Contributions of
Mesopotamian
cultures
Sumerians
arch, wheel, plow, & sail
 ziggurat and cuneiform
 governed by large land
owners
 astronomy & fortune telling
 number system - 6’s & 12’s
 concept of city-state

Babylonians
Hammurabi’s Law Code
 imperial government
 first to build Babylon

Hittites

iron
Phoenicians
alphabet & writing with
phonetic symbols
 commerce & shipbuilding
 dyes and other products
–murex

Hebrews
(Israelites, Jews)
monotheism
 Old Testament
 concept of human
dignity
 Judaism

Assyrians
warfare: weapons, armor,
cavalry, tactics, catapult
and other siege tools
 postal service
 some roads
 built city of Ninevah
 improved writing

Assyrian Treasures
Chaldeans
astrology
 rebuilt city of Babylon
 Hanging Gardens of
Babylon
 captivity of the Jews
 planned cities

HANGING GARDENS
Lydians

coins
Persians
Zoroasterianism
 separated civilians & military
 national highways
 more just government
 spread of coins
 first federal government
