Chapter 3: Mesopotamia

LESSON 31. Introduction to Mesopotamia2. The Rise of Sumer3. Sumerian Cities4. Sumerian Religion/Beliefs5. Sumerian Education and Family Life6. Priests and Kings7. Later Mesopotamian Empires8. Sargon 19. Hammurabi10. Babylon11. Mesopotamia Contributions

Mesopotamia - the land between the rivers.

The earliest known civilization Situated between the Tigris and Euphrates r ivers in the Middle East (part of Iraq).The river flows over 1000 miles across the Middle East into the Persian Gulf.About 5000 BC, people migrated from the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey towards Mesopotamia.The land was fertile and water from the river provided fish for food.

THE RISE OF SUMER South Mesopotamia /Sumer. The people who settled there about 3500 BC ago were

called Sumerians. Sumerians = Short, stocky, black-haired people. Earliest known civilization on earth. Sumerians learned to control the water from the river

which flooded every spring. Built levees. Levees = raised area of soil to keep back

floodwaters. In Summer when its dry, to keep water, they poked holes

in the ground. Made channels and canals for irrigation - grew wheat,

sesame, date palms and vegetables.

SUMERIAN PEOPLE

THE RISE OF SUMER

As population increased, bigger cities were built and Sumerians became better planners.

There was no building stone and little timber in Sumer. Building = made bricks out of mud from river + crushed reeds + baked under the sun.

Built many cities. Most famous = Ur. The Sumerians were the first city-builders in this area of

the world.

Sumerian Cities Each Sumerian City was considered a state in itself. Each

city has:1. Its own God, its own government2. Its own farmland around it, a wall of bricks with bronze

gates. The gates protected the cities from lions and bandits.3. Narrow winding streets going to the center of the city.4. Near the center of the city: Two storey-houses with wooden

balconies for the upper class (priests and merchants).5. Behind the upper class houses are the middle class’s one

storey houses. Middle class = government officials, shopkeepers, artisans/skilled workers.

6. Further out - lower class people = farmers, unskilled workers, fishermen.

SUMERIAN CITIES

SUMERIAN CITY STATE

Sumerian Religion/Beliefs At the center of the city was a temple (ziggurat). The word means ‘mountain of God’ or ‘hill of heaven’. Many square levels made the temple. The higher the level, the smaller the square. Great stairways lead up to the top which was believed to be

the home of the city’s chief God. Only priests enter the home of God. Around ziggurat = courts. Courts + ziggurat were

considered the center of Sumerian life. Here - Children go to school, goods are kept, the poor were

fed, great events celebrated.

ZIGGURAT NEAR UR

Sumerian Religion/Beliefs Over 3000 Gods. Forces of Nature = wind, rain, flood were

thought of as alive. Because they could not control these forces, they were believed as Gods.

There were at first, only Male Gods. Then, there came the Female Gods.

The Male Gods had to work hard to please the Female Gods and so created Humans out of Mud from the river as slaves.

Humans’ function = to serve Gods and make them happy. If Gods were not happy, crops would not grow.

Lands were owned by city’s God. Only priests know the will of God.

Priests also run the administration of land and school. Priests = powerful.

Mesopotamian Gods

Sumerian Education Only sons of the rich go to schools. Poor people were

farmers and apprentices. Schools were made up of rooms called ‘tablet houses’. It’s

called so because there the students learn how to write. Students sat on brick benches and wrote with sharp reeds

on clay tablets the size of postcards. Sumerian writing - cuneiform (shaped like wedges). Writing - to keep track of business deals. At first they knew

each other, then when population grew, they needed a system.

Used pictures to represent objects. Then..used writing to represent ideas. At last..used writing to represent syllables ; /dog/ /gi/ - doggy

Sumerian Education Once graduated, a student becomes a scribe or writer He works as a public writer, government writers, palace

writers or temple writers. Females?... They do not go to school but had rights to buy and sell property, run business and own and sell

slaves. Women handled their husband affairs when they are away.

But husbands are still head of home. So he had liberty to divorce the wife or sell or rent his wife and children as slaves for up to 3 yrs.

Children are expected to support their parents when the parents become old.

Priests and Kings At first the priests were the kings.

One of the most famous priest-king = Gilgamesh of Uruk. He was so glorified he seemed more god than human.

The oldest known story in the world (written about 1700 BC) was about Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu.

The story told about them who travelled the world and performed acts of courage.

Part of the story tells about a great flood that covered the whole world. Similar to Noah and the Ark.

Priests and Kings Priest-kings had advice from an assembly made up of free

men. During war - the assembly will choose one of them as a military leader to lead the war.

After war, the military leaders gained more and more power. They stayed in power even after the war.

By 3000BC, they took the power of the priests and became King. Replaced the Priest-kings.

Later, sons of kings inherit the throne from their fathers.

Political:What was the earliest kingdom in Mesopotamia? The second?

Later Mesopotamian Empires About 2400BC - the power of Sumer faded. New

civilizations begin to develop in Mesopotamia as conquerors moved in.

SARGON 1 - ruler of Akkad (Northern Mesopotamia).

About 2300 BC, he moved south and conquered the city states of Sumer.

He united Sumer and Akkad and became the King of Sumer and Akkad.

His empire covered all of Mesopotamia and so he was the one who created the world’s first empire.

Empire = Group of states under one ruler.

The Reign of SARGON 1 Language - Akkadian. Sumerian

language was used only for worshipping Gods.

Religion - they worshipped the Sumerian Gods. They also wrote their language in Sumerian cuneiform.

Sargon I ruled his empire for over 50 years. His death marked the fall of the empire.

The city states became separated and rose to power on their own.

About 1800BC a group of people called AMORITES built cities near the Tigris-Euphrates valley.

One of the cities - Babylon

The Reign of HAMMURABI The King of Babylon - Hammurabi. He conquered Akkad and Sumer and became the ruler of a

New empire Worshipped Sumerian Gods as well but the people

changed the Gods’ names to Babylonian names.

Hammurabi1. Extended his empire to Mediterranean Sea.2. Changed religion by raising the God of Babylon above all

other gods.3. Improved irrigation system by building and repairing canals4. Reorganized the tax system and began a government

program.

HAMMURABI

The Reign of HAMMURABI His best known reform/improvement = code of law. Each

city-state had its own code of law. He chose the best laws from each code and combined them

for his empire. He appointed royal judges to make sure that the codes were

carried out fairly and justly. Judges who were not honest were punished.

His code covered almost everything in daily life. One of the law says ‘Innocent until proven guilty’. Once proven guilty, a person is punished.

Punishment included fines and death sentences. There were no prison sentences.

The punishment for the upper class was more severe.

BABYLON During Hammurabi’s reign, Babylon was an important trade

center. Its people exchanged surplus with money or goods they do

not have (Surplus = extra products) They brought goods to city markets on donkeys or rafts on

the rivers. Traders - came from all over eg. India and China. They paid

gold and silver for Babylonian goods. Hammurabi ruled for over 40 years. His reign/period of

power is known as THE GOLDEN AGE OF BABYLON. After his death, Mesopotamia was divided again.

Mesopotamian Contributions From Sumer until the reign of Hammurabi, there were many

influences of Mesopotamia on other civilizations.- Mesopotamia known as ‘Cradle of Civilization’ (earliest

civilization) because of the inventions, customs and ideas which were copied and improved upon up till now.

1. Oldest written records.2. First to write down their laws.3. Cuneiform - model for other writings.4. Invented - wheel, plow, sailboat.

Mesopotamian Contributions

5. 12 month calendar based on the moon’s cycle.6. Math - developed number system based on 60 - from

there came 60 minutes, 60 seconds, 360 degree.7. Clock - that was controlled by drops of water.

Hammurabi code of law

Cuneiform on clay tablet

The Hanging Garden of Babylon

The City of Babylon

Babylon now