Mesopotamian Civilization Presentation

7/29/2019 Mesopotamian Civilization Presentation

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MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION

PRESENTATION ON:


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BACKGROUND

Mesopotamia is a name for the area of the TigrisEuphrates

river system

Around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the

Parthians.

A number of primarily neo Assyrian and Christian native

Mesopotamian states existed.


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NATURAL CONDITIONS

Between the place of Euphrates and Tigris was a great

agricultural place.

Irregular floods.

Less stones, metals and valuable minerals.

Had huge man power by mobilization.


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NATURAL CONDITIONS

Lack of natural resources.

Traded their necessities.

Climate was warm and dry.


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MESOPOTAMIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM

City states ruled by priest kings.

Leaded military.

Administrative trade.


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SUMERIAN ECONOMY

The dominant part was agriculture and trade.

Fertile land.

Plenty of harvests.

Job includes pottery makers, stone cutters, bricklayers,metal smiths etc.


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SUMERIAN ECONOMY

Potters used Cedar oil paints.

Masons and jeweler used alabaster, ivory, gold, silver andlapis lazuli.


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SUMERIAN SOCIETY

Divided as three classes.

Upper Class.

Middle Class.

Lower Class.


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SOCIAL STRUCTURE

Kings

Ensured safety of the states.

Build temples for worship. Acted as a judge.

Priests

Worked in temples. Conducted religious ceremonies.


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SUMERIAN AGRICULTURE

Sumerian agriculture depended heavily on irrigation.

frequent violent floods

Sumerians harvested during the spring in three-person

teams

The Sumerians grew barley, chickpeas, lentils, millet, wheat,

turnips, dates, onions, garlic, lettuce, leeks and mustard.


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SUMERIAN FAMILY

Patriarchal.

Men could divorce women on light causes.

System of reverse theory.

Administration of justice was semi-private.

Equality before law did not existed.


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SUMERIAN RELIGION

Polytheistic religion.

Anthropomorphic deities.

Cosmology.

Very little concern about after life.

Temples were generally small.

Ziggurat


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SUMERIAN WRITING SYSTEM

Cuneiform

Earliest known writing system

Total 500 characters.

Written on clay tablets.

The symbols consist of phonograms


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SUMERIAN ART

Sumerian art and architecture was ornate and complex -

primarily used for religious purposes.

Portraits are in marble, others, such as the one in the

Louvre in Paris, are cut in grey-black diorite.

Clay was the Sumerians' most abundant material


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SUMERIAN LITERATURE

Written in the Sumerian language during the Middle Bronze

Age.

Most Sumerian literature is preserved indirectly, via Assyrian

or Babylonian copies.

The Sumerian language remained in official and literary use

in the Akkadian and Babylonian empires.


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BABYLON

Religious centre of Babylonian empire.

According to Bible, founded by Nirmod.

Hammurabi makes Babylon superior than other city states.


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CODE OF HAMMURABI

The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law

code.

The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code.

The Code consists of 282 laws.

Nearly one-half of the Code deals with matters of contract.


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BABYLONIAN ECONOMY

Based upon

Agriculture.

Animal husbandry.

Manufactured goods.

Foreign trade.


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BABYLONIAN ECONOMY

Standard system of weights and measurements.

Controlled by crown.

Metals and stone weights.


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BABYLONIAN RELIGION

Polytheistic.

Prayers were common part of cultic rituals.

Little belief in after life.

Good knowledge about astrology.


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BABYLONIAN SCIENCE

Mathematics program in algebra and quadraticfunctions.

Accuracy in finding value.

Famous for astronomical observations.

Divided circles to 360 degree.

Progress in surgery.

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Mesopotamian Civilization Presentation