Mesopotamia

Meso-Potamos

Meso Potamos

Strengths of the AreaAbundant fish & water fowl.Flood waters allow for good crops in the South.

Hunting and resources such as tin, gold and silver. Less flooding, ample rain allowed for good farming in the North as well.

Four main peoples dominated Mesopotamia• Sumer-3500-1900

BCE• Babylonia- 1900 –

1300 BCE• Assyria-1300-609 BCE• Chaldea - 609-530

BCE

Sumer –3500-1900 BCESumerians come from the North. - Invented the wheel and

pulley system- Established government and

laws- First writing - Cuneiform- Potter’s wheel which aided

in the production of pottery- Chariots- Oxen are harnessed to a

plow, invention of a “Yoke” for oxen and plows were angled to “turn” the soil.

Babylonia 1900-1300 BCE – Semites from the West.- Most notable dynasty was

King Hammurabi (1792-1750)

- Created the world’s first written code of laws.

- Babylonians were known as great traders reaching the shores of India and Africa.

- Started to use currency

Assyria –1300-609 BCE Named after Ashur from the Northern banks for the Tigris. - Assyrians were very fierce

and cruel warriors. - Had professional armies

organized into units. - Learned how to make iron

from the Hittites.- Efficient drainage and

sewage systems were perfected.

- Tiglath-pileser III establishes roads and postal services.

Chaldea 609-530 BCE- Rebuild Babylonia

- Took interest in astronomy and developed a more efficient calendar.

- The King was Nebuchadnezzar, he captured Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and took many Jews back to Babylon as prisoners.

- Stopped his conquest of Egypt when he heard of his fathers death.

Government

Two houses of government - Assembly :- Upper house for the wealthiest

- Lower house for the soldiers

These elected members chose judges to enforce laws and select military leaders.

Soon thereafter they created an additional role for a King.

Kings were called – LugalsConsidered themselves as living representatives of the gods sent from the gods.

The system was called a theocracy

Law & Justice

- Most influential King in Mesopotamia’s legal legacy is King Hammurabi. He listed in code 282 different laws.

- Stated that they state was responsible for upholding justice to confirm social justice.

- The principle of “an eye for an eye” came from these laws.

- REMEMBER TO STUDy AND COMPLETE YOUR ASSIGNMENT ON HAMMURABI’S LAWS.

Mesopotamia Society & CultureReligion and the Gods- Religion – Gods had traits like humans,

they ate, drank, got married and had children however they were still immortal. Gods were believed to have emotions that related to events and to rationalize why things happen. This is called anthropomorphic.

- Religion was also polytheistic which means that people worshiped many different gods and goddesses.

- Another word for a god is deities. Each city state had a patron god and people believed the city belonged to that god. Other gods were associated with nature like the Air, Sun or the goddess of love

Mesopotamia Society & CultureReligion and the Gods- They believed that gods lived in the

heavens and high places such as the summits of the mountains but they came down to earth. They built high temples called ziggurats

- All that lived in this society believed in mythology which told stories about the gods. This included demons who lived in the underworld.

- They believed that the gods and demons could bring good and bad fortune and where on the look our for omens of either. Oracles were often consulted to read the signs of the gods.

Mesopotamian Society & CultureAfterlife- Death was feared because it was

thought that you entered a bleak underworld

- It became Important to take prized possessions.

- Great burials were had for Kings that died, Kings were buried with great treasures and sometimes servants. It was seen as a bad omen.

Mesopotamia Society & CultureSocial Organization- The word of the King was law.

Sumerians belived they were gods of the earth.

- Priest were seen as a link to gods, they also gave out land and ran schools.

- Educated class would be able to read and write. They could communicate with symbols and some work as public writers in government called Scribes.

- Slaves performed labor and various chores. Most slaves were treated well but they were expected to work hard for long hours..

There were two types:

1. prisoners captured in war that had been sold at auction to the wealthy.

2. debtors who sold themselves and family member to work and pay off debt.

Family - Father was the head of the family, the birth

of children was celebrated.- Women were respected and had more

rights then women during other time periods. They could own land and businesses but could not vote, rule and were not seen equal to men.

- Marriages were arranged, couples lived with there husbands family until he could set up his own house.

- The women‘s family paid a dowry and trousseau, both became future property of the family and their children.

- Monogamy was the rule but some men took second wife but “wife” was reserved for the legal wife.

Science

- The idea to roll tree trunks under heavy loads gave way to the invention of the wheel. (Pulleys, pottery & chariots)

- Metallurgy is the art of heating and shaping metal. This transformed the world beginning the bronze age and iron age. The Hittities figured out how to “wrought” the iron after it was reheat to make is much stronger.

- Times was developed using stars. Developed a luner calendar and devided the their year into 2 seasons.

- Chaldeans figured out that by following the stars they could determine direction of land and sea.