history question
dannyyang
mesopotamiaBabylonassriababylon.pptxMesopotamia
Means the land between the rivers
Euphrates
Tigris
Rivers of life and death
Inundation
Drought
Planting cycle
City-states
12 in Mesopotamia
Each is like its own monarchy
Continually competing for control of the area
Sargon (the Great)
King of Sumer
Builds 1st empire – unites city-states
Establishes a standing army
Endorses plundering to feed his men
Dies in 2279 B.C.E.
Period of chaos
Social Classes in Mesopotamia
Kings/priests
Scribes/merchants
Skilled workers
(scribes- people who can read and write)
unskilled workers
Slaves
May be POW’s or enslaved to pay off a debt or for a crime
Ziggurat Temples built in the city-states to honor the main god of that city-state Each city-state would have one Ceremonies and religious celebrations would take place there
Religion in Mesopotamia
Ancient Mesopotamians attributed the forces of nature to the workings of divine forces. Since there are many forces of nature, so there were many gods and goddesses, including four creator gods.
The highest of the four creator gods was the sky-god An, the over-arching bowl of heaven.
Next came Enlil who could either produce raging storms or act to help man.
Nin-khursag was the earth goddess.
The fourth god was Enki, the water god and patron of wisdom.
How the Gods Helped Mankind
The gods bound people together in their social groups and were believed to have provided what they needed to survive. The Sumerians developed stories and festivals to explain and harness help for their physical environment. Once a year came the new year and with it, the Sumerians thought the gods decided what would happen to mankind for the coming year.
The priests were responsible for the sacrifices and rituals that were essential for the help of the gods. In addition, property belonged to the gods, so priests administered it. This made the priests valuable and important figures in their communities. And so, the priestly class developed.
Cuneiform
Mesopotamian writing system
Cuneiform script is one of the earliest known systems of writing, distinguished by its wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets, made by means of a blunt reed for a stylus. The name cuneiform itself simply means "wedge shaped.”
550 Characters
Pictures and symbols
Sumerian Technology/Art/ science and Culture
First wheeled vehicles
Chariots and wagons
Potters wheel
Focus on astrology
Math
percent's, exponents, multiplication
Literature – the Epic of Gilgamesh
Babylon
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Hammurabi
1792 B.C.E. 6th King of Babylon
From the Amorite people, assimilated into Mesopotamia, developed area of Babylon
built empire by
capturing several city-states
adopting parts of Sumerian culture
becoming the center of trade
repairing temples, improving irrigation, and creating a well organized army.
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Code of Hammurabi
First major written collection of laws
282 laws dealing with trade, labor, property and family.
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Code of Hammurabi reveals:
1. A stern sense of justice –
An “eye for an eye”
Severe punishments for crimes such as bribery, theft, dishonest weights and measures, or damage to another's property.
Law - 2. If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house. But if the river prove that the accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser.
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2. A sharp division of classes
Punishment was based on class
A harsher punishment would be given for a crime against a noble or a priest and a more lenient punishment would be given for a crime against a common person – artisan, merchant, farmer, or slave
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195 If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn off. 196 If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. [ An eye for an eye ] 197 If he break another 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.
200 If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out. [ A tooth for a tooth ] 201 If he knock out the teeth of a freed man, he shall pay one-third of a gold mina. 202 If any one strike the body of a man higher in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public. 203 If a free-born man strike the body of another free-born man or equal rank, he shall pay one gold mina. 204 If a freed man strike the body of another freed man, he shall pay ten shekels in money.
3. Fair Treatment of Women
They could own property, engage in business
Husband had legal duty to support wife
Wife should live with husband and be dependent on him
Fathers had unlimited authority over children – stable households make stable empires
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4. An advanced Business Society
Established regulations for protecting property and business contracts
Limited interest on loans
Set wages for workers
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Assyria
Assyria was between the Tigris River and the Zagros Mts. in northern Mesopotamia
lived in cities, surrounded by small farming villages.
Would conquer neighbors to control fertile land and trade routes
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Old Assyria
2025 BCE – 1393 BCE
Capital Assur or Ashur
King was seen as a high priest
They were a warrior society
All males had to serve in military
Horse breeding was extensive
Executions, whippings, and forced
Labor were common
Ashurbanipal
was an Assyrian king
last strong king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
He is famed for amassing a significant collection of cuneiform documents for his royal palace at Nineveh. This collection, known as the Library of Ashurbanipal
He was ruthless to those he conquered, would have people flayed and have pillars of skulls built
Middle Assyria 1392 BCE – 934 BCE Great power – overthrew 25th dynasty of Egypt. Drove Ethiopians, Kushites, and Nubians from the area.
At its height, the Empire encompassed the whole of the modern nations of Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Palestine and Cyprus, together with large swathes of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Sudan, Libya, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Most warlike people
Iron weapons, moveable towers, cavalry, chariots, infantry would dig tunnels
Cruel and violent – ruthless treatment of conquered people
Deport rebellious people from their homelands
Boasted of their brutality
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Nineveh
Assyrian capital
Desire for order – laws regulating life
Wealthy from trade and looting – splendid palaces
King Assurbanipal
Cultured ruler, could read and write
founded 1 of the first libraries, 20,000 items
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The Assyrian Empire was severely crippled following the death of Ashurbanipal in 627 BC—the nation and its empire descending into a prolonged and brutal series of civil wars involving three rival kings.
Others took advantage of the bitter fighting among the Assyrians to raid Assyrian colonies, ravaging parts of the empire, including Levant, Israel and Judah and all the way into Egypt whose coasts were ravaged and looted with impunity.
This led to a coalition of forces to unite and launch a massive combined attack in 612 BC, finally besieging and entering Nineveh in late 612 BC
Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar II
Babylonian King
Revives power of Babylon and creates new Babylonian empire
Attacks Jerusalem, capital of Judah in 598 B.C.E., because they refuse to pay tribute
Exiles thousands of Jews to Babylon
Destroys temple of Solomon
Was suppose to house the Ark of the Covenant
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Nebuchadnezzar
Rebuilt:
Canals, temples, palaces
Created the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
A wonder of the ancient world
Gardens built by planting trees and flowers on and around the steps of a huge Ziggurat
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Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar
Under his reign – new areas of learning
Astrology – the superstition that the movement of stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies directly affect the lives of human beings
Through study they learned to identify planets and to foretell eclipses
539 B.C. Babylon will fall to Persia, Cyrus the Great
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Later Assyria as well as Mesopotamia
Will fall under the Persians
The Greeks
The Romans
680-780 Islam will enter the area
It will fall under Mongol rule in 1258 when Hulago Khan takes over Baghdad.
Later will be the Ottoman influence
The Persians
Cyrus the Great
will conquer Babylonian territory
will allow the exiled Jews to return to their lands
will be seen as a liberator
will control area until Alexander the Great conquers the territory
Persian Empire
Alexander the Greats Empire
Roman Empire
Ottoman Empire
