The Mesopotamians

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The Mesopotamians
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Pre-requisites for Civilization

• Agriculture developed in the Fertile Crescent
  around 9000 BCE
• Mining- use of tools
• Growth of villages and towns
• Division of labor

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THE FERTILE CRESCENT
Aswan Dam Draining of the Marshes
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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 gods representative
• Highly legalistic
• Law Codes
• Contracts
• Judicial proceedings and appeals processes
• Extensive trading networks
• Architectural Marvels of Ancient Mesopotamia

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Mesopotamian Empires
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WritingOrigin and the Development of Writing in
Mesopotamia
Tablet of pre-cuneiform scriptSouth
MesopotamiaUruk III, end of 4th millenium
BC.Clay (?sun-baked clay)Louvre
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Writing PictogramsCylinder Seals
Cylinder Seal with Watergod, Birdman, and
DeitiesMesopotamia, Akkadian Period, 2300 - 2200
B.C.Emory University
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Writing Cuneiform
Cuneiform Cylinder of Nabopolassar Recording
Repair of the City Wall of Babylon, Mesopotamia,
BabylonNeo-Babylonian Period, Reign of
Nabopolassar, 625 - 605 B.CEmory University
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Sumerian Schools

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

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Sumerian Inventions

• Cuneiform writing
• The wheel
• Potters 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
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Akkad

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

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Hanging Gardens of Babylon

• Nebuchadnezzar II whom ruled Babylon from 605-562
  BCE made the gardens for his wife who missed the
  lush gardens she was used to in Mede
• It had an elaborate irrigation system

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THEOCRACYKings Servants of the Gods
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
Sumerian King List
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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
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Flood Myths

• Flood myths are present on every continent
• The flood mythreminds 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

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A stele is a monument that commemorates an
historical event.
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.
Victory Stele of Naram Sim c. 2300- 2200 B.C.E.
61/2' tall, sandstone