Lecture Mesopotamia land between two rivers Questions to Consider Why Mesopotamia They developed things that help us keep stability today What were the significant contributions of Mesopotamian civilizations to the foundations of Western civilizations Irrigation systems Wheel usage Organized trade systems Form of writing pictographs cuneiform to record trade I Sumeria An Overview A The Sumerians first civilization B Environmental Challenges 1 Tigris and Euphrates Rivers loose soil organic material good for agriculture rivers occasionally flood banks seasonally spring when flooded could completely ruin cities used for irrigation bugs swampland in between 2 rivers 2 Location of City States own diplomacy laws languages etc Babylon Ur Haran Nineveh C Sumerian Politics and Society 1 Royal status organized around a king accumulated power through wealth that royal status become permanent and was passed down through offspring blood right oldest male child was in direct lineage of the king if her were to die kings job is to commute with the gods believed in divine right monarchy you re the king because the god says you are in their world kings had power over everything including people s life death and it was even believed that they controlled the level of the rivers one is a good king if they have the Mandate of Heaven if things go the way they re supposed to go you re golden 2 Social Hierarchy King Nobles Priests Warriors Freeholders middle class have their own land but still must pay dues etc Clients farm land of others not a slave because they have the choice farm or leave Slaves came from other conquered city states labor worker but can earn freedom very fluid system not based off of race and can come in and out of slavery easily many more are powerless than have power bottom heavy hierarchy 3 Gender distinctions men are somehow superior to women men are treated better than women although no man in a social class below a woman of higher class was superior to her women are enhanced by their social class and that s how they earn their respect D Sumerian Technological and Intellectual Advances 1 Mathematics comer invented fractions fractionally kept track of taxes and money for trade measured angles and circles by degrees advanced builders 2 Weights and Measures started balance weight measurement compared how much they were giving for how much they were giving created lunar calendar invented measurement of time by lunar cycle told time in a linear form 3 Cuneiform ca 3 200 BCE pictograms to ideograms lasted a total of about 2 000 years 3100 BCE 700 BCE II Religion Architecture and Authority in Sumerian Life A Sumerian Religion 1 Cosmology how you explain your place in the universe cosmo 2 Life and Afterlife What happens after death Where do we come from men were originally crated by a god sacrifice cleansing using flesh and blood often afterlife is a better place of perfection Sumerians believed that they lived a terrible life and the horrors of life were visited on them by the gods but knew it was their role to serve their gods and believed that after life they continued on serving to the gods just more directly 3 Epic Poems Epic of Gilgamesh wrote poems B Religion and Architecture 1 The Step Pyramid ziggurat forerunners of Egyptian pyramids ziggurat is built in middle of the city state and is continuously built upon used to bring offerings and prayers closer to gods many uses such as grainery statues are housed place of worship sacred space etc 2 Appeasement of Divine Forces these step pyramids were built to appease the gods along with many other of the sacrifices and architecture the Sumerians did the kings power is divine C Priests and State Authority 1 Taxation Sumerians didn t complain about taxes because it was considered an irreligious act 2 Centrality of Religion ever present and central to ones identity a clay figure is created to always be praying for one in case of absence III Formation of the Babylonian Empire A Sargon Akkadian and Hammurabi Babylonian 1 Conflict and Consolidation walls were built of clay to keep people in and keep people out king did this to protect the sanctity of the city 2 Conquest and Empire city state of Akkad was first to have empire and did this by conquering other city states and gaining control by the threat of violence becoming a world empire although the ruler Sargon allowed cooperation within an empire city state of Babylonian expanded Mesopotamia culture the ruler Hammurabi imposed his own laws upon other city states and spread his empire becoming sort of a world empire B Spread of Mesopotamian Civilization 1 Importance of Trade allowed the spread of the Mesopotamian civilization 2 Spread of Mesopotamian Advances ideas and cultures such as their calendars mathematics and trade 3 Cultural Syncretism Ziggurat Egyptian pyramids C Hammurabi s Code and Its Social Consequences 1 The Code an eye for an eye if you commit a crime you face a penalty ex if you steal hand cut off If you rape bottom lip cut off If you re a barber and cut off the hair lock of a slave death penalty etc 2 Social regulation
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