Chapter 2: The Land Between

Two Rivers

Part 1: Conflict and The First Writing

“The Land Between Two Rivers” –the Euphrates on the western side and Tigris in the eastern side—is called Mesopotamia.

Today, the region is located in Iraq.

We owe a lot to this region, including:

1) The Calendar

2) The 24-Hour Day

3) The Names of Constellations

…and

4) The Wheel

Country Mouse vs. City Mouse Problem

Farmers, artisans, and priests began to live in and around the cities. They stayed in a fixed location in one of the dozen big cities springing up in Sumer.

The City People’s Arch-nemesis was the Nomad

This person roamed the land, living in tents. He would usually have sheep or cattle that would feed on an area of land until it was bare, a watering hole until it was dry

Since the

Beginning There Has

Been a

Conflict Between

City-Goers and

Country FolkSnobby

GreedyStinkyUnintelligent

Sumerian Writing: CuneiformLatin for “Wedge-Shaped”

Cuneiform was sketched into clay tablets. After use, the writing could be erased by washing the surface, or preserved by baking the tablet.

Two Things Were Recorded:

1)Deeds of Great Men2)Titles of Ownership

Part 2: The First Great King of Sumer

The Sumerian Kings List is the oldest physical copy of a document that archeologists have discovered (approx. 2100 BC)

Here is a paraphrase of the first name on the list:

Aliulim was the king over the walled city of Eridu. He was a good ruler, and his rule lasted for almost thirty thousand years.

Several of the kings are listed as ruling for thousands of years. The numbers eventually go down to the hundreds,

ending with one last great ruler: Gilgamesh, who reigned for 120 years.

Gilgamesh was the new ruler of Uruk, which

claimed itself the world’s oldest city during his day.

Instead of a priest’s son, he claimed to be the son of a well-known warrior-ruler from the past

However, one kingdom was not enough. He had his heart set on

Kish.

Kish controlled both rivers, heading north

Trade was essential for a region that lacked many resources, especially wood and stone

LapisLazuli from the East

Cedars of Lebanon from the West

Whereas Uruk claimed to be the oldest, Kish had grown to become the most

powerful and popular city in Sumer--the New York City of the region

The city of Kish is defeated not by Gilgamesh, who fails twice, but by a king named Mesannepadda, the king of Ur.

Gilgamesh does nothing.

He waits…

Until Mesannepadda dies, leaving his inexperienced son on the throne.

Gilgamesh seizes his chance.

He attacks;

he succeeds.

Now Kish, the sacred city of Nippur, Ur, and Uruk—four of the most powerful cities—are under his control. Before he dies, he becomes the mightiest ruler this world had seen.

A myth about his life, The Epic of Gilgamesh, was written around 2100 BC, about 600 years

after his deathA king named Shulgi wanted to claim Gilgamesh as an ancestor.

Only the first two parts and the lament are from the original. The other parts were added later, as late as 626 BC.