Ancient Middle East and Egypt Chapter 2 PDF

Ancient Middle East and Egypt Chapter 2  The Fertile Crescent “A region of the Middle East named for its rich soils and golden wheat fields” The Fertile Crescent Often called “The Cradle of Civilization” for being the site where many of the earliest human civilizations...

Ancient Middle East and Egypt Chapter 2  The Fertile Crescent “A region of the Middle East named for its rich soils and golden wheat fields” The Fertile Crescent Often called “The Cradle of Civilization” for being the site where many of the earliest human civilizations developed An area stretching from the Persian Gulf to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, includes: Mesopotamia: The “land between rivers” (Tigris and Euphrates) Modern day Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, Egypt, Turkey, Iran Wide, flat plain with no natural defenses Few natural barriers preventing migration to and from the Fertile Crescent (increased cultural diffusion/interaction) Great linguistic diversity (Sumerian, Semitic, Hurrian, Hattic, Indo- European) Perfect location for development/interaction of civilizations Life “Between the Rivers” Tigris and Euphrates have enormous impact on life for inhabitants of Mesopotamia (cf. Chapter 1.2 & 1.3 on the importance of rivers) Unpredictable/Dangerous flooding threatens societies with destruction Taming rivers (irrigation, dams, dikes, etc.) for agriculture requires intense efforts from all members of society Priests/Royals organize & direct labor Lower classes/enslaved people perform labor Flood stories in Mesopotamian literature (The Epic of Gilgamesh) reflect cultural interest in flooding. Floods necessary for survival through agriculture End Result: life in Mesopotamia = full of uncertainty/pessimistic  The Mesopotamians Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, Gilgamesh Chapter 2.1 CITY-STATES OF ANCIENT SUMER City-states of Ancient Sumer Sumerian Civilization Southeastern area of Mesopotamia Modern day Iraq Settled between 5500-4000 BC Composed of at least 12 city-states Principal cities could measure ~700 square miles, populations of over 50,000 Cities share same culture, but rarely united politically (typical of most Mesopotamian cultures) Lack of natural resources compensated for by ingenuity (clay bricks instead of timber/stone) or trade (often via rivers) Trade goods from Egypt and India found in Sumerian cities Loved music (involved in religious/civic life) Sumerian Civilization Sumerian Government Each city-state has a single ruler Priestly governor (Ensi) King (Iugal) Jobs: maintains walls/irrigation, leads armies, enforces laws, employs scribes to carry out government work Ruler seen as servant/representative of gods, responsible for pleasing them with ceremonies Rulers often hereditary Rulers likely started as priests, but increasing need for sound military commanders leads to warrior-kings taking over and acquiring religious authority by secondary means Sumerian Civilization Sumerian Society Each city-state had a social hierarchy (system of ranking groups) Highest class: ruling family, leading officials, high priests Middle class (small): lesser priests, scribes, merchants, artisans Lowest class: peasant farmers majority of population Few owned own land, most worked land owned by king/temples Enslaved People mostly war captives, also debtors, criminals, born into slavery Not many in number (“simply not much place in the economy for them”) Mostly native Sumerians No stigma attached to being enslaved – unfortunates down on their luck Often freed after several years of service Sumerian Civilization Sumerian Society (continued) Women in Sumer Goddesses highly respected in religion // higher status of women in Sumerian society (vs. later Mesopotamian civs) Rulers wives often have supervisory power Some women wrote songs/poems about husbands (i.e. they can read/write -> high status) Early history shows female rulers (Azag-bau, tavern-keeper, listed as Ruler of Kish ~2600 BC) Women could engage in business in their own names BUT… Sumerian women never held legal rights equal to men’s Female status in government eventually overtaken by male status Sumerian Civilization Sumerian Religion Life in Sumerian Cities revolved around religion Highest duty of Sumerians is to keep gods happy (ensures survival of city- state) Every city dedicated to a specific god/goddess Each city built a ziggurat (large, stepped platform) topped by temple to patron god, largest structure in city, visible from everywhere Polytheistic (“nature gods turned into city gods”) Gods control every aspect of life, real rulers of cities Gods were anthropomorphic (“human-shaped”), immortal, and possessed magical powers Gods responsible for both good/order and evil/chaos in life Gods not particularly concerned with people (hence elaborate measures to please gods and attract their notice)  Sumerian Votive Statues Placed in temples to attract the notice of the gods Sumerian Civilization Sumerian Religion (continued) Many holidays, rituals, and ceremonies Hierogamy (“sacred marriage”) with Inanna (life-giving goddess of love) to ensure yearly prosperity/fertility Divination used to determine the will of the gods Sumerian afterlife = grim and inescapable If life now is so terrible and unpredictable, how could afterlife be any better? (Sumerian pessimism) “the place where they live on dust, their food is mud…and they see no light, living in blackness / on the door and door-bolt, deeply settled dust” Grave goods stolen by demons Spirit remains connected with bones Sumerian Civilization Sumerian Technology Potentially the first wheeled vehicles Believed to have invented the sail and plow Potentially the first to use bronze Developed arithmetic and geometry Recording movements of stars and planets Number system based on 60 (hexagesimal) 360 degrees in a circle 60 minutes in an hour Every god assigned a number based on rank/status Sumerian Civilization Sumerian Writing – Cuneiform (Latin cuneus – “wedge”) By 3200 BC Sumerians invent earliest known writing system Wedge shaped marks on clay tablets made by a stylus Developed from earlier pictographs used to record good brought to temple storehouse Writing evolved as additional symbols used to record more complex ideas Later used to record myths, prayers, laws, contracts Learning to write = years of difficult study Often with terrible punishments Learning to write also teaches religion, mathematics, literature Click icon to add picture The Development of Cuneiform Symbol “tag” Why did cuneiform take this shape? Why did the rounded parts disappear? Cuneiform Text Gilgamesh Bilgamesh Click icon to add picture Gilgamesh Bilgamesh Gilgamesh Legendary figure Lived c. 2600 BC for 126 years King of Uruk (Sumerian City) ⅔ divine, ⅓ mortal (?) The Epic of Gilgamesh Originally a group of independent stories about a single character Later collected into a single work by a scribe/exorcist named Sîn-lēqi-unninni c. 1200 BC (found in the Library of Ashurbanipal) “A scribal exercise created in writing, meant to be read and studied by other scribes and those learning to be scribes.” First half: Adventures of Gilgamesh and Enkidu Second half: Gilgamesh’s quest for eternal life Click icon to add picture Tablet containing part of the Epic of Gilgamesh (Tablet 11 depicting the Deluge), now part of the holdings of the British Museum Legacy of Sumer 2500 BC: Sumer begins to be conquered by invaders 1900 BC: Sumer replaced by other civilizations/empires Scientific/cultural achievements (especially writing) pass on to later cultures despite the collapse of Sumer Chapter 2.2 INVADERS, TRADERS, AND EMPIRE BUILDERS First Empires in Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ideal location for invasion by nomads or ambitious warriors Few natural barriers Abundant agricultural resources Many invaders leave after conquest but some remained Powerful leaders could create large, well-organized empires Peace and prosperity Often conquered/replaced by later groups (a typical Mesopotamian cycle)  Sargon Sargon of Akkad, Sargon the Great, Sarru-kīnu (“The true king”), The Great Ensi of Enlil Sargon’s Story Sargon cast adrift in the Euphrates by his mom because of illegitimate birth Rescued and raised by a gardener, later became cupbearer to king of Kish Enhanced status by claiming he was lover of goddess Ishtar Sargon’s Empire 3000-2000 BC: city-states warring with one another c.2300 BC: Sargon conquers weakened city-states of Sumer Ur, Uruk, other Sumerian cities At Nippur Sargon declared king of Sumer and Akkad Expansion of territory leads to establishment of the first empire Cultural diffusion (Akkadians adopt/spread Sumerian culture and vice versa) Used infrastructure already in place Local rulers oversee lands as kings subordinate to Sargon (vassal system) Adopted Sumerian writing system Sargon rules with an iron fist: No delegation of authority, humiliates defeated rulers, tore down Sumerian city walls, installed daughter as priestess at temple of Nanna at Ur Sargon improves his empire: Regular messenger service, new calendar, improved tax-collection, more raw materials due to increased borders  Akkadian Empire Yellow arrows indicate military campaigns Sargon’s Empire Empire collapses to new invaders soon after Sargon’s death Empire too reliant on Sargon’s direct control Vassals kings hate humiliation and lower status Sargon’s descendants unable to maintain authority Sons assassinated Daughter expelled from temple Grandson commits acts of sacrilege causing belief that he and Akkad cursed by Sumerian gods Great grandson defeated in Sumerian revolts, reign of Akkad abolished  Hammurabi Ammurāpi ("the kinsman is a healer”), King of Babylon Hammurabi (1728-1682 BC) King of Babylon Brings revived Sumerian city-states into his empire in 1790 BC Adopts much of Sumerian culture Ruled like Sargon (personal control and vassals) Hammurabi’s Code First attempt by ruler to codify all laws that govern state Not creating new laws, but compiling existing laws/customs Reflects accepted practices which the greatest number of people would agree are right and just A single, uniform set of almost 300 laws to unify imperial citizens Engraved on tablets and man-sized stone stelae (singular = stele) Often considered overly harsh Based on retaliation (lex talonis – law of the claw) Meant as a deterrent No police force/prison system means harsher laws needed Government has responsibility for what happens in society Divides population into nobles, free, and enslaved people Hammurabi’s Code Civil Law: deals with private rights/matters Business contracts, inheritance, taxes, marriage, divorce Many laws designed to protect powerless (enslaved/women) Women can pass on property to children Blameless wives can leave their husbands Fathers have almost unlimited control over family Criminal Law: deals with offenses against others Robbery, assault, murder Specific punishments for specific offenses Limiting vigilante justice Encourages social order Click icon to add picture Code of Hammurabi Stele Hammurabi, standing with hands in prayer position, receives royal insignia from Shamash, god of the Sun Excerpts from Hammurabi’s Code of Laws 1) If a man bring an accusation against a man, and charge him with a (capital) crime, but cannot prove it, he, the accuser, shall be put to death. 2) If a man charge a man with sorcery, and cannot prove it, he who is charged with sorcery shall go to the river, into the river he shall throw himself and if the river overcome him, his accuser shall take to himself his house (estate). If the river show that man to be innocent and he come forth unharmed, he who charged him with sorcery shall be put to death. He who threw himself into the river shall take to himself the house of his accuser. 3) If a man in a case (pending judgment), bear false (threatening) witness, or do not establish the testimony that he has given, if that case be a case involving life, that man shall be put to death. … 6) If a man steal the property of a god (temple) or palace, that man shall be put to death; and he who receives form his hand the stolen (property) shall also be put to death. 7) If a man purchase silver or gold, manservant or maid servant, ox, sheep or ass, or anything else from a man’s son, or from a man’s servant without witnesses or contracts, or if he receive (he same) in trust, that man shall be put to death as a thief Hammurabi’s Other Works Army Social Well-disciplined foot Established a new capital soldiers in Babylon Armed with axes, spears, Allowed Mesopotamian and copper/bronze daggers culture to exist Divide and Conquer Encouraged trade and Divide the enemy and subdue economic revival them With this, he gained control of Religion Sumer and Akkad Promoted the god Marduk Public Works (patron of Babylon) Walls and irrigation ditches Repaired temples  Hammurabi unified his empire using law, military, public works, and religion Public Law Military Religion Works Repaired Improved Well- temples Hammura walls & trained & bi’s Code irrigation army promoted systems Marduk  Hittites The Hittite Empire at its greatest extent under Suppiluliuma I (ca. 1350–1322 BC) and Mursili II (ca. 1321–1295 BC) Hittites An Indo-European people Entered Mesopotamia from Asia Minor c. 1400 BC Brought knowledge of extracting iron from ore Metallic iron originally found in meteorites (rare) Luxury item 19th century BC: Iron valued at 40 times its weight in silver Most iron found in ores combined with other elements (e.g. sulfur, oxygen), requires smelting (2800⁰ F.) Ore-iron plentiful (5% of Earth’s crust) vs. copper/tin More weapons/tools for more people for less money Stronger tools/weapons Tried to keep ironworking a secret Part of the first peace treaty (The Egyptian-Hittite Peace Treaty) Hittites Established (potentially) the first constitutional monarchy (activities of king overseen by high court called the Pankus) Hittite empire begins collapsing c. 1200 BC Political fighting ends the Hittite civilization Ironsmiths move elsewhere (Asia, Africa, & Europe) leading to “Iron Age” Hattusha burned  Relief of War Chariot Orthostat (stone slab at base of wall) of war chariot from Sam'al (Hittite colony, Turkey) Late Hittite period (9th cent BCE) Assyrians  Assyrian Empire Dark Green (1800-1600 BC) (1244-1208 BC) Light Green (699-627 BC) Assyrians Settled in upper Tigris around 2000 BC More moderate climate Soil less rich/fertile Generally many similarities to Babylonians in language, culture, and religion 3 levels of society – free landowners, farmers and merchants, and enslaved people No distinction for immigrants or natives Added to knowledge of earlier Mesopotamians, specifically math and astronomy Built trade routes, especially toward the sea Assyrian Military Constantly bullied by neighbors No natural defenses = susceptible to raiders Situated on travel routes used by traders and invaders Eventually Assyrian military becomes very effective “among the most feared warriors in history” Warfare central to all Assyrian culture (constantly at war all the time always) War for defense or economic expansion leads to development of Assyrian empire Army Consisted of half a million men divided into specialty units Extremely well organized – signal fires and spy networks Ruthless oppression of conquered nations through terror tactics and mass deportation Assyrian Government Top-down system focused on meeting economic/political needs with no concern for winning the hearts of subject peoples Conquered provinces controlled by Assyrian governors Kings – center of the universe chosen by the gods as their representative (like all Mesopotamians) Primary role = military but controls all aspects of life/culture All imperial officials appointed by and responsible to king Royal messengers keep tabs on government officials for king Propaganda used to show greatness of king Often seen hunting dangerous animals (Lion hunt reliefs) Massive palaces store and spend wealth of empire First with extensive laws regarding life for royal household members (e.g. sheltered/veiled women) Assyrians Invent Libraries Books considered another form of plunder, hence massive libraries King Assurbanipal’s library at palace in Ninevah Scribes collected cuneiform tablets from all over Fertile Crescent Subjects included: mythology, religion, grammar, law, history, mathematics, astronomy, science, poetry, magic Room names and section IDs Up to 30,000 cuneiform clay tablets discovered in ruins at Ninevah Contained rooms with secret government information like an Library of Assurbanipal (Recreation) archive  Assurbanipal Asenappar, “Ashur is creator of a heir”  Assurbanipal Assurbanipal hunts lions on horseback Assyrian Reliefs Originally painted Work like comic books – one panel to next until story complete Used spoils of war to create well-ordered society and palaces Ashurbanipal – library and lion hunts! http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/s/stone_panels,_north_palac e.aspx http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/s/stone_panel,_central_palac e.aspx Neo-Babylonians A.k.a. Chaldeans Fought for independence from the Assyrians but lasted only about 100 years Most famous ruler – Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) Responsible for revival of Babylon Rebuilding canals, walls, temples, palaces City became one of the largest and best regarded in ancient Mesopotamia Enlarged/decorated ziggurat of Marduk Conquered Egypt, Syria, Phoenicia and Judah Responsible for Jewish captivity Potentially built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Empire stretched from Persian Gulf to Mediterranean Click icon to add picture The Ishtar Gate Lions represent Ishtar, dragons represent Marduk, bulls represent Hadad Did you know? Some historians believe that the Ziggurat of Marduk may have been the legendary Tower of Babel from the Christian Bible. A: What does this Biblical version of the Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Persia? We will cover Persia when we talk about ancient Greece The Phoenecians Phoenicians Settled a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean coast Still fertile for farming Easy access to sea for trade/travel/etc. Famous sailors, manufacturers, and traders Extensive use of colonies (territory settled and ruled by people from another land) Promotes trade & spreads culture (“Carriers of Civilization”) Colonies throughout Mediterranean (e.g. North Africa, Sicily, Spain) Even reached Britain (where they traded for tin) Famous for their purple dye (Tyrian purple) Murex Snail Shells Phoenicians First to use an alphabetic writing system (each symbol represents a sound) Unlike cuneiform where symbols represent syllables or whole words Adapted by other cultures due to ease of use