Presentation mia Final

8/4/2019 Presentation mia Final

1/50

AncientMesopotamia


2/50

Mesopotamia - The LandBetween Two Rivers

Mesopotamia was a place where many cities began to grow. As

its name suggests, Mesopotamia was located between tworivers. The two rivers were the Tigris River and the Euphrates

River.

Mesopotamia was located in the Middle East, and surroundedby desert. People came to Mesopotamia because the soil

between the two rivers was very fertile.


3/50

Mesopotamia was

located in the

Middle East.

Mesopotamia was

located in the

Middle East.


4/50


5/50

Mesopotamia

was located inwhat is now the

country of Iraq.


6/50

Mesopotamia was part of a larger region called the Fertile Crescent.

This area, that stretched from the eastern edge of the Mediterranean

Sea down to the Persian Gulf, had fertile soil and was where many

civilizations started. The shape is somewhat similar to a crescent

(think of a crescent roll, or a crescent-shaped moon).


7/50

The Cradle of Civilization

Mesopotamia is located in the Middle East, which is located

in Southwest Asia. As weve discussed before, the first

civilizations and examples of writing were found in

Southwest Asia. These things began in Mesopotamia.

When a newborn baby begins life, he or she is placed in a

cradle. Mesopotamia is called the cradle of civilization

because the first civilizations began there, about 5,500 yearsago in 3500 B.C.


8/50

City-States Formed Along the Rivers

Many city-states formedalong the Tigris and

Euphrates Rivers in

Mesopotamia. They each

had their own form of

government, and the peopleworshipped different gods

and goddesses. Eventually,

they each had their own

kings. The region wherethe two rivers meet was

called Sumer. The people

who lived in the Sumer

region were called

Sumerians.


9/50

SUMERIANS


10/50

Writing first began in

Sumerian cities. The first

schools were set up in Sumerover 4,000 years ago.

Sumerian schools taught boys

the new invention of writing.

Those who graduated becameprofessional writers calledscribes. Scribes were theonly people who could keep

records for the kings and

priests. Boys that wanted to

be scribes had to attend school

from the age of 8 to the age of

20.


11/50

>Scribes used a sharp point called a stylusto etch words into clay tablets. These

tablets have been discovered byarchaeologists and looked at by historians.


12/50

Ziggurat at Ur


13/50

The Downfall of the Sumerians

Each of the Sumerian city-stateshad a ruler, and these city-states

began fighting each other. They

fought over land and the use of

river water. Since the Sumerianswere constantly at war with each

other, they became weak. By

2000 BC, Sumer was a weakened

area, and by 1759 BC, Sumer was

conquered by another group ofpeople - the Babylonians, who

were from the north.


14/50

Babylonia

The Babylonian empire lasted from around 1800 BC to 1600

BC.


15/50

Babylons location made it a good place for trade. Groups

of travelers, called caravans, traveled back and forth from

the Sumerian cities in the south to the city of Akkad in the

north. Along the way, they always stopped in Babylon to

trade.


16/50

Hammurabis Code

Hammurabi was the king whounited most of Mesopotamia

and conquered the Sumerians.

He developed a code of

laws. The laws were

numbered from 1 to 282. Law

number 196 states:If a man

put out the eye of another

man, his eye shall be put out.

Some people summarizeHammurabis code by saying

an eye for an eye.


17/50

On the left is a stela, which has all 282 of

Hammurabis laws engraved on it. This stela is

located in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

The Hammurabi stela was discovered in 1909, in

Susa, Elam, which is now Khuzestan. Khuzestan is a

province of southern Iran.


18/50

Babylonia is Conquered

Though Hammurabi formed a large and rich empire, the

people that ruled after him could not keep it together. The

empire kept getting smaller and smaller until eventually itwas destroyed.

Decline of Babylonian Empire

Nomadic tribes moved into the region, drawn by wealth Included Indo-Europeans

Steppes: arid grasslands north of the Black Sea


19/50

The Hittites

Hittite Military Might Hittites: warlike Indo-European tribe

Built strong empire in Asia Minor (now Turkey)

Horse-drawn war chariot and new techniques

Hittite Culture

Blended their culture with cultures around them

First to make objects out of iron

Rule reached peak in 1300s BC


20/50

The ancient Hittite city of Hattusha, in Turkey.


21/50

The Hittites Three Man Chariot. Two archers and a driver in each

chariot made this a fearsome offensive weapon.


22/50

The Assyrians

From NorthernMesopotamia

Barley, cattle

Adopted Sumerianculture

New empire in 900 BC

Mesopotamia, AsiaMinor, Egypt

The Assyrians

Fierce warrior society

War chariots, footsoldiers, cavalry

Masters of siegewarfare

Terror

War Machine

Efficient system

Local leaders

System of roads

Brutal with opposition

Cultural

achievements, library

Assyrian Rule


23/50

A stone carving of the Assyrians conquering an Egyptian town in

their war on Egypt.


24/50

A drawing of the Assyrian capitol of Nineveh.


25/50

Nineveh under siege by the Babylonians and Medes.


26/50

The ruins of Nineveh.


27/50

A mythological beast called a Lammasu, from the gates of Nineveh.


28/50

The Assyrian War Machine

The Assyrians were

geniuses at wagingwar. They invented

the battering ram,

which they used to

pound down citywalls. They used

catapults to throw

rocks at enemies, and

the protected their

archers (people who

use a bow and arrows)

with helmets and

armor.


29/50

Assyrian Learning

The capital of the Assyrian

Empire was a city called

Nineveh. Nineveh became

a great city of learning. It

had a famous library that

held thousands of claytablets with writings from

Sumer and Babylon.

These records tell us a lot

about life in Mesopotamia.


30/50

Assyria Overthrown

The people that theAssyrians conquered were

constantly rebelling against

Assyrian rule. Most of the

time, the Assyrians crushedthe people who tried to

fight them. However, in

612 B.C., two groups

joined together to smash

the Assyrian empire. These

groups were the Medes and

the Chaldeans.


31/50

The Chaldeans

As Assyria began to decline, the Chaldeans swooped in.

Babylon, capital of their new empire

Nebuchadnezzar II

Warrior and builderHanging Gardens of Babylon

Chaldean culture

Admired ancient Sumerian cultureDeveloped calendar; advances in astronomy


32/50

The New Babylonian Empire

The Chaldeans

created a new empire,

centered at Babylon

after they defeated the

Assyrians in 612 BC.

The greatest king ofBabylon was

Nebuchadnezzar II.

He rebuilt Babylon

and put massive wallsaround the city to

protect it. He also

built a great palace

with hanging gardens.


33/50

A New Center for Learning

Under the Chaldeans, theNew Babylonian empire

became a center of

learning and science.

Chaldean astronomers

charted stars andmeasured the correct

length of the year.

Chaldean farmers raised

bees for their honey.Many people came to

Babylon to share ideas

and discoveries.This clay tablet shows the world that was known

to the Babylonians


34/50

The Fall of the 2nd Babylonian Empire

The secondBabylonian empire

came under attack

and was defeated

by the Persians,who were led by

Cyrus, in 539 BC.

Though the

Chaldeans were

defeated, the city

of Babylon was

spared from

destruction.


35/50

The PhoeniciansIn an area of western Asia called Phoenicia, city-states emerged as

trading centers, and Phoenicians built a wealthy trading society.

Western end of Fertile Crescent

Farming difficult

Trade and sea for livelihood

Expert sailors

Founded colonies on routes

Trade brought great wealth

Invented glassblowing

Exports: ivory, silver, slaves

Trading Society

Greatest achievement

Invented by traders to recordactivities

Adopted by many, including theGreeks

Ancestor of the English language

alphabet

Alphabet


36/50


37/50

A Phoenician-style vessel.


38/50

PERSIAN(ACHAEMENID)

C h G


39/50

Cyrus the Great

580 529 B. C. E.

A tolerant ruler heallowed

different cultures withinhis

empire to keep their owninstitutions.

The Greeks called him a

Law-Giver.

The Jews called him theanointed of the Lord. (In

537,


40/50

Darius the Great

(526 485 B. C. E.)

he extended thePersian Empire to

theIndus River in

northernIndia. (2 mil. s.q.

mi.)

Built a canal in


41/50

Darius the Great

(526 485 B. C. E.) Established a tax-collectingsystem.

Divided the empire intodistricts

called SATRAPIES.

Built the great Royal Roadsystem.

Established a complex postal

system.


42/50

Ancient Persepolis


43/50

Persepolis


44/50

Persian Archers & Soldiers


45/50

Zarathustra [Zoroaster], 6c

BCE:Good Thoughts, Good Deed, Good WordsExtent of

Zoroastrianism


46/50

Zend-Avesta(The Book of Law)

The Sacred Fire the force tofight

evil.


47/50

LYDIANSLydians originally from Europe

Small states throughout Asia Minor followingfall of the Hittites

10th century B.C.E. dominated western

Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey)


48/50

400 years of prosperity

Mineral wealth

Especially gold and electrum

Electrum mixture of gold and silver found inriverbeds

Controlled Asia Minors trade routes

Conquered by Persians (547 B.C.E.)


49/50

Before the Lydians, goods had to be traded forother goods

Only thing close to money were lumps of gold andsilver, which had to be repeatedly weighed and

tested for purity

Lydians made standard-sized pieces of gold and

silver and stamped them with their valueInvention of money

Use of money spread quickly

Helped to spread international trade


50/50

Capital

Sardis

trading centerRuled by a king

Most famous king was Croesusas rich asCroesus

Sardis

Croesus

Documents

Presentation mia Final