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City-States of Ancient Sumer2.1
Chapter 2
Was a region of the Middle East named for its rich soils and golden wheat fields
Lying within the Fertile Crescent is Mesopotamia
“Between the rivers”
The Fertile Crescent
Lies between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Modern day Turkey through Iraq
First civilization was Sumer, located in southeastern Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Had to control flooding
Could completely wash away the topsoil and the mud-brick villages
The Epic of Gilgamesh describes a great flood that destroys the world
Archaeologists confirm that catastrophic floods occurred regularly
Struggles
Lacked timber and stone, so learned to build with clay and water
Used clay to make bricks and dried in the sun
Made the first wheeled vehicles
Sumerian Resources
Each city-state had a social hierarchy system of ranking groups
Highest level made up of ruling family, leading officials and priests
Middle class were scribes, merchants, and artisans
Lowest, and majority of people were peasant farmers
Civilization Takes Shape
Goddesses were highly honored in religious practice
Women held higher status in Sumer compared to other civilizations
Never had legal rights equal to men
Rulers’ wives had supervisory powers and some wrote songs about their husbands (Why would that be significant?)
Sumerian Women
Sumerian Religion
Polytheistic
Thought the gods behaved like ordinary people, ate, drank, married, had families, etc
Felt highest duty was to keep them happy which ensured the safety of the city-state
Religion
Ziggurats
Large, stepped platform thought to have been topped by a temple dedicated to the city’s chief god or goddess
Believed in afterlife
“The place where they live on dust, their food is mud, and they see no light, living in blackness, on the door and door-bolt, deeply settled dust”
Ziggurats
Cuneiform
Sumerians Invent Writing
Scribes wrote by making wedge- shaped marks on clay tablets
Used to record economic exchanges, myths, prayers, laws, and business contracts
Had to go through many years of school to acquire these skills
Caned for making any mistakes
Cuneiform
Cuneiform was adapted into different cultures
Established a number system based on dividing the hour into 60 minutes and the circle into 360 degrees
Studies the skies and recorded the movements of the planets and stars
Lasting Legacy of Sumer
Chapter 2: Section 2
Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders
Sargon of Akkad
2300 BC
Invaded and Conquered Sumer
First Empires
Didn’t stop after conquering Sumer, expanded his territory and created the first empire known in history
Appointed local rulers, each of whom served as king of the land he oversaw
Did not last long; After Sargon’s death other invaders took over
Sargon
Hammurabi
King of Babylon
Took control of Mesopotamia in 1790 BC
Best known for his publication of a set of laws: Hammurabi’s Code
Hammurabi
Wanted to ensure that everyone knew the law
Had Artisans carve nearly 300 laws on a stone pillar for all to see
First attempt by a ruler to codify, or arrange and set down in writing
Hammurabi’s Code
Dealt with private rights and matters
Examples include contracts, inheritances, taxes, marriage, and divorce
Designed to protect the powerless….Slaves and Women
Civil Law
For Women: If a woman is blameless for the problems between herself and her husband, she could leave the marriage
If she were at fault however, the law instructed that she be thrown into the river
Examples of Civil Law
Deals with offenses against others, such as robbery, assault, or murder
Limited personal vengeance and encouraged order
May seem cruel based on today’s standards
Eye for an eye, If a house falls due to poor construction and kills the owner, the house’s builder could be put to death
Criminal Law
Hittites
Conquered Mesopotamia in 1400 BC
Brought with them a major advancement, the knowledge of how to extract iron from ore
Their tools and weapons were harder and sharper
Wanted to keep this process a secret, but their secret got out as their empire collapsed
Hittites
Assyrians
Most feared Warriors
Always involved in warfare
Encouraged a well planned society; Used riches from trade and war to pay for palaces
Assyrians
King Assurbanipal
Founded the first library in Nineveh
King Assurbanipal
Nebuchadnezzar
Defeated the Assyrians after Assurbanipal’s death
Oversaw the rebuilding of canals, temples, walls, and palaces of Babylon
Built a defensive moat and an 85 feet thick wall
Nebuchadnezzar Revives Babylon
Had 9 gates dedicated to important gods
Most famous was Ishtar Gate, made of bricks glazed bright blue
Covered in lions to represent Ishtar, dragons representing Marduk, and bulls representing Hadad
Nebuchadnezzar's Wall
Hanging Gardens
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Remains have not been found
Planted trees and plants on steps of a ziggurat
According to legend, he did it to please his wife who was homesick for the hills where she grew up
Hanging Gardens
Would defeat and conquer Babylon in 539 BCLeader was Cyrus the Great
The Persians
Built the largest empire ever seen
Pursued policies of tolerance towards the people they conquered
Respected the customs of different people
Persian Empire
Unified the Empire
Darius I
Set up a bureaucracy, or a system of government
Became a model for later rulers
Divided empire into provinces, called satrapy.
Headed by a governor called a satrap
Accomplishments of Darius I
Adopted laws from the people he conquered
Drew up a single code of laws, like Hammurabi
Had hundreds of miles of roads built or repaired
More Accomplishments
Set up a common set of weights and measures
Encouraged the use of coins
This transitioned a barter economy (one in which you trade for goods) into a money economy (where you use coins)
Economy
ZoroasterTaught of ONE God
Ahura MazdaConstant battle with Ahriman
Prince of lies and evilHad to choose
Religion
The Phoenicians
Known for being sailors and traders
Made glass from sand
A purple dye from sea snails
Set up colonies
Phoenicians
They spread civilization around the Mediterranean
Most significant contribution was their alphabet
Had a system of 22 symbols that stood for consonant sounds
Greeks would later add vowels, and that became OUR alphabet
“Carriers of Civilization”
Chapter 2, Section 3
Kingdom on the Nile
“Egypt is wholly the gift of the Nile”
Without the Nile River, Egypt would just be a desert
Geography of Egypt
The annual (yearly) flooding was a GOOD thing
It soaked the land with water and deposited silt
Still work to be done, had to build reservoirs and ditches to control the flooding
Annual Flooding
Upper Egypt located in the south
Lower Egypt located in the north
2 Regions of Egypt
Menes, the King of Upper Egypt, united the two regions in 3100 B.C.
Founded Egypt’s first capital, Memphis
Used the Nile as a highway to transport goods, officials, and armies between the north and south
United
Old Kingdom
2575 B.C. – 2130 B.C.
Egyptian Kings, later called pharaohs, organized a strong, centralized state
Pharaohs had absolute power
Egyptians believed that each pharaohs was a god
Old Kingdom
System of government that includes departments and levels of authority
Each pharaoh depended on their vizier chief minister who supervised the government
Bureaucracies Develop
Tax collection
Farming
Irrigation systems
Scribes followed them around to carry out their instructions
Vizier Responsibilities
VizierWrote a book
Instructions of the Vizier Ptah-hotepEmphasized being humble & honestObedient to superiorsFair
Ptah-hotep
Pyramids are built
Tombs considered to be a home where they would live for eternity
Preserved bodiesBuried with items they may needPharaoh began their tombs as soon as they
came to power
Great Accomplishment
Great Pyramids of Giza
Very turbulent period1938 B.C. – 1630 B.C.
The Nile did not flood as regularly as before
Lots of corruption and rebellion
The Middle Kingdom
The Hyksos invaded the Nile delta region
Little conflict between the Hyksos and the Egyptian people
Invasion
Egyptians were impressed by the horse-drawn war chariots of the Hyksos
Hyksos were impressed by Egyptian civilization
They adopted Egyptian customs, beliefs, and names
Learned from Each Other
1539 B.C. 1075 B.C.
Age of conquest
Powerful pharaohs created large empires
The New Kingdom
Hatshepsut
Egypt’s first female ruler
Had all the rights and powers of a pharaoh
Her stepson, Thutmose II took over after her death and stretched Egypt’s borders to their greatest extent ever
Hatshepsut
Ramses II
Pharaoh of the New Kingdom
Ruled for 66 years
Best known for his boastful attitude
Bragged about his achievements on monuments and temples
Ramses II
Ramses II was in constant battle with the Hittites
Would eventually sign a peace treaty with one another
First Peace Treaty
Section 2.4Identify the role of Amon-Re in the daily
lives of EgyptiansInfer what the structure of Egypt’s class
system informs us about the importance of religion in Egyptian society
Discuss how Egyptian writing has helped historians understand the details of Egyptian medical practices
Egyptian Civilization
Religious beliefs about gods, values, and life after death affected the daily lives of Egyptians.
Much of what we know about Egyptian religion comes from inscriptions on monuments and paintings on the walls in tombs.
Egyptian Civilization
Main Egyptian god
The sun godOriginally call
“Ra”, morphed into “Amon-Re” by the Middle Kingdom.
Pharaohs received right to rule from him.
Chief Gods & Goddesses
Most Egyptians related more to other gods & goddesses.Osiris and IsisStory touched human emotions of love and
jealousy
Other Important Gods & Goddesses
Religious rebel who in 1380 b.c. devoted his life to the worship of another god, Aton
Akhenaton means “he who serves Aton”
Akhenaton- tries to reshape religion
He, along with his wife, Queen Nefertiti, attempted to make Aton the chief god of Egypt
Why did he do this?
Either to introduce a single god religion, or to make Aton the most important
Not very successful, Egyptians were fearful of abandoning Amon-Re
Religious Reaction
Egyptians believed each soul must pass a test in order to enter the afterlife
OsirisPlays big role
Egyptian Afterlife
Dead soul would be ferried across a lake of fire to the hall of Osiris
Osiris would then weigh the soul / heart against the “feather of truth”
Sinner are sent to the “eater of the dead”, a crocodile-like creature
Worthy souls enter the “Happy Field of Food”
Osiris
Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead contained spells, charms, and other useful hints for the dead to use in the afterlife
It was written on scrolls and placed in the tomb with the body
What did it do?
Mummification
The preservation of the dead
Brain was removed through the nostrils
Incisions were made on the body to remove organs
Body would then be filled with spices then wrapped in linen
Mummification
Would take months to complete
Was a privilege at first, only for rulers and nobles
Eventually ordinary citizens were allowed as well
Long Process
King Tut’s Tomb
Howard Carter discovered it in 1922
Had remained untouched for more than 3,000 years
Contained chariots, weapons, jewelry, toys, games, and food
And he was just a minor king….
King Tut’s Tomb
Held higher status compared to other civilizations
Ramses II, “The foot of an Egyptian woman may walk where it pleases her and no one may deny her”
Could inherit property, enter into business deals, go to court, and obtain divorces
Few knew how to read or write; Could not hold government jobs
Women of Egypt
Written Records
Picture writing
Carved into stone and on temples
Ideograms pictures that symbolized an idea or action
Hieroglyphics
A paper-like writing material
Came from papyrus a plant that grew along the Nile
Much easier than chiseling into stone
Papyrus
The Rosetta Stone
Unlocked the secrets of Hieroglyphics
Discovered by Jean Champollion in early 1800s
Flat black stone with the same message carved in 3 different forms of writing
Hieroglyphics, Demotic (used in Egypt for documents for 1000 years), and Greek
Rosetta Stone
Learned about human body through mummification
Could diagnose illness and symptoms
Developed a calender that had 12 months and 30 days each with 5 days added at end of year
Advances in Science
Statues, paintings in tombs, carvings on temples
Some human figures have animal heads
Oldest literature are hymns and prayers
Arts and Literature