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Mesopotamia
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Every Civilization Needs to provide:
Stability Explanation Invention Question: Which is most important?
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The Ancient Fertile Crescent Area
The Middle East: “The Cradle of Civilization”
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Nebuchadnezzar II’s Babylon
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I. Mesopotamia: earliest examples of civilization
Three Historic Regions Sumer: Delta of the River Akkad: Northern Semites Babylon: Between the rivers
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The Ancient Fertile Crescent Area
The Middle East: “The Cradle of Civilization”
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City State Government Indo-European Migration From North Caspian Sea
Language Family – Ethnicity??? Records or Early Cities 3500 BC Inter regional traded of metals and timber Bronze Age BC (Adding copper to Tin City State Government Are City States independent? Are City States loyal to each other? UR capital of Sumeria Need to control rivers - Tigris and Euphrates crested late, erratically Effect on Civilization : Very INSTABLE
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Ziggurat at Ur Temple “Mountain of the Gods”
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Politics of Mesopotamia: Attempt at Stability
City state Theocratic government – Government by GOD Not enough resources to go around -- food, water Emphasis on war to get resources More INSTABLITLY
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Mesopotamian Trade “The Cuneiform World”
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Two rare examples of empire
Akkadians: Sargon the Great 2340 BC Old Babylonian Empire (OBE): Hammurabi ( BC) Empire = Forced Stability
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Explanation: Looking outside the three dimensions: TIME, SPACE, MATTER Polytheistic Worship of Land and nature central (agricultural) Divination Highly spiritual people--always looking for divine guidance No value on individual - people and world as plaything of gods Human world marked for death Ziggarat temple, reaching towards sky
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Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing
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Deciphering Cuneiform
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Inventions Creation of a writing system - Cuneiniform Animal Plows Wheel Sail boats Mathematics: fractions whole #, square roots, geometry
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Hammurabi, the Judge
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Rules for everyone to follow
Very important to the creation of civilization Hammurabi's code Based on idea of social justice (at least among equals) Destroy wicked and oppression Based on an eye for an eye--literally
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Consumer protection laws
The builder who caused the death of a man was put to death The builder who caused the death of a son had his son killed Leader who wronged his soldiers was executed If a leader didn't catch a burglar, he had to pay people who had lost goods!
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Agricultural laws to restrict and equalize land use, water use, trade
Marriage, gender, and sex Adultery acceptable by males Adultery by wives meant being thrown in the river (w/ possibility of pardon) Parents and children Hands chopped off for not following what a parent says to do Possibility of disinheritance
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