Sumer, 3200-2350 B.C. Sargon’s Empire, 2350-2320 B.C.

The Dynasty of Ur, 2100-2000 B.C.

The Amorite invasions, 2100-1900 B.C.Reign of Hammurapi of Babylon, 1792-1750 B.C.

The Ancient Fertile Crescent AreaThe Ancient Fertile Crescent Area

“The Cradle of Civilization”“The Cradle of Civilization”

SumeriansSumerians

Sumer, 3200Sumer, 3200--2350 B.C.2350 B.C.

Mesopotamian TradeMesopotamian Trade

“The Cuneiform World”“The Cuneiform World”

Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” WritingCuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing

Cuneiform WritingCuneiform Writing

Sumerian ScribesSumerian Scribes

“Tablet House”“Tablet House”

Sumerian Religion - PolytheisticSumerian Religion - Polytheistic

EaEa IshtarIshtar

Anthropomorphic GodsAnthropomorphic Gods

Gods and Goddesses

•Sin (the moon)

•Father figure

•Shamash (the sun)

•Deity of justice

•Ishtar (the morning star)

•Sex, war, community

Gods and Goddesses

•Ereshkigal goddess of the Underworld

•Ea god of fresh water

Ziggurat at UrZiggurat at Ur

“Mountain of “Mountain of the Gods”the Gods” “Mountain of “Mountain of

the Gods”the Gods”

The Royal Standard of UrThe Royal Standard of Ur

Sargon of Akkad:The World’s First Empire [Akkadians]

Sargon of Akkad:The World’s First Empire [Akkadians]

Sargon of Akkad unifies Mesopotamia:

World’s first empire, ca. 2240 B.C.

Uruk: a substantial ceremonial hub by 3500 B.C.

UrukUruk

Ziggurat of Ur

Map of Nippur

Complexity of Akkadians as seen through “tokens”

The King

The Governors

The Aristocracy

Peasantry

Sumerian/Akkadian Class System

The roles and rights of Sumerian women

Status of WomenStatus declined over time

• Early Sumer: more or less equality between the sexes

• Artisan occupations were open to women

• Adultery was the worst crime in marriage

• Divorce was initiated by husbands

• Sexual and Marital Life

– Arranged marriages– Dowry– Brides were expected to be virgins

Board Game From UrBoard Game From Ur

Bronze Metallurgy Skillsat Ur

Bronze Metallurgy Skillsat Ur

Mesopotamian HarpMesopotamian Harp

Sumerian Cylinder SealsSumerian Cylinder Seals

GilgameshGilgamesh

Gilgamesh Epic Tablet:Flood Story

Gilgamesh Epic Tablet:Flood Story

The Babylonian EmpiresThe Babylonian Empires

Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.] CodeHammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.] Code

Hammurabi, the JudgeHammurabi, the Judge

Babylonian MathBabylonian Math

Babylonian NumbersBabylonian Numbers

MAP 2.1MAP 2.1

• Hammurabi, king of Babylon (ca. 1792 –1750 B.C.E.), created the next great empire in Mesopotamia

• He is remembered today largely because of his law code

LawEarliest known complete code of laws:Principles

– Punishment depends on social rank

– Victim’s right to personal compensation

– Government is impartial referee

Hammurabi’s Empire

SUCCESSORS TO THE SUMERIANS

• Successors

– Akkadians (under Sargon)– Amorites, or Old Babylonians (under Hammurabi)– Hittites– Assyrians– Chaldees or New Babylonians

• Decline of Mesopotamia in World History

– Ceased to be important after the Persians conquest the region (580s B.C.E.)

II. The Hittites

• spoke an Indo-European language• arrived in Anatolia perhaps as early as 2700

BCE• settled as farmers and herders in the lands of

existing Anatolian kingdoms• were probably backwards compared to the

sophisticated kingdoms that were their neighbors

• warfare among the Hittites’ neighbors gave them the opportunity to rise to prominence

• in 19th century BCE king Hattusilis I built the capital at Hattusas

• conquest of neighboring land begins

• Hittites may have had an advantage over the Anatolian kingdoms they conquered because of their iron weapons

• the Hittites were the first people to make weapons and tools out of this metal

• they conquered much of Anatolia and even campaigned beyond Anatolia

• around 1595 BCE the Hittites participated in an attack on Babylon

• this attack led to the overthrow of the dynasty that Hammurabi had founded two centuries earlier

• the Hittites probably participated in the sacking of the city, then returned home

• much of what is now known about the Hittites comes from clay tablets found at Hattusas and other locations, artifacts, and excavations of Hittite cities

• the Hittite tablets are written in cuneiform, which they adopted for their language

• The Hittite Empire was at its strongest between about 1475 BCE and 1200 BCE

• Hittite warriors fought the Egyptians and Rameses II to a standstill at Kadesh around 1300 BCE

• peace followed the battle with both sides realizing that a treaty of peace was better than continued bloodshed

The Middle East in the Second Millennium B.C.E.Although warfare was not uncommon, treaties, diplomatic missions, and correspondence in Akkadian cuneiform fostered cooperative relationships between states. All were tied together by extensive networks of exchange centering on the trade in metals, and peripheral regions, such as Nubia and the Aegean Sea, were drawn into the world of commerce. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)

the Second the Second Millennium Millennium B.C.E.B.C.E.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

The Hittites had a complex society:

• slaves

• commoners – farmers, craftsmen, herders

• warriors – possibly also commoners• warriors sat in an assembly that could try cases

and order punishments, but could not make laws

• nobles – strong; frequent challengers of the king’s authority

• royal family – also a noble family; members of this family held influential posts

• Hittite nobles and the royal family frequently quarreled, and plots against the royal family were frequent

• The Hittite Empire fell abruptly around 1200 BCE

• The cause?

• The Sea Peoples raided and destroyed Hittite cities.

• So vicious were these attacks the Hittite Empire collapsed.

The Dynasty of Ur, The Dynasty of Ur, 21002100--2000 B.C.2000 B.C.