AH Unit 1 Reading Packet PDF

Asian History Unit 1: Geography and Early Civilizations Reading Packet  Asian History 9 Unit 1 Key Terms Content Vocabulary City-state Civilization Culture Cultural d...

Asian History Unit 1: Geography and Early Civilizations Reading Packet  Asian History 9 Unit 1 Key Terms Content Vocabulary City-state Civilization Culture Cultural diffusion (compare to isolation) Domestication Dynasty Empire Epidemic Feudalism Hunter-gatherer Mandate of Heaven Matriarchy Migration Nomad(ic) Patriarchy Polytheism (compare to monotheism, atheism) Sedentism Relevant Social Studies Academic Vocabulary Climate Ecological Ideology Geography/Geographic Physical Map Political Map Topographic  The Myth of Continents, or How our Grade-School Teachers Distorted the Truth Peter S. Morris How many continents are there? It seems like a simple enough question, and most of us who grew up in the United States during the second half of the twentieth century come prepared with a pat answer to which we give little thought: “There are seven continents: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. Next question, please.” The official flag of the Olympic games, however, displays a famous symbol of interlocking rings, each ring intended to represent one of the five continents of the world, the two Americas treated as one and Antarctica simply forgotten. Rather than some sort of geographic maverick, this lineup of five continents, not seven, is a standard one taught throughout much of Europe. So what is the answer to our question? Is it five, or is it seven? Well, the most thoughtful answer might actually be none of the above, or better yet, “it depends.” There are few terms in geography that are more loaded with implied meanings and biased world views than continent. As a common-sense concept, the idea is simple enough: pick up a globe and one can readily observe a half-dozen distinctive (if barely connected) land masses. The exact number is debatable, depending on one’s size threshold for when an “island” becomes a “continent”. Is Australia large enough to be a continent? How about Greenland? Madagascar? Personally, I’m inclined to answer these questions Yes, No, and No, giving me a list of six: North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. To my eyes at least, this half-dozen represents the world’s primary distinctive land masses, as opposed to islands. While this list is debatable, one thing clearly isn’t: Europe is not a continent—at least as long as we continue to see “continent” as more or less a synonym for land mass. Without question, Europe is a distinctive world region, both in social-cultural terms and as an environmental subcontinent of Eurasia. If we insist on calling Europe a continent, though, then consistency demands we do so for other, analogous regions around the world, such as South Asia (India and its neighbors) and Mesoamerica (Mexico and its neighbors). Our original list of five, six, or seven continents now expands to a dozen or more. The bigger lesson, though, is not that there are really six continents, rather than the usual list of five or seven. Instead, this whole subjective exercise in continental definition teaches us how fruitless the idea of dividing the world into continents really is. As a type of region, continents are intended to provide a classification scheme by which we make some sense of the world. But closer inspection reveals that continents provide us with, at best, only a limited and rather distorted sense of world geography. There are two primary problems with the concept. First, the history of the continental idea is closely tied to ideas of European superiority. As geographers Martin Lewis and Kären Wigen discuss in their wonderful book, The Myth of Continents, Europeans defined Asia as a catch-all concept to hold the various non-Christian, non-“Western” peoples who didn’t live up to their notions of what modern civilization should be. Not only did the idea of Asia, or “Orientalism,” hide from view the great diversity of places, peoples, environments, © Peter S. Morris, January 2000 Page 1 of 2 landscapes, and cultures that occupy the eastern three-quarters of Eurasia, but it served to simplify Europe’s conception of itself. The idea of a continental divide between Europe and Asia became a tool for those seeking to excise Islam, Communism, Judaism, and any other ideologies and cultures that conflicted with their personal visions of what Europe was and should be. The second problem with using continents, or even a more innocent notion of land masses free of the eurocentrism described above, as an organizational framework for understanding the world, is its implied environmental determinism. A major theme of geography is how physical environments help shape the cultures and societies that inhabit them—how climate and soil and topography and natural avenues of transportation influence agricultural and other economic activity and the location of cities and other human settlements. But one of the biggest geographic fallacies is to take such thinking to the extreme, to say that environmental conditions are the single, dominant determinant of human activity—the ultimate explanation for all the cultures, landscapes, and geographies of wealth and poverty that we see today. Such simplistic thinking geographers reject as “environmental determinism”. What does this have to do with continents? It is all well and good to recognize that land and water on earth is grouped into a pattern we might identify as a geography of oceans and land masses. Even better, we might relate that geography both to the geologic process of continental drift which created it, as well as to its influence on the global-scale circulation of currents of hot and cold air and water in our oceans and skies. But that is about as far as the continental or land-mass idea can take us. There is no good reason why our attempts to understand world geography in general, particularly in its human dimensions, should be based on a framework of continents. Thus, it is no accident that college textbooks use an alternative, “world regions” scheme, identifying three or more Asias, two or more Europes, two or more Africas, and two or more Americas. Even more importantly, the best world geography recognizes that world regions can be more than simply subcontinental units of a single land mass. Defining a mostly-Islamic realm that covers parts of both Africa and Eurasia is common practice. Somewhat less common, but just as instructive, are regions that bridge major bodies of water; the North Atlantic World, the Pacific Rim, and the greater Mediterranean are all concepts that make sense, even though they overlap with alternative classification schemes for regionalizing the world. The bottom line: No scheme is perfect, and there is no single best way to broadly group the peoples and places of the world into geographic units. We therefore need to recognize multiple ways to group the world. Continents do make some sense as land masses, providing a visually-obvious physical ordering of land and water on earth which helps us understand processes of geomorphology and climate. Otherwise, dividing the world into continents is a meaningless and potentially distorting exercise. Further Reading Martin W. Lewis and Kären E. Wigen, The Myth of Continents: A Critique of Metageography (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1997) Edward W. Said, Orientalism (New York: Random House, 1978) © Peter S. Morris, January 2000 Page 2 of 2 CRASH COURSE | WORLD HISTORY READING | From Foraging to Farming The Agricultural Revolution – Bridgette Byrd O’Connor For 99% of the human race’s existence on Earth, we were provided and kept their numbers low in order to be able roaming around gathering vegetation and hunting animals to move relatively quickly and easily. By the end of the last to survive and by all accounts, we were pretty happy about ice age about 12,000 years ago, humans inhabited all parts it. Then about 10,000 years ago, humans around the globe of the Earth. It was also at this time that temperatures became gradually decided to change the way they acquired food. milder and the land in areas along large river valleys produced In what amounts to the blink of an eye when considering an abundance of food for foraging. This abundance led some how long humans had been foragers, our entire way of life humans to settle in one area for extended periods of time changed. This poses some intriguing questions for and as a result, their populations grew because there was historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists: why did more food and they weren’t moving around as much. these early humans make the switch from foraging As populations increased, food surpluses decreased, which to farming and did farming really improve people’s life? meant that the sedentary foragers had two choices: move into a different area for food or innovate. Historians have long referred to the change from foraging to farming as the Neolithic or Agricultural Revolution. While While moving seems like the natural choice in this scenario, this shift was indeed revolutionary, it wasn’t a change that it wasn’t that easy to do. In order to forage for a large group, happened quickly like the American Revolution did for the you need a large land area. However, as sedentary foraging colonists and their government in the course of a few years. populations grew and people migrated to all corners of the It was a change that happened over thousands of years and Earth, the available land area began to shrink. If you can’t move also one that developed independently in several areas because another group is living nearby then you have of the world. This, of course, leads to even more questions to innovate to survive. Sedentary foragers also benefitted regarding the beginning of farming including why did people from learning about their local areas and observed what in isolated parts of the world decide to move from foraging types of plants grew in certain locations and under what to farming and was this a conscience decision or one that conditions these plants flourished. Armed with knowledge was brought on by necessity? of their local environment, warmer climates to aid in food production, and the desire to be able to feed their families, One of the most important causes of agricultural innovation early humans made the gradual change to agriculture. came as a result of an increase in population and migration. Homo sapiens evolved in Africa, where they remained for Once humans learned which plants were easiest to grow and the vast majority of the 250,000 to 200,000 years the species most nutritious (and tasty) for their bodies, they began to has existed. Around 80,000 years ago our ancestors journeyed select those plants for cultivation. Humans began to change out of Africa and began to migrate into all areas of the their environment to suit their needs and artificially select world, apart from Antarctica. These early humans spent their the species of plants that would provide the most sustenance. days foraging, hunting, taking care of their family units, and enjoying leisure time. They survived on what the land 8 CRASH COURSE | WORLD HISTORY Humans then became reliant on these plants for food while In essence, farming made people “civilized”. While this overly the plants relied on the humans, who made sure they survived positive view of agriculture is tempting to believe, civilization through harsh weather conditions. A symbiotic relationship did not come without costs. In order to protect your new emerged between plant and animal. Domestication of animals houses in the city with the recently renovated temple and followed the same pattern as humans came to learn which market square, an army had to be organized with a ruler animals would make good companions on hunts and the to make sure that everyone was doing their jobs properly. animals that would be docile enough to contain in fences If you were lucky then you might live in a place like Egypt for secondary products such as milk, fur, and power. that had natural barriers to protect your city from attacks and a somewhat reasonable pharaoh, who ruled benevolently. The establishment of agriculture not only brought a steady If you were unlucky then you might live somewhere like supply of food to people but it also spawned a new way Mesopotamia, where your neighbors waged war on of life. Large-scale agriculture meant a surplus of food, and a regular basis and your ruler issued a number of laws this food had to be stored and inventoried. People began designed to scare you into being a good citizen. to make pottery to store and transport food, develop a writing system for recordkeeping, build more permanent structures Life as a farmer wasn’t all it was cracked up to be either. for homes, and trade with neighboring societies. This trade Anthropologists studying foraging societies have come to the allowed for goods and ideas to move between different conclusion that the average forager spent about 12-15 hours groups of people, which substantially increased collective a week gathering food while the average farmer worked from learning, or the passing down of information from one sun up to sun down every day of the week. The foraging diet generation to the next. The information and goods shared was also considerably healthier as they selected meals from between people included the exchange of seeds and plants a wide variety of plants and animals in their local area while as well as farming techniques, which allowed for an increase farmers relied on carbohydrate-rich foods such as wheat, rice, in food production. Once a surplus of food is generated then it and potatoes for sustenance. While farming was usually seen means a society’s entire population does not have to focus as a more reliable way to ensure food for your family, a bad on farming. People began to specialize in different occupations harvest brought on by weather, natural disasters, or a plague with some becoming potters, metalworkers, or business owners of locusts could devastate the entire city’s crop and lead to because all members of society no longer had to spend their widespread famine. Finally, as if that wasn’t enough, farming days making sure they had enough food to eat. and the domestication of animals led to an increase in diseases. Foraging communities moved around often enough to ensure Historians have most often looked upon the introduction they didn’t get sick from contaminating their water or food of farming as undeniably positive. Farming meant that people supply with refuse. However, once people settled in one area didn’t have to move around to follow their food and a steady permanently and kept animals in that same area then garbage source of food was available. Once people began to settle and germs accumulated and spread. down and specialize in a variety of jobs this naturally led to the formation of cities, government, monumental architecture, Farming also contributed to class and gender inequality. and writing: all of the common characteristics of civilizations. The age-old struggle of the “haves” and the “have-nots” was 9 CRASH COURSE | WORLD HISTORY amplified once people began to settle down and accumulate more children, who would be able to help on the farm. possessions. Foraging communities were always on the move A woman’s place then became the home and her husband and consequently did not own many possessions. It’s hard became more active in the “public sphere”, which led to envy your neighbor’s stuff if they don’t have any. While to a division of the sexes that persisted into the 20th century. foraging societies were probably organized around an elder or respected leader, everyone had to contribute somewhat It is undeniable that agriculture issued forth a new era equally to ensure survival. Once civilizations were in the history of humanity. Complex civilizations emerged once established, class divisions emerged and rulers usually people began to settle down. Monumental architecture gained power through wealth or force. This meant that was created along with great literary works, magnificent some people could become wealthier at the expense of others, pieces of art, and scientific innovations, all of which which led to inequality and, at times, war. The same problems accelerated collective learning through the exchange of ideas existed for the division of labor between the sexes. In foraging and innovations. Empires were built, progress accelerated, societies, births were limited because it was difficult to carry and the modern world was born. Agriculture was the stepping multiple children when you moved around on a regular basis. stone for the advancement of humanity but these amazing Therefore, women weren’t always relegated to the home, accomplishments were tempered with the rise of inequality, or domestic sphere, to look after children. Foraging women devastating warfare, and plagues. Humanity crossed had to contribute their fair share in order to survive. Once a threshold from which there was no return. people settled permanently, they were encouraged to have Sources Eppley, Felicia and Ellen Pike. “Big Era Three: Farming and the Emergence of Complex Societies, 10,000-1000 BCE.” World History for Us All. PDF file. Big History Project. “Unit 6: Agriculture.” https://www.bighistoryproject.com. Web. 10  1 City-States in Mesopotamia MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES INTERACTION WITH The development of this Fertile cultural ENVIRONMENT The earliest civilization reflects a settlement Crescent diffusion civilization in Asia arose in pattern that has occurred Mesopotamia polytheism Mesopotamia and organized repeatedly throughout history. city-state empire into city-states. dynasty Hammurabi SETTING THE STAGE Two rivers flow from the mountains of what is now Turkey, down through Syria and Iraq, and finally to the Persian Gulf. Over six thousand years ago, the waters of these rivers provided the lifeblood that allowed the formation of farming settlements. These grew into villages and then cities. Geography of the Fertile Crescent TAKING NOTES Identifying Problems A desert climate dominates the landscape between the Persian Gulf and the and Solutions Use a Mediterranean Sea in Southwest Asia. Yet within this dry region lies an arc of chart to identify Sumer's land that provided some of the best farming in Southwest Asia. The region’s environmental problems curved shape and the richness of its land led scholars to call it the Fertile and their solutions. Crescent. It includes the lands facing the Mediterranean Sea and a plain that became known as Mesopotamia (MEHS uh puh TAY mee uh). The word in Problems Solutions Greek means “land between the rivers.” 1. 1. The rivers framing Mesopotamia are the Tigris (TY grihs) and Euphrates 2. 2. (yoo FRAY teez). They flow southeastward to the Persian Gulf. (See the map on 3. 3. page 30.) The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flooded Mesopotamia at least once a year. As the floodwater receded, it left a thick bed of mud called silt. Farmers planted grain in this rich, new soil and irrigated the fields with river water. The results were large quantities of wheat and barley at harvest time. The surpluses from their harvests allowed villages to grow. Environmental Challenges People first began to settle and farm the flat, swampy lands in southern Mesopotamia before 4500 B.C. Around 3300 B.C., the people called the Sumerians, whom you read about in Chapter 1, arrived on the scene. Good soil was the advantage that attracted these settlers. However, there were three disadvantages to their new environment. Unpredictable flooding combined with a period of little or no rain. The land sometimes became almost a desert. With no natural barriers for protection, a Sumerian village was nearly defenseless. The natural resources of Sumer were limited. Building materials and other necessary items were scarce. Early River Valley Civilizations 29  C a The Fertile Crescent, 2500 B.C. 40°N Present-day Persian Gulf sp ia 50°E 40°E n 30°E Se A N A T O L I A IRAQ IRAN a S. S MT T A U RU M E S ZA O Ti Eu GR KUWAIT P gr Mediterranean ph O O is ra S te T Ri Sea s M A ve O SAUDI ARABIA M U r ve Ri r N Sumer IA TA SYRIAN IN Fertile Crescent DESERT Agade AKKAD S Direction of flow of the Tigris and Babylon Kish Euphrates Jordan River In 2500 B.C., the Persian Gulf Umma SUMER Dead Lagash was larger than it is today. Pe Sea Uruk 30°N Over time the Tigris and Ur rs Euphrates have joined together ia E G Y P T and filled in this shallow area. n ul The ancient coastline is shown G ARABIAN DESERT ver f above with a blue line. N il e Ri Re 0 250 Miles d 0 500 Kilometers Se a GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Maps 1. Location Where are the Tigris and Euphrates River valleys found? 2. Place What is the most likely cause of the change in the Persian Gulf coastline? Solving Problems Through Organization Over a long period of time, the people of Sumer created solutions to deal with these problems. To provide water, they dug irrigation ditches that carried river water to their fields and allowed them to produce a surplus of crops. For defense, they built city walls with mud bricks. Sumerians traded their grain, cloth, and crafted tools with the peoples of the mountains and the desert. In exchange, they received raw materials such as stone, wood, and metal. These activities required organization, cooperation, and leadership. It took many people working together, for example, for the Sumerians to construct their large Summarizing irrigation systems. Leaders were needed to plan the projects and supervise the dig- What are three solutions to the ging. These projects also created a need for laws to settle disputes over how land environmental and water would be distributed. These leaders and laws were the beginning of challenges of organized government—and eventually of civilization. Mesopotamia? Sumerians Create City-States The Sumerians stand out in history as one of the first groups of people to form a civilization. As you learned in Chapter 1, five key characteristics set Sumer apart from earlier human societies: (1) advanced cities, (2) specialized workers, (3) com- plex institutions, (4) record keeping, and (5) improved technology. All the later peoples who lived in this region of the world built upon the innovations of Sumerian civilization. 30 Chapter 2  By 3000 B.C., the Sumerians had built a number of cities, each surrounded by fields of barley and wheat. Although these cities shared the same culture, they developed their own governments, each with its own rulers. Each city and the sur- rounding land it controlled formed a city-state. A city-state functioned much as an independent country does today. Sumerian city-states included Uruk, Kish, Lagash, Umma, and Ur. As in Ur, the center of all Sumerian cities was the walled temple with a ziggurat in the middle. There the priests and rulers appealed to the gods for the well-being of the city-state. Priests and Rulers Share Control Sumer’s earliest governments were controlled by the temple priests. The farmers believed that the success of their crops depended upon the blessings of the gods, and the priests acted as go-betweens with the gods. In addition to being a place of worship, the ziggurat was like a city hall. (See page 22 for a ziggurat.) From the ziggurat the priests managed the irrigation system. Priests demanded a portion of every farmer’s crop as taxes. In time of war, however, the priests did not lead the city. Instead, the men of the city chose a tough fighter who could command the city’s soldiers. At first, a com- mander’s power ended as soon as the war was over. After 3000 B.C., wars between Analyzing Causes cities became more and more frequent. Gradually, Sumerian priests and people How did mili- gave commanders permanent control of standing armies. ▼ Iku-Shamagen, tary leaders gain In time, some military leaders became full-time rulers. These rulers usually King of Mari, a power in the city-state in passed their power on to their sons, who eventually passed it on to their own heirs. city-states? Sumer, offers Such a series of rulers from a single family is called a dynasty. After 2500 B.C., prayers to the many Sumerian city-states came under the rule of dynasties. gods. The Spread of Cities Sumer’s city-states grew prosperous from the surplus food produced on their farms. These surpluses allowed Sumerians to increase long-distance trade, exchanging the extra food and other goods for items they needed. By 2500 B.C., new cities were arising all over the Fertile Crescent, in what is now Syria, northern Iraq, and Turkey. Sumerians exchanged products and ideas, such as living in cities, with neigh- boring cultures. This process in which a new idea or a product spreads from one culture to another is called cultural diffusion. Sumerian Culture The belief systems, social structure, technology, and arts of the Sumerians reflected their civilization’s triumph over its dry and harsh environment. A Religion of Many Gods Like many peoples in the Fertile Crescent, the Sumerians believed that many different gods con- trolled the various forces in nature. The belief in more than one god is called polytheism (PAHL ee thee IHZ uhm). Enlil, the god of storms and air, was among the most powerful gods. Sumerians feared him as “the raging flood that has no rival.” Demons known as Ugallu protected humans from the evil demons who caused dis- ease, misfortune, and misery. Sumerians described their gods as doing many of the same things humans do—falling in love, having children, quarreling, and so on. Yet the Sumerians also believed that their gods were both immortal and all-powerful. Humans were nothing but their servants. At any moment, the mighty anger of the gods might strike, sending a fire, a flood, or an enemy to destroy a city. To keep the gods happy, the Early River Valley Civilizations 31  Sumerians built impressive ziggurats for them and offered rich sacrifices of animals, food, and wine. Sumerians worked hard to earn the gods’ protection in this life. Yet they expected little help from the gods after death. The Sumerians believed that the souls of the dead went to the “land of no return,” a dismal, gloomy place between the earth’s crust and the ancient sea. No joy awaited souls there. A passage in a Sumerian poem describes the fate of dead souls: “Dust is their fare and clay their food.” Some of the richest accounts of Mesopotamian myths Vocabulary and legends appear in a long poem called the Epic of epic: a long heroic Gilgamesh. (See a selection from the Gilgamesh epic on poem that tells the page 83.) story of a historical or legendary figure Life in Sumerian Society With civilization came the begin- ning of what we call social classes. Kings, landholders, and some priests made up the highest level in Sumerian society. Wealthy merchants ranked next. The vast majority of ordi- nary Sumerian people worked with their hands in fields and workshops. At the lowest level of Sumerian society were the slaves. Some slaves were foreigners who had been captured in war. Others were Sumerians who had been sold into slav- ery as children to pay the debts of their poor parents. Debt slaves could hope to eventually buy their freedom. ▲ This gold and Social class affected the lives of both men and women. lapis ram with a shell fleece was Sumerian women could work as merchants, farmers, or artisans. They could hold found in a royal property in their own names. Women could also join the priesthood. Some upper-class burial tomb. women did learn to read and write, though Sumer’s written records mention few female scribes. However, Sumerian women had more rights than women in many later civilizations. Sumerian Science and Technology Historians believe that Sumerians invented the wheel, the sail, and the plow and that they were among the first to use bronze. Many new ideas and inventions arose from the Sumerians’ practical needs. Arithmetic and geometry In order to erect city walls and buildings, plan irrigation systems, and survey flooded fields, Sumerians needed arithmetic and geometry. They developed a number system in base 60, from which stem the modern units for measuring time (60 seconds = 1 minute) and the 360 degrees of a circle. Architectural innovations Arches, columns, ramps, and the pyramid shaped the design of the ziggurat and permanently influenced Mesopotamian civilization. Cuneiform Sumerians created a system of writing. One of the first known maps was made on a clay tablet in about 2300 B.C. Other tablets contain some of the oldest written records of scientific investigations in the areas of astronomy, chemistry, and medicine. The First Empire Builders From 3000 to 2000 B.C., the city-states of Sumer were almost constantly at war with one another. The weakened city-states could no longer ward off attacks from the peoples of the surrounding deserts and hills. Although the Sumerians never recovered from the attacks on their cities, their civilization did not die. Succeeding sets of rulers adapted the basic ideas of Sumerian culture to meet their own needs. 32 Chapter 2  Sargon of Akkad About 2350 B.C., a conqueror named Sargon defeated the city-states of Sumer. Sargon led his army from Akkad (AK ad), a city-state north of Sumer. The Akkadians had long before adopted most aspects of Sumerian cul- ture. Sargon’s conquests helped to spread that culture even farther, beyond the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. By taking control of both northern and southern Mesopotamia, Sargon created the world’s first empire. An empire brings together several peoples, nations, or previously independent states under the control of one ruler. At its height, the Akkadian Empire loosely controlled land from the Mediterranean Coast in the west Contrasting to present-day Iran in the east. Sargon’s dynasty lasted only about 200 years, after How does an which it declined due to internal fighting, invasions, and a famine. empire differ from Babylonian Empire In about 2000 B.C., nomadic warriors known as Amorites a city-state? invaded Mesopotamia. Gradually, the Amorites overwhelmed the Sumerians and established their capital at Babylon, on the Euphrates River. The Babylonian Empire reached its peak during the reign of Hammurabi, from 1792 B.C. to 1750 B.C. Hammurabi’s most enduring legacy is the code of laws he put together. Hammurabi’s Code Hammurabi recognized that a single, uniform code of laws would help to unify the diverse groups within his empire. He collected existing rules, judgments, and laws into the Code of Hammurabi. Hammurabi had the code engraved in stone, and copies were placed all over his empire. Hammurabi’s Code of Laws The image at the right shows the top of a pillar that had Hammurabi ‘s Code engraved on it. Hammurabi’s law code prescribed punishments ranging from fines to death. Often the punishments were based on the social class of the victim. Here are some examples of the laws: PRIMARY SOURCE 8. If a man has stolen an ox, a sheep, a pig, or a boat that belonged to a temple or palace, he shall repay thirty times its cost. If it belonged to a private citizen, he shall repay ten times. If the thief cannot pay, he shall be put to death. 142. If a woman hates her husband and says to him “You cannot be with me,” the authorities in her district will investigate the case. If she has been chaste and without fault, even though her husband has neglected or belittled her, she will be held innocent and may return to her father’s house. 143. If the woman is at fault, she shall be thrown into the river. 196. If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. 198. If he puts out the eye of freed man or break the bone of a free man, he shall pay one gold mina. 199. If he put out the eye of a man’s slave, or break the bone of a man’s slave, he shall pay one-half of its value. CODE OF HAMMURABI, adapted from a translation by L. W. King DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTIONS 1. Making Inferences Why might the punishments for the crimes be based on social class? 2. Forming Opinions What do you think the value was in making the punishments for the crimes known to all? Early River Valley Civilizations 33  The code lists 282 specific laws dealing with everything that affected the community, including family relations, business conduct, and crime. Since many people were merchants, traders, or farmers, for example, many of the laws related to property issues. Additionally, the laws sought to protect women and children from unfair treat- ment. The laws tell us a great deal about the Mesopo- tamians’ beliefs and what they valued. Although the code applied to everyone, it set different punishments for rich and poor and for men and women. It frequently applied the principle of retaliation (an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth) to punish crimes. The prologue of the code set out the goals for this body of law. It said, “ To bring about the rule of righteousness in Hammurabi the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that ? –1750 B.C. the strong should not harm the weak.” Thus, Hammurabi’s The noted lawgiver Hammurabi was also an able military leader, diplomat, Code reinforced the principle that government had a and administrator of a vast empire. responsibility for what occurred in society. For example, Recognizing Hammurabi himself described some if a man was robbed and the thief was not caught, the Effects of his accomplishments: government was required to compensate the victim. How did As for the land of Sumer and Nearly two centuries after Hammurabi’s reign, the Hammurabi’s law Akkad, I collected the scattered code advance Babylonian Empire, which had become much smaller, fell peoples thereof, and I procured civilization? to the neighboring Kassites. Over the years, new groups food and drink for them. In abundance and plenty I pastured dominated the Fertile Crescent. Yet the later peoples, them, and I caused them to dwell including the Assyrians, Phoenicians, and Hebrews, would in peaceful habitation. adopt many ideas of the early Sumerians. Meanwhile, a similar pattern of development, rise, and fall was taking place to the west, along the Nile River in Egypt. Egyptian RESEARCH LINKS For more on Hammurabi, go to classzone.com civilization is described in Section 2. SECTION 1 ASSESSMENT TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance. Fertile Crescent Mesopotamia city-state dynasty cultural diffusion polytheism empire Hammurabi USING YOUR NOTES MAIN IDEAS CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING 2. Which of the problems you 3. What were the three 6. DETERMINING MAIN IDEAS How was Sumerian culture listed required the most environmental challenges to spread throughout Mesopotamia? complex solution? Explain. Sumerians? 7. RECOGNIZING EFFECTS Why is the development of a 4. How did the Sumerians view written code of laws important to a society? Problems Solutions the gods? 8. ANALYZING CAUSES How did the need to interact with 1. 1. 5. What areas of life did the environment lead to advances in civilization? Hammurabi’s Code cover? 9. WRITING ACTIVITY POWER AND AUTHORITY What 2. 2. advantages did living in cities offer the people of ancient 3. 3. Mesopotamia? Do modern cities offer any of the same advantages? Write a compare-and-contrast essay supporting your answer with references to the text. CONNECT TO TODAY WRITING A STATUS REPORT Research the South East Anatolian Water Project in Turkey. The project will place dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Create a map and write a status report that summarizes the current status of the project. 34 Chapter 2 Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ PRIMARY SOURCE from The Code of Hammurabi More than 3,500 years ago, Hammurabi, king of the Babylonian Empire, ordered scribes to chisel a code of 282 laws ,onto a tall column of black stone. The column Section 1 also featured an introduction explaining the intent of the code and a summary of Hammurabi's kingly deeds. As you read these laws from the code, think about how Mesopotamians defined crimes and how criminals were punished. 148 B. efore this portrait let evelY man who has a legal dispute come forward, read this text, and heed its precious words. The stone tablet will If a man take a wife and she become affiicted with disease, and if he set his face to take another, enlighten him in'his trouble, 'and thus may he find he may. His who is affiieted with disease, he justice and breathe easier in his heart, speaking shall not put away. She shall remain in the house these words: "Haminurabi is a king who cares for which he has built and he shall maintain her as his people like a loving.fathel:" long as she lives. , 1 149 If a man bling an accusation against a man, and If that woman do not elect to remain in her charge him \\1th a capital crime, but cannot prove husband's house, he shan make good to her the it, he, the accuser, shan be put to death. dowl), which she brought from her father's house and she may go. 48 If a man owe a debt and Adad inundate his field 153 and cany away the produce, or, through lack of If a woman bring abont the death ofher hus- water, grain have not grown in the field, in that band for the sake of another man, they shall impale year he shan not make any return of grain to the her. ' creditOl; he shall alter his conti'act-tablet and he 195 shan not pay the interest for that entire year. If a son strike his father; they shan cut off his 53 fingers. If a man neglect to strengthen his dike and do 196 not strengthen it, and a break he made in his dike If a man destroy the eye of another man, they and the water can)' away the farm,-Iand, the man in shan destroy his eye. whose dike the break has been made shan restore 197 the grain which he has damaged. If one break a man's bone, they shan break his I -0 \, 54 bone. \ If he be not able to restore the grain, they shan 200 $ sen him and his goods, and the fanners whose grain i!! If a man knock out a tooth of a man of his own the water has carried away s1mn share. the results of rank, they shan knock out his tooth. 11 the sale. ::( 216 113