Early Societies in Southwest Asia and the Indo-European Migrations Chapter 2 Early Societies in Southwest Asia and the Indo-European Migrations Mangione/Kollasch

Mesopotamia “the land between the rivers” Fertile land assisted by irrigation systems to support growing population Sumerians- located in southern part Built world’s first cities Centers of political and military authority Economic centers with bustling marketplaces Cultural centers with organized religions, standardized writing, formal education

Mesopotamia Politically- created states in order to control more territory- Became city-states by 2500 BCE Created public work programs administered by central authority Sargon of Akkad How does one maintain power and control over new conquests? Took control of trade routes and supplies of natural resources By 2150 B.C. his empire collapsed due to rebellions

Mesopotamia Social classes emerged Metallurgical innovations Trade Patriarchal society Men had private and public authority Hereditary played large role in status Epic of Gilgamesh- displayed man’s role in life and writing to reflect on man’s place in the world Metallurgical innovations Copper bronze 1000 B.C.E. began to use iron Trade Development of wheeled transportation and sailing vessels

Mesopotamia Religion Writing Priest and priestesses intervened with the gods to ensure good fortune Generated income for community Writing Sumerians- cuneiform writing system that used graphic symbols to represent sounds Began formal education and literacy as an important component to a society Expansion of knowledge *used writing to communicate complex ideas about the world, gods, human beings, their relationship with one another

Hammurabi Babylonian who dominated political affairs until 600 BCE Centralized bureaucratic rule and instituted regular taxation Code of laws- high standards of behavior and stern punishments Lex talionis “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’ Also based on social structure Ordered cultural unity throughout Babylonian empire Wealth and power attracted invaders and empire fell in 159 B.C.E

Assyrians Assyrians-9th Century B.C.E created powerful and intimidating army Used chariots and iron weapons to control much of Southwest Asia Domination caused rebellions and eventual fall of the empire Took ideas from Babylonians and Hammurabi

Babylonians Babylon center of Mesopotamian empire 600-550 B.C.C. King Nebuchadnezzar- built hanging gardens of Babylon Symbol of wealth and power of the empire

Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews King David (1000-970 B.C.E) and King Solomon (970-930 B.C.E) they built cities and interacted commercially with Mesopotamian, Egyptian ,and Arabian people Religious beliefs Hebrews embraced monotheism Ten Commandments- became religious and legal doctrine of Hebrew society 800-400 B.C.E. Israelites compiled teachings into the Torah Yahweh’s laws and his role in guiding human affairs

Phoenicians North of Israelites’ Independent city-states became powerful due to maritime and communication networks Great shipbuilders who traveled extensively for raw materials and selling their merchandise Writing Developed an alphabetic script consisting of 22 symbols that represented consonants Increased literacy

The Indo-European Migrations Represents a group of peoples who all share similarities in their languages Found in Europe, SW Asia, and India Although they live in different areas they all came from common ancestors and over time migrated away to new lands Domesticated horses about 4000 B.C.E. and used them to exploit the grasslands, transportation technologies, military advantages

The Indo-European Migrations Migrations were gradual and took place between 4000 B.C.E to 1000 B.C.E The Hittites- 1900 B.C.E Anatolia Interacted with Mesopotamians, Assyrians, and became dominate force in SW Asia Responsible for development of light, horse-drawn chariots improvements in iron metallurgy

Map of Indo-European Migrations http://media.maps.com/magellan/Images/WRLH034-H.gif