The Nineveh tablets reveal a civilization 1000 years older than Babylonia...and neolithic life going back to 7000 BCE

Two great rivers were fed by the winter rains of Syria and the spring thaws of the snows of the Taurus and Zagros mts : life-giving but unpredictable

How was Mesopotamia transformed around 3200 BC?

Each city was believed to be the property of an individual god

Religion was the central force:

Explained the workings of nature

Eased the fear of death

United people in a common view

Bolstered the authority of rulers

Justified rules and morality

Promoted creativity in art, literature and science

U.S. soldiers, 2010

• Each city was the property of a specific deity.

• Temple priests interpreted the will of the gods and acted as stewards of a city's deity.

• The ruler of the city – a priest-king often was visited and instructed by the community's god.

How did Mesopotamians define the purpose of man’s existence?

Why did a mood of pessimism, uncertainty and anxiety pervade the Sumerian psyche?

• Frequent floods and droughts

• Windstorms

• No natural boundaries to impede invasions

• The gods were unpredictable

• About 2350 BCE,King Sargon led the people of Akkad in conquering Sumeria and establishing the world's first empire.

Third Dynasty of Ur…Ur-Nammu, 2113-2096 BC

The ancient Sumerians were very smart people:

• Cuneiform• Law codes• Literature• Schools• Numbering system• Kiln-dried bricks & pottery• Lunar calendar• Potter’s wheel• The wheel

• The wheelbarrow• Sailboats• Bronze tools and weapons• The plow• Frying pans• Razors• Cosmetic sets• Shepherd’s pipes• harps

Why were King Hammurabi’s law codes obeyed?

The Hittites,1600 bc- 1200 bc

The first people to develop a substantial iron industry

examples of Hittite iron swords…

A Phoenician sailing vessel

• The Phoenician Alphabet, circa 1400 bc

The Hebrews

• Monotheism• Removed the gods

from nature• Assertion of human

dignity• 10 Commandments