Mesopotamia
Meso-Potamos
Meso
Potamos
Strengths of the Area
Abundant 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 BCE
Sumerians 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 – Lugals
Considered 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
& Culture
Religion 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 &
Culture
Religion 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 &
Culture
Afterlife
- 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 &
Culture
Social 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.