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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews
King David ( B.C.E) and King Solomon ( 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
B.C.E. Israelites compiled teachings into the Torah
Yahweh’s laws and his role in guiding human affairs

11. 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

12. 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

13. The Indo-European Migrations
Migrations were gradual and took place between 4000 B.C.E to 1000 B.C.E
The Hittites 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

14. Map of Indo-European Migrations