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Berkeley HISTORY 2 - Lecture 2 - Ancient Mesopotamia

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Lecture 2 - Ancient Mesopotamia!!How did geography and environment shape the history and world view of Mesopotamian peoples?!What role did religion play in Mesopotamian civilization?!How did outsiders influence the history of Mesopotamia? How did Mesopotamian culture influence these same people?!!large scale agriculture + writing is important for civilization!see level of complexity of interacting components for civilization!!What is Mesopotamia?!actually a greek work = "land between the rivers"!forms the eastern half of the fertile crescent!has enormous flood plain due to near water -> large scale agriculture!!Population Explosion, 4500-3100 BCE!GROWTH HAPPENED !about 60 cities -> enormous growth !produce dramatic population growth!showed how fast agriculture can grow!!The Sumerian City-States!first group of people politically are the sumerians !lived souther half of Mesopotamia !city state -> controls their own government!city-states don't get along well despite many common share!largest city states -> ur, uruk, erode, lagash!!comparing to earlier agriculture -> WAAYYY larger!!Working the Land!first time writing in mesopotamia!about 5000 people -> in irrigation contract!!Cuneiform!first writing system in the world in mesopotamian history!formed from redistribution system!abstract words -> symbols -> phonetic!can be used for language from other different languages!!More People, More Problems?!a lot of cities competing for resources for the river !Standard of Ur -> king dominating over another king !also have different gods for guidance !!Religion in the Sumerian City-States!patron god -> grow up around temples to worship it!many cities have temples -> held economic importance!patron god is physically present in their temple and mind !favorability because they are doing something right such as sacrifices and food!if they can keep the god around, they are doing something right!Anu is very similar to Zeus since he is a lead/air god!# kings of all gods!Enlil -> storm and wind god -> natural elements!# early agricultural tools!Enki -> associated with water and early civilization cause civilizations are started from rivers!need to know them since they mark a transition!Inanna -> love goddess !# associated with war + sense of emotion in warfare!# overriding emotion!# depictied as irrational!there might a shrine at the top of the buildings !priest learning how to write -> literacy!# early economic transsaction !the reason why we have so many priest is because the god is imagined to live inside it to keep it happy by doing rituals and sacrifices!!Religious and Political Connections in Sumerian City-States!the king are very interconnected with the god -> divine monarchy!!Atrahasis!younger of generation of gods doing the work of civilzation !connecting rivers through irrigation channels!Sumerian thinks the gods are doing them !perspective that the gods are assisting their works of civilization!continuation of the working the land for civilization!!Gilgamesh!might be a real king due to documentary evidence !argued to be a real person by humans as well!he has a strong fear of death seen through his text!# seeing the death of Enkidu -> faced the reality of death!# reality of Sumerian afterlife -> very negative place !# # described as a house of dust + far more depressing representation of living of the underground!!From City-States to Empire!Sargon of Akkad -> most famous name from the group!from Arabia - beyond of semitic language!start to legitimize themselves!"ligitimate king"!!Women, Religion, and Politics!Enheduanna -> involved in religion!world's fist recognized poet!# political significance -> Sumerian Temple Hymns!sense of unity !!An Imperial Legacy, A mesopotamian Legacy!leap of how they became kings!!only lasted a century!!Hammurabi's Code!variety of punishments!!The Babylonian Intellectual Tradition!got to be able to predict lunar eclipses due to the astronomical and astrological studies!created the ancient zodiac!!A New Outsider !1600 B.C. civilization pop up due to language !Indo-Europeans make their way into Arabia due to military advancements including the Babylonians and Mesopotamia!# come from Zigros Mountains!!GOD FUCKING BLESS WE'RE DONE


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Berkeley HISTORY 2 - Lecture 2 - Ancient Mesopotamia

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