THE SUMERIANS

Pre-requisites for Civilization  Agriculture developed in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BCE  Mining and use of copper around 6000 BCE  Growth of villages and towns  Division of labor  Smelting of tin and copper to make bronze around 3000 BCE > Bronze Age

THE FERTILE CRESCENT Aswan DamDraining of the Marshes

Characteristics of Mesopotamian Civilizations  City states  Each city had its own king and patron god or goddess  City states often warred with each other  Theocracy -- king as god’s representative  Highly legalistic  Law Codes  Contracts  Judicial proceedings and appeals processes  Extensive trading networks  Architectural Marvels of Ancient Mesopotamia Architectural Marvels of Ancient Mesopotamia

Mesopotamian Empires

Tablet of pre-cuneiform script South Mesopotamia Uruk III, end of 4th millenium BC. Clay (?sun-baked clay) Louvre Writing Origin and the Development of Writing in Mesopotamia Origin and the Development of Writing in Mesopotamia

Writing: Pictograms Cylinder Seals Cylinder Seal with Watergod, Birdman, and Deities Mesopotamia, Akkadian Period, B.C. Emory University

Writing: Cuneiform Cuneiform Cylinder of Nabopolassar Recording Repair of the City Wall of Babylon, Mesopotamia, Babylon Neo-Babylonian Period, Reign of Nabopolassar, B.C Emory University

Sumerian Schools  Literacy was a highly valued skill  Sumerians set up first institutions of formal education: edubba  Education included writing and mathematics  Tuition paid for education  Educated were privileged elite: government officials, scribes, etc.

Sumerian Inventions  Cuneiform writing  The wheel  Potter’s wheel  Sailing ship  Pick-axe  Brick mold  Glass  60-based counting system: 60 minutes to an hour, 360 degrees to a circle  Number positioning  Beer  Epic poetry Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur

Akkad Sargon the great and his people the Akkadians conquered the region of Mesopotamia. They tore everything down. They were also very good artisans.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar II whom ruled Babylon from BCE made the gardens for his wife who missed the lush gardens she was used to in Mede It had an elaborate irrigation system

THEOCRACY: Kings: Servants of the Gods Sumerian King List The powerful gods communicate their desires to humanity through the medium of a powerful priestly class or autocratic king who serves as the intermediary. - Government of the gods/priest class - Ruler may be divine himself, or chosen by the god/gods - Each city had its own gods This system centralizes power in the hands of a small group of people and gives political decisions a religious authority

The City Center  Temples served civic and religious purposes  Daily sacrifices and rituals  Storage of surplus grain and other foods  Dwelling of priests and priestesses  Locale where craftsmen and artisans could practice their trades Ziggurats: Temples to the Gods

A stele is a monument that commemorates an historical event. Victory Stele of Naram Sim c B.C.E. 61/2' tall, sandstone Continual warfare among Sumerian city states and against invading tribes eventually led to the downfall of Sumerian civilization. But the influence of Sumerian civilization was felt in throughout the Near East, Egypt, India, the Mediterranean civilizations: Crete, Mycenae, Greece, Rome, and in Judeo- Christian traditions.

Gilgamesh, the Hero-King  Ruled in Sumer c BCE  Epic of Gilgamesh chronicles his reign  Evolves from selfish to great ruler via:  friendship  rebellion  loss  quest  recognition of mortality  acceptance of responsibility and service to the goddess Ishtar

Flood Myths  Flood myths are present on every continent  The flood myth…reminds us that life depends on death, that without death there can be no cycle, no birth.  Floods connected with cleansing, washing away of blunders or evil  Spared survivors are heroes of a new life

LAWS: The Code of Hammurabi, ca BCE Law-Codex of Hammurabi,first half of the 18th century BCE, Basalt, Louvre Full Text of the Code of Hammurabi  2350 bce law reform by King Urukagina of Lagash to protect exploited citizens  21st c. bce: earliest extant law code from Ur-Nammu (1000 years before the 10 Commandments