE ORIGINS OF WRITING: Tokens are small geometric clay objects (cylinders, cones, spheres, etc.) found all over the Near East from about 8000 B.C. until the development of writing. The earliest tokens were simple shapes and were comparatively unadorned; they stood for basic agricultural commodities such as grain and sheep. A specific shape of token always represented a specific quantity of a particular item. For example, "the cone... stood for a small measure of grain, the sphere represented a large measure of grain, the ovoid stood for a jar of oil." (Before Writing 161). Two jars of oil would be represented by two ovoids, three jars by three ovoids, and so on. Thus, the tokens presented an abstraction of the things being counted, but also a system of great specificity and precision. Sumerian Scribes Tablet House Deciphering Cuneiform THE DEVELOPMENT OF CUNEIFORM: The Sumerian writing system during the early periods was constantly in flux. The original direction of writing was from top to bottom, but for reasons unknown, it changed to left-to-right very early on (perhaps around 3000 BCE). This also affected the orientation of the signs by rotating all of them 90 counterclockwise. Another change in this early system involved the "style" of the signs. The early signs were more "linear" in that the strokes making up the signs were lines and curves. But starting after 3000 BC, these strokes started to evolve into wedges, thus changing the visual style of the signs from linear to "cuneiform". The King The Governors The Aristocracy The Peasantry 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. Gilgamesh A king of Uruk, Mesopotamia, who lived sometime between 2800 and 2500 BC.He is the main character in the Epic of Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian poem that is considered the first great work of literature. In the epic, Gilgamesh is a demigod of superhuman strength who built the city walls of Uruk to defend his people and traveled to meet the sage Utnapishtim, who survived the Great Deluge. According to the Sumerian King List, Gilgamesh ruled his city for 126 years EPIC OF GILGAMESH The one who saw all [Sha nagba imuru ]I will declare to the world, The one who knew all I will tell about [line missing] He saw the great Mystery, he knew the Hidden: He recovered the knowledge of all the times before the Flood. He journeyed beyond the distant, he journeyed beyond exhaustion, And then carved his story on stone. [naru : stone tablets ] For thousands of years, Nippur was the religious center of Mesopotamia. According to Sumerian religion, it was at Nippur where Enlil, the supreme god of the Sumerian pantheon, created mankind. Although never a capital city, Nippur had great political importance because royal rule over Mesopotamia was not considered legitimate without recognition in its temples. Thus, Nippur was the focus of pilgrimage and building programs by dozens of kings including Hammurabi of Babylon and Ashurbanipal of Assyria. Map of Nippur ZIGGURAT Sargon of Akkad unifies Mesopotamia: worlds first empire, ca B.C. Head of an Akkadian Ruler, from Nineveh, Iraq B.C. Bronze, Iraq Museum, Baghdad Head of Gudea (King of Lagash; the last Akkadian survivor) c.a B.C. HITTITES (invaded the Fertile Crescent around 1600 coming from modern Turkey. Fought with Egypt over Syria until 1250 B.C.E when they made peace with Ramses II and then basically disappeared). ASSYRIANS (lived 300 miles north of Babylon; almost unbeatablein battle partly because they were armed with copper, bronze and iron weapons; they used horse drawn chariots. They ruled Mesopotamia between 1100 and 600 B.C.E. Reign of Hammurabi of Babylon, B.C. STELE OF HAMMURRABI B.C. 2. If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house. But if the river prove that the accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser. 14. If persons are stolen, then shall the community and... pay one mina of silver to their relatives If a "sister of a god" open a tavern, or enter a tavern to drink, then shall this woman be burned to death If he give a male or female slave away for forced labour, and the merchant sublease them, or sell them for money, no objection can be raised. RELIGION The statue of the god Marduk with his dragon, from a Babylonian cylinder seal. Marduk killed Tiamat. Apsu: the fresh waters (male principle) Tiamat: the salt waters (female principle) Ea, the god of intelligence and wisdom, puts Apsu in a trance and then kills him. These carved stone figures, their eyes wide with awe and their hands clasped in reverence, were placed in Mesopotamian temples by worshippers to stand in perpetual prayer on their behalf before the god or goddess to whom the sanctuary was dedicated. There were many gods. For example, Anu was the father of the gods and the god of the sky; Enlil was the god of the air; Utu was the sun god and the lord of truth and justice; Nanna was the moon god; Inanna was the goddess of love and war; Ninhursag was the goddess of earth; and Enki was the god of fresh water as well as the lord of wisdom and magic. While they served and revered the great gods, most people felt little connection with these distant beings. Ordinary people depended on a relationship with their own personal god - a kind of guardian angel - who protected individuals and interceded for them with the great deities. URUK VASE ANCIENT PERSIA FRIEZE AT THE PALACE OF DARIUS (PERSEPOLIS) PERSIAN EMPIRE Including almost all the of the civilized world under DARIUS I ( B.C.E.) as Mesopotamia was just one part of the Empire. Conquered people allowed to practice their own religion and keep their own language and customs. Improved communications and roads (Royal Road from Asia Minor to the capital SUSA covering 2500 kilometers CYRUSS TOMB Issued metal coins of equal size and weight as people can trade more easily as they can pay with coins of standard value. Open attitudes to a new religion. ZOROASTRIANISM: THE RELIGION OF THE PERSIANS