1. The Ancient Near East

2. The Ancient Near East
Common themes?
Differences?

3. Mesopotamia Mesopotamia “Between the rivers” Within Fertile Crescent
Accomplished through irrigation, canals  agriculture

4. Mesopotamia The Sumerians (ca. 3800-2400 BC) First great Mesopotamians
Settled in Fertile Crescent
Sumer
30 city-states
Common culture, trade
City-states often at war

5. Mesopotamia Accomplishments Inventions: wheel, plow Agriculture
Writing: CUNEIFORM
Tablets with cuneiform

6. Mesopotamia Government MONARCHY, by 2700 BC Almost always kings
Functions
Representatives of gods
Legislators
Justice
Patrons
King Sargon II (r BC)

7. Mesopotamia King Hammurabi (r. 1792-1750 BC) Ruler of Amorites
Conquered all Mesopotamia
Capital: Babylon
Great legislator

8. Mesopotamia The Code of Hammurabi 282 legal rulings
Violent punishments!
Hammurabi and Shamash depicted
“When the god Marduk commanded me to provide just ways for the people of the land in order to attain appropriate behavior, I established truth and justice as the declaration of the land, I enhanced the well-being of the people.”

9. Mesopotamia The Code of Hammurabi
“196. If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.
197. If he break the other man’s bone, his bone shall be broken.
198. If he put out the eye of a freed man, or break the bone of a freed man, he shall pay one gold mina.
199. If he put out the eye of a man’s slave, or break the bone of a man’s slave, he shall pay one-half of its value.”

10. Mesopotamia Religion POLYTHEISTIC The gods Afterlife ANTHROPOMORPHIC
Immortal, powerful
Feared
Afterlife
Hammurabi and Shamash

11. Mesopotamia
Statuettes of worshipers from the Square Temple at Eshnunna (ca BC)

12. Mesopotamia Ziggurat “Towering” structures Temple on top
Nucleus of city

13. Mesopotamia
Nanna Ziggurat, Ur (Muqaiyir, Iraq), ca – ca BC

14. Mesopotamia Literature Epic of Gilgamesh (ca. 2500 BC)
About semi-divine king of Uruk, friend Enkidu
Enkidu’s death  Gilgamesh’s pursuit of immortality
Enuma Elish (ca. 11th-cent. BC)
Origins
Cosmic battle between gods  creation
Enkidu and Gilgamesh

15. Mesopotamia
Questions?

16. Egypt Ancient Egypt The Nile
Flowed from Nubia to Delta
Flooded annually  fertility, prosperity
Symbol of life
Upper Egypt, Lower Egypt  unified state (ca BC)

17. Egypt The Pharaoh Egypt’s monarch Divine offspring of sun god
Ruled through bureaucracy
Worshiped after death
Pharaoh Tutankhamun (r BC)

18. Egypt
Religion
Very spiritual people
Polytheistic

19. Egypt The Afterlife Ka lives on after death
Judgment before divine tribunal
Mummification

20. Egypt
Mummies, British Museum, London

21. Egypt

22. Egypt
Mummy with amulets, Vatican Museum

23. Egypt

24. Egypt
Writing
Papyrus
HIEROGLYPHICS

25. Egypt
The Rosetta Stone at the British Museum

26. Egypt The Pyramids Purpose: pharaohs’ glory, tombs
Great Pyramids, Gizeh (ca BC)
Near Cairo
Gold once visible
Aligned with stars?
Great Pyramids, Gizeh, Egypt
Tombs of Menkaure, Khafre, Khufu (ca BC)

27. Egypt
The Great Sphinx (ca BC)
Lion, human head
Guardian

28. Egypt The Egyptian Empire (ca. 1550-1075 BC)
Borders: Euphrates to Nubia
Capital: Thebes

29. Egypt Hatshepsut (r. 1479-1457 BC)
Widow of Thutmose II, regent to Thutmose III
Declared herself pharaoh!
Peaceful reign
Thutmose sought to destroy memory of her

30. Egypt Decline of Egypt (ca. 1076 BC) Pharaohs lost power to priests
Empire disintegrated
Prominent international role lost
Suffered invasions, occupations

31. Egypt
Questions?

32. Israel Israel “The Hebrews” First recorded national history
Founders of “Western religious tradition”: MONOTHEISM

33. Israel The Patriarchs (ca. 2000-1500 BC) Abraham Isaac Jacob
Twelve tribes, *Joseph
Abraham and Isaac

34. Israel The Exodus (ca. 1300 BC) Israelites oppressed in Egypt
Moses led them out
Journey through wilderness  “Promised Land”
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Moses and the Ten Commandments

35. Israel

36. Israel

37. Israel Religion Hebrew God: YHWH Cult Sacred text: TORAH
Creator, redeemer
No images!
Cult
Male priesthood
Tabernacle, altars
Holy days
Sacred text: TORAH

38. Israel

39. Israel Government Confederation of tribes, at first
United monarchy (ca BC)
Hebrew kingship
Not divine
YHWH’s servant, vassal
Bound by Law

40. Israel The United Kingdom KING DAVID (r. 1004-965 BC)
Origins: shepherd, mercenary
Expansion, conquest
Capital: Jerusalem
KING SOLOMON (r BC)
Israel at its zenith
Wealth!
Temple
David

41. Israel
Edward Poynter, The Queen of Sheba before Solomon (1890)

42. Israel
Solomon’s Temple, Jerusalem

43. Israel The Divided Kingdom (928-722 BC)
Northern tribes broke away  Kingdom of Israel
Idols
Conquered by Assyria (722 BC)
Kingdom of Judah
Monotheism, idols too
Conquered by Babylon ( BC)

44. Israel
Questions?

45. Persia The Persian Empire (559-331 BC)
Iran: home of Medes and Persians
The Empire
Initiated by Cyrus the Great (r BC)
Conquered Medes, Babylon, beyond
Largest empire yet
King Cyrus the Great

46. Persia

47. Persia The Military Ruled by warrior aristocracy 300,000 soldiers!
Cavalry
First great navy

48. Persia The King “King of kings” Had khvarna Brilliant in appearance!
Bound by rule of law, nobility
King Darius I (r BC)

49. Persia Ruling the Empire Strategy: tolerance, humane rule
Royal Road
Ruling the Empire
Strategy: tolerance, humane rule
Divided into 20 satrapies
Systems of roads
Main language: Aramaic

50. dedicated to Supreme Creator
Persia
Religion
Initially polytheism
Zoroastrianism
Prophet: Zarathustra (ca BC)
Ethical, inward-looking
Dualistic: Light vs. Darkness
Magi
Open-air fire altar
dedicated to Supreme Creator

51. Persia
Questions?

52. The Ancient Near East
Common themes?
Differences?