EARLY SOCIETIES IN SW
ASIA AND THE INDOEUROPEAN MIGRATION
CH. 2
The Quest for Order
Mesopotamia: “The Land between the Rivers”
Semitic Migrants
• Sumerians were
Dominant people of
Mesopotamia
• Created irrigation
Networks
• Attracted Semitic
Speaking people (same
Language tongue)
• Built 1st cities (centers
Of political and military
Authority)
• Included Marketplace
And cultural centers
Sumerian City States
• Formal Gov’t develop
Due to internal/external
Pressure
• Gov’t: organized city
Projects
• Ziggurat: holy stepped
Pyramid temple
• Irrigation systems to
Support agriculture and
Urban society
• Used military forces for
protection
Sumerian Kings
• Most gov’t were
Assemblies
• Crisis led to the king
(monarch)
• Absolute authority
The Course of Empire
Sargon of Akkad and
Empire: A new form of
Political Organization
• Created
Mesopotamian empire
• Sargon gained power
Through a coup
• Conquered city by city
• Sargon had a personal
Presence
• Many he conquered did
Not like this (raids,
Destruction, financial
Support)
• Empire weakened due to
Chronic rebellion in citystates
Hammurabi & the
Babylonian Empire
Hammurabi’s Laws
• Leader of Babylonian
Empire
• Relied on central
Bureaucratic rule &
Taxation
• Deputies in controlled
Territories
• Efficient predictable
Gov’t
• High standards of
Behavior
• Stern punishment
For violators
• Lex talionis= “law
Of retaliation”
• Punishments
Resembling violations
• Code took into
Account social standing
• 1595 Babylon falls to
The Hittites
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1-4
• What was the difference in rule between Sargon
and Hammurabi?
• Why do you think that Hammurabi had more
success in his administration of his empire than
Sargon?
• The Code of Hammurabi provided the first set of
laws that addressed moral behavior. Why do you
think social inequality existed between
punishments?
• What can you infer about social inequality and
power?
The Later Mesopotamian Empires
Assyrian Empire
• Extended power to SW Asia
• Used iron weapons in army
• Used administrative techniques
• Followed laws like those of
Hammurabi
• Preserved Mesopotamian
Literature (ex. Epic of Gilgamesh)
• Empire ends due to internal/external
forces
Nebuchadnezzar & the New
Babylonian Empire
• 600-550bce Chaldean empire
(aka Babylon)
• Brought wealth to cities
• Defensive walls, palaces, temples
• 6th c. lost control and absorbed
Into foreign empires
DISCUSSION QUESTION 5
• What does the Epic of Gilgamesh suggest about
the society of Mesopotamia?
The Formation of a Complex Society and
Sophisticated Cultural Traditions
Economic Specialization and Trade
Bronze and Iron
Metallurgy
• Metallurgical
Developments important
Due to specialized labor
• Invention of bronze
• Impact: militarily (swords,
Spears, axes, shields, etc..),
Agriculturally (knives, bronze
Tipped plows instead of bone
Or wood)
• Iron is also used and
Becomes the metal of choice
The Wheel
• Efficient means of
Transportation using
Wheeled vehicles &
Sailing ships
• Facilitated longDistance trade
• Wheeled carts &
Wagons: carrying
Heavy loads
• Wheel diffused to
Other lands
Shipbuilding and Trade
Networks
• Sumerians used water
Craft to go into the Persian
Gulf
• Traded with Harappan
Society (India)
• Mesopotamians
Traded with people in
All areas
• Assyrians traveled by
Donkey to Assur & Kanesh
• Families operated organized
businesses
DISCUSSION QUESTION 6
• Why is development of technology important to the
economy?
The Emergence of a Stratified Patriarchal Society
Social Classes and
Temple Communities
• Specialized labor
And trade led to more
Wealth
• Kings & nobles (offSpring of gods)
• Special projects &
Lavish capital cities
Promoted high status
• Priests allied w/kings
• Priest intervene w/
Gods to ensure good
Fortune for community
• Temples generate
Income (banks=store
Wealth, trading ventures,
Help those in need)
• Free Commoner,
Dependent clients, slaves
Slaves
• POWS,
Convicted
Criminals,
Heavily indebted
• Many were
Domestic servants
• Granted
Freedom w/a gift
Patriarchal Society
• Men ruled publicly
& privately
• Privately: family work
Marriage arrangements,
Family decisions, sell fam
Into slavery
• Publicly: policies
Women’s Roles
• At times
Advised
Kings & gov’t
• Obtained
Education
And worked
As scribes
• Virginity of
Brides at marriage
• Forbade
Casual socializing
Of married men
And women
• 1500bce
Wore veils
The Development of Written Cultural Traditions
Cuneiform
• Symbols to
Represent sound
Syllables & ideas
• “wedge shaped”
Education
• Vocational
• Formal schools
(ex. Scribes/Gov’t
officials, Priests,
Lawyers, etc.)
• Writing to
Communicate
Complex ideas
About the world,
God, humans &
Relationships
Astronomy
& Mathematics
The Epic of Gilgamesh
• Important for
Agriculture
• Rhythms of
Seasons
• Divided year
Into 12mths and
60=1hr &60 s.=1
min
• Themes of:
Friendship, human/god
Relationships, life &
Death meaning
• Principle vessel for
Moral issues
DISCUSSION QUESTION 7
• In what ways did culture help to promote
advancement in the Mesopotamian civilization?
The Broader Influence of Mesopotamian Society
Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews
The Early Hebrews
& Migrations and Settlements
In Palestine
• Pastoral nomads
• Hebrew patriarch Abraham
• Hebrew law used lex talionis
• Migrated to Egypt in 18th c.bce
• 1300bce=left Egypt w/Moses
To Palestine
• These Hebrews formed 12 tribes
Aka as Israelites
• Came under unified rule with
King David & King Solomon
Moses and
Monotheism
• Moses embraced
Monotheism
• One god aka
Yahweh
• Creator and
Sustainer of the world
• Other gods imposters
• Worship him alone
• High moral & ethical
Standards
(ie. 10 Commandments)
• Torah= holy book
(teaching)-Yahweh’s role
In guiding Human affairs
• Obey=reward, disobey
=punishment
Assyrian &
Babylonian
Conquests
• After king
Solomon
Israelites split
In two.
• Kingdom
Of Israel=north
• Kingdom of
Judah=South
• KoI gets
Defeated
Becomes known
As 10 lost tribes
Lose identitiy
• KoJ gets taken
Over but keeps
identity
Early Jewish
Community
• Created a
Distinctive
Religious
Community
Based on their
Religion
• Maintained
Identitiy different
From
Mesopotamians
• Influence
Christianity & Islam
DISCUSSION QUESTION 8-9
• In your opinion, why do you think that monotheism
did not gain a strong following w/in Mesopotamian
civilization?
• How is the 10 commandments evident in today’s
society in terms of law?
The Phoenicians
The Early Phoenicians
• Ancestors of Phoenicians
• Settled 3000 BCE
• Not a unified monarchy
but set up city states ruled
By local kings
• Commercialism more
Important than military or
State building
• Often ruled by Egypt or
Mesopotamians
Phoenician Trade
Networks
• Influenced societies
In Mediterranean basin
Through their trade and
Communication
• Industry, trade, &
Maritime trade
• Excellent sailors, ship
• Est. maritime colonies
• Went beyond Mediterranean
• Imported: food raw materials
• Exported: metal goods,
Textiles, pottery, glass, art
• Adapted Mesopotamian
Culture to their own
Alphabetic Writing
• Phoenicians developed
Alphabet we use today
• Letters to build words
• No vowels
• More literacy develops
• Phoenician alphabet
Spreads throughout the
Mediterranean basin
• Later spreads to Asia,
S. Asia, SE Asia
The Indo-European Migrations
Indo-European Origins
Indo-European
Languages
• Lang. of Europe, SW Asia
And India were similar
• This created the term
Indo-European lang.
• Explanation of similarity:
Descendants of ancestors
Spoke a common tongue
And migrated from their
Homeland
• Migration led to evolution
Of different languages but
Basic grammatical structure
Of original lang.
The Indo-European
Homeland
• Origin of Indo-Europeans:
Modern day Ukraine and S.
Russia region N. of Black Sea
& Caspian Sea
Horses
• Indo- Euros domesticate
Horses in 4000
• Used 1st as food source
• Later domesticated them
For riding
• Attached to carts, wagons
And chariots
• Faster & more efficient
Transportation
• Military advantage
Indo-European Expansion and it Effects
The Nature of Indo-European
Migrations
• Expanded beyond the
Homeland
• Population explosion
Led to migration
• Migration continued
Till about 1000ce
The Hittites
• Indo-European migrants
• They their language and
Rule on the places they
Inhabited
• Traded with Babylonians
And Assyrians
• Adapted cuneiform to
Their lang.
• Accepted Mesopotamian
Deities
• Conquered Babylon;
Controlled area: Anatolia,
N. Mesopotamia, Syria,
Phoenicia
War Chariots
• Two technological
Inventions: light
Horse drawn chariot
And iron metallurgy
• Used lighter spoked
Wheels
• Charioteers were
The elite force of the
Army in the ancient
world
Indo-European Expansion and it Effects
Iron Metallurgy
Indo-European Migrations
To the East and West
• Cheap effective
Weapons in large
Quantities
• Iron production
Diffused into Eurasia
• Hittites improved
On existing methods
• Indo-Europeans also migrated
East into central Asia
Indo-European Migrations
To the South
• Some Indo-Europeans
Went west to the following
Areas: Greece, C. Italy,
S. Russia to C. Europe,
British Isles, Baltic region,
Iberian Penisula
DISCUSSION QUESTION 10
• Argue how Indo European could have possibly
been the most successful group during this time in
SW Asia.