Ancient mia

8/3/2019 Ancient mia

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GROWTH OF CIVILIZATION IN

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA


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AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

Started in the Fertile Crescent

Shift from eating wild grains to growing their

ownDeveloped storage methods

Permanent settlements

Domesticated animals Population increase

Society became increasingly complex


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BIRTH OF WRITING

Initially done only for economic reasons

Pictographic at first

Did evolve over time to represent more abstractterms

Developed more efficient means of

writing/preserving

Very difficult to learn

Few were literate


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CUNEIFORM WRITING


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SUMERIANS

Bronze Age civilization

Lived in different city-states

Common language, culture, and religion Still very competitive

Stratified society

Dominated by the priests and warriors


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ZIGGURAT OF UR


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SUMERIAN RELIGION

Gods no longer seen as mere forces of nature

Looked and acted like humans

Reciprocal relationship

humans honored gods

gods would listen to petitions

Kings divine right

Misrule could bring about the anger of the gods


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EPIC OF GILGAMESH

Based on historical Ur

king

Mistreated his people

Gods sent Enkidu to

deal with him

Battle b/w civilization

and wilderness Futility of human

existence?


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BABYLON

Rise of new empire

Goal extend control of the region

Religion as tool to control the conqueredpeople

Chief god of the Babylonians made ruler god for

everyone

Need to obey the king


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HAMMURABIS CODE - LAW

Very stratified society

Didnt deal with all legal

situations

Probably more

propaganda

Not mentioned in

surviving legal records

Some protections for

women

Hammurabi receiving the code

from the sun god


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HAMMURABIS LEGACY

Empire endured for several centuries following

his death

methods copied by later rulers

Written law represented a shift from older ways

Documents

Ancient mia