Mesopotamia

SumeriansSumer, Kish, Eridu, Uruk, Ur (Near the Persian Gulf)

3500BCE

Writing- Pictographs Cuneiform, stylusziggurats templesInvented- plow, arches, sailboat, circle in 360 degrees, wheelIrrigation- Used levees and canals

Separate City-State each had god(s)Monarch king, high priests, (nobles, merchants, scholars, peasants, farmers, slaves)Upper-class boys attended schoolPolytheism – gods – forces of nature

no reward or punishment after deathFlood Story – gods are unhappy with human life, send a floodEpic of Gilgamesh

Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing

Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing

Gilgamesh Epic Tablet:Flood Story

Gilgamesh Epic Tablet:Flood Story

Ziggurat at UrZiggurat at Ur

Temple

“Mountain of the Gods”

Temple

“Mountain of the Gods”

BabyloniansAkkad, Babylon

1792 BCE

Active Traders- wealthy cityAdopted culture of Sumerians when

they conquered themAstronomy/Astrology Horoscope

Hammurabi Law Code “eye for an eye”Hammurabi – efficient leader, cared about

people, wanted JusticePolytheistic had Sumerian gods

would sacrifice to gods for favorsPriests could tell future wealthy

Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750

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

B. C. E.] Code

HammurabiHammurabi

HittitesAsia Minor, IndoEuropean Language

invade from Asia MinorLooted city of BabylonRetreat to West Fertile Crescent1st to smelt iron

Only major crimes received death penaltyYou could pay fines for penaltiesHad significant religious freedom

1600BCE-1200BCE

A warlike people

A Balance of Power: 1200 B. C. E.

A Balance of Power: 1200 B. C. E.

AssyriansAshur, Upper Tigris River, Ninevah

2000BCE, 900-650BCE, 700BCE Loot/destroy Babylon, 635BCE Civil War

Semetic Speaking from North MesopotamiaAdopt Sumerian cultureFierce effective warriors, 1st to use cavalry, had a standing armyExpand power into Egypt/Fertile Crescent

height of power Meso, Syria, Palestine, Nile ValleyLatitude//Longitude, Used circle, Medical Science, Mail service

Used terror to control enemies, enslaved people they conquered, killed enemy soldiers, deport populations cultural diffusion

Governed large EmpireRespect/feared other people’s godsGods controlled everythingKing of Assyria responsible only to God AshurNineveh is Capital – double walled for protectionLibrary at Nineveh thousands of clay tablets (Gilgamesh)

Jewish Captives: 8c BCE

Jewish Captives: 8c BCE

ChaldeansNineveh, Babylon

612BCE capture Nineveh

Conquer most of Fertile CrescentTrade, canals, buildingsHanging Gardens of BabylonSkilled astronomers predict solar/lunar eclipseCalculate length of the yearGate of Ishtar - Goddess

Nebuchadnezzar – Great Leader, builds Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his homesick wife

PersiansIndo-European language, Empire Indus R. to Europe

539-331BCE Finally defeated by Greeks and Alexander the Great

Empire stretched from Indus River to EuropeRoad System was used to connect Empire together

Imperial Bureaucracy- gov’t organized into different levels and tasks with a king at the top.

Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes expanded EmpireCollected taxes laws fairly executedConquered people let them keep their religion and

lawsSecret Agents Keep king informed, governors and military

leaders were kept in checkZoroastrianism good vs. evil, either rewarded or

punished in the afterlife. Had influence of Judaism and Christianity

Persian “Royal Road”Persian “Royal Road”

Zarathustra [Zoroaster], 7c BCE:

Good Thoughts, Good Deed, Good Words

Zarathustra [Zoroaster], 7c BCE:

Good Thoughts, Good Deed, Good Words

“Tree of Life”“Tree of Life”

Extent of Zoroastrianism

Extent of Zoroastrianism

PhoeniciansWest Fertile Crescent, “Phoenicia”, Tyre and Sidon =

Seaports, Carthage in Africa - Traders

1000BC

Ships highly skilled sailors, greatest tradersLumber, skilled metal workers, invented glass blowing

and purple dyePhoenician Alphabet spread throughout Mediterranean.

Model for later Western alphabets

City-Stateeach with a different KingCopied culture and government of others (Egyptian and

Babylonians)Afterlife sacrifice to please the gods, even children

(extreme cases)

Phoenician Sea Routes

Phoenician Sea Routes

A Phoenician Bireme Ship

A Phoenician Bireme Ship

The “Royal Purple” Dye

The “Royal Purple” Dye

Carthage: Phoenicia’s Mightiest ColonyCarthage: Phoenicia’s Mightiest Colony

LydiansAsia Minor, West Asian Minor = Lydia

600BC no empire

1st to use coined money created a money economy

Barter = trading goods or services for other commodities

Hebrews/JewsCanaan, Enslaved in Egypt

After 100BCE Hyksos kicked out Jews are made slaves in Egypt for 400 yrs

Founder AbrahamMoses Leads Exodus from Egypt, 10 CommandmentsYahweh (God) monotheistic

Diaspora the spreading out (forced or voluntary migration) of Jews from their homeland.

Torah (1st 5 books of Old Testament)

Moses and the 10 Commandments

Moses and the 10 Commandments

A new “covenant” with Yahweh

A new “covenant” with Yahweh