Geography
Southwest Asia from Mediterranean Sea to western Iran Tigris and Euphrates Valley
Start in mountains of ancient Armenia Flow to the Persian Gulf Flooding common, changed paths Called Mesopotamia land between rivers Windy, dry, little rainfall, few trees Floods left rich, fertile soil good farming
Map
Geography
Evidence of people as early as 6000BC
Dug channels from rivers to irrigate fields Plants brought into region adapted well, good yields
Ancient Sumer
12 large city-states
All surrounded with walls Each was politically independent Conflict over farming land and irrigation Each city had 10,000 to 14,000 people Uruk was oldest had 5 mile long wall
Other cities: Kish, Ur, Lagash, Eridu
Government by Assembly
Most important people held power Became unwieldy and ineffective
Especially with crisis Maintence work is esp important irrigation canals, dams, resevoirs
Ancient Sumer
Single leader lugal
Controlled the army and regulated irrigation Expands later to have religious authority Eventually develops into hereditary kingship Built special tombs for lugal
Buried with servants, slaves to help in afterlife Size of tomb showed importance, power
Sumerian Religion
Religion and language tied Sumerians together
Temple important for worship and civic life
Priests and priestesses led prayers and sacrifices
Gods created men/women to do their work Animists believed there were spirits/gods everywhere, had different roles
Woo protecting deities with prayer, festivals to keep on good side
Sumerian Religion
An/Anu god of heaven Ki protector of the eather Enlil wind and storms Inanna/Dumuzi fertility Gods oversaw and interferred with people Important festivals in the spring
Ensure good harvest, healthy herds Ask gods to send just enough water in floods not too much, not too little
Sumerian Religion
Ziggurat built next to the temple
Some made of stone, word, mud brick Artificial mound, got smaller on top Tower of Babel most famous, biggest in Ur
Ziggurat
Circa 2100BC - Ur
Development of Writing
Clay tokens stamped with symbols
Animals, tools, cloth Used to keep inventory (for temples) Would wrap tokens in clay ball, break open upon delivery to double-check shipment Eventually, put symbol of cow and number
Development of Writing
Eventually scribes developed ideograms
Simplified short hand way to show images Began to use verbs as well
Cuneiform
Development of Writing
2800 BC, Sumerians began to write stories, myths, hymns
Change from oral tradition Often passed on religious stories Worlds first literature, also legal codes Surrounding people adopted Used for 3,000 years, replaced by alphabetic writing
Economic Activity
Temples required staff to run things, increased number who came
Become market places
Economic Activity
Raised wheat, barely, vegetables
Fermented into ale, common beverage Date palms provided shade, fruit, tall reeds for roofing
Economic Activity
First plow basically big stick/small tree Eventually made out of metal, pulled by animals Increased physicality of farming changed family roles
Women slowly shift more towards home Men take on bigger roles in political and business
Economic Activity
Used math to calculate boundaries of their land
Used base of 60 rather than 10 60 min in hour, 360 in circle
Economic Activity
Jewelry and gold become popular
Used to show status and wealth Gold esp important, hammered and shaped
Economic Activity
Merchants developed unique seals to use as signature Pharmacists who dispensed drugs ordered by doctors Artisans and farmers kept Sumerians cities filled with trade and business Also traded with other areas to gain wood, stone, and metal ores Copper and tin esp important for making bronze cooking utensils and weapons
Economic Activity
Homes built with mud brick, reed roofs
Next to one another, sometimes w/common wall Space at premium, narrow streets Wealthy had wooden furniture, carpets
Bedrooms opened onto courtyard, places to entertain
Economic Activities
Land ownership major source of wealth
Some merchants among upper classes
Social elite, also priests
Economic Activities
Women owned property
Kept dowry if divorce or death
Could divorce if not taken care of properly
Invaders in Mesopotamia
People who lived in hills adopted Sumerian inventions
Larger yields w/plow due to increased rain
Allowed larger armies, populations Rules envied Sumerians lifestyle
Invaders in Mesopotamia
Akkadians replaced, Semitic people from Arabian peninsula
Adopted everything but Sumerian language Ruled for 300 years Sargon, ruler approx 2350 BC expanded to Mediterranean
Spread use of writing Empire didnt survive Sargons death for long Volcano eruption caused people to move south, overstretch Akkadian resources Civil unrest, Amorites move in with herds of animals
Invaders in Mesopotamia
Brief Sumerian renaissance about 2100 BC
Elamites returned, took Ur and destroyed the great Ziggurat Amorites (also Semitic) were nomadic herders
Some settled into urban life Mostly concerned with finding pastures Wars had taken toll, Sumerian canals clogged
Invaders in Mesopotamia
Hammurabi Amorite king 1800 BC
Issued code of 282 laws 8 ft tall, cuneiform King and Marduk (god) shown together Harsh punishments (eye for an eye)
Protect women and children from exploitation Following laws a moral obligation
Anatolian Civilization
Anatolia is in modern day Turkey
High plateau lands with harsh climate Valleys had rich soil Archeologists believe a comparable culture developed here
Still looking for evidence
Hittites
2000 BC Hatti occupy most of Anatolia
New people emerged, Hittites
Spoke Indo-European language (not related to SE Asians) Used hieroglyphs, oldest Indo-European writing
Hittites
King was ruler, but had to be careful or nobles would elect rival monarch
1st king Labarnas reincarnated into each new king Associated with the sun, divine
Also high priest
Wore a long garment with shawl over 1 shoulder , a close fitting cap, staff in his hand Queen active in politics if her son was on throne Kings sons might hold governorships
Syrian Peoples
Syria south of Anatolia, west of Mesopotamia
Influenced by both First cities were Byblos, and Ugarit
Populated by Canaanites 2700 BC begin to extend to nearby areas Animal herding important occupation
Syrian Peoples
2300 BC Sargon conquered Canaanites, 2000 BC brought into Hittite Empire
Between, city of Elba flourished
140 acres Large palace for kings 1,400 tablets now being decoded
Tablets at Elba cuneiform, those at Ugarit show steps towards alphabetic script
30 signs for consonants, 3 for vowels All alphbets in the world derived from Ugaritic script
Conclusion
Sumerians laid foundations for civilization
Important discoveries