1. The Ancient Near East (ca. 3000 BC – ca. 330 BC)

2. The Ancient Near East
How can we compare/contrast the civilizations of this region?
Do we share anything in common with them?

3. The Ancient Near East

4. The Ancient Near East

5. The Ancient Near East Significant Terms Polytheism Monotheism
Anthropomorphic
Monarchy

6. The Ancient Near East Mesopotamian Religion Polytheistic The gods
Immortal, powerful
Feared
Afterlife
Hammurabi and Shamash

7. The Ancient Near East
Religion
Very spiritual people
Polytheistic

8. The Ancient Near East The Afterlife Ka lives on after death
Judgment before divine tribunal
Mummification

9. The Ancient Near East
Mummies, British Museum, London

10. The Ancient Near East

11. The Ancient Near East

12. The Ancient Near East Religion Hebrew God: YHWH Cult
Creator, redeemer
No images!
Cult
Male priesthood
Tabernacle, altars
Holy days
Sacred text: Torah

13. The Ancient Near East

14. dedicated to Supreme Creator
The Ancient Near East
Zoroastrianism
Prophet: Zarathustra (ca BC)
Ethical, inward-looking
Dualistic: Light vs. Darkness
Magi
Open-air fire altar
dedicated to Supreme Creator

15. The Ancient Near East
Questions?

16. The Ancient Near East Mesopotamian Monarchy Developed by 2700 BC
Almost always kings
Functions
Representatives of gods
Legislators
Justice
Patrons
King Sargon II (r BC)

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

18. The Ancient Near East 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

19. The Ancient Near East Hebrew Kingship King not divine
YHWH’s servant, vassal
Greatest monarchs
David (r BC)
Solomon (r BC)
King David

20. The Ancient Near East
Edward Poynter, The Queen of Sheba before Solomon (1890)

21. The Ancient Near East
Solomon’s Temple, Jerusalem

22. The Ancient Near East The Persian King “King of kings” Had khvarna
Brilliant in appearance!
Bound by rule of law and nobility
King Darius I (r BC)

23. The Ancient Near East
Questions?

24. The Ancient Near East

25. The Ancient Near East
The Rosetta Stone at the British Museum

26. The Ancient Near East 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.”

27. The Ancient Near East 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.”

28. The Ancient Near East The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17)
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. [1] You shall have no other gods before me. [2] You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them…[3] You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. [4] Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh is a Sabbath to the LORD your God…”

29. The Ancient Near East The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17)
“[6] Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. [7] You shall not murder. [8] You shall not commit adultery. [9] You shall not steal. [10] You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

30. The Ancient Near East

31. The Ancient Near East
Questions?

32. The Ancient Near East
How can we compare/contrast the civilizations of this region?
Do we share anything in common with them?