Civ Midterm: Mesopotamia PDF

CIV MIDTERM : MESOPOTAMIA FROM THE BOOK Civilization emerging in UR: Ur: city in Sumer on the banks of the Euphrates River, modern-day southern Iraq. About Ur: Large scale irrigation systems → thriving economy. Normal people live in one story boxlike houses. Wealthy families lived...

CIV MIDTERM : MESOPOTAMIA FROM THE BOOK Civilization emerging in UR: Ur: city in Sumer on the banks of the Euphrates River, modern-day southern Iraq. About Ur: Large scale irrigation systems → thriving economy. Normal people live in one story boxlike houses. Wealthy families lived in two story houses with an inner courtyard. City life was filled with workers making weapons or crafts workers producing goods that could be used for trade. Their marketplace was filled with merchants trading. Since there was no money, they were trading in the form of barter. If a trade is complicated then a scribe had to use cuneiform as proof. The ziggurat (“mountain of god”) was a temple for the god Nanna. They also made sacrifices there and used it as a storage area (offerings to the god). They also had burial rituals and a belief in the after life. CITY STATES IN MESOPOTAMIA The Fertile Crescent The Tigris and Euphrates flow southeast to the Persian Gulf. Mesopotamia: land between the rivers. Silt left from river floods caused a fertile land for harvests. Mesopotamia had settlers before 4500 B.C. Sumerians arrived in 3500 B.C and soon dominated the area. Good advantage: soil and swampy lands. Challenges faced by Sumerians and their solutions: Unexpected floods. Hot sun caused quick drying Low rainfall. These made it hard to farm in summer. Solution: Irrigation ditches to carry water from the river to the fields were built. Small region Clustered huts in an open plain. This made it hard for villagers to protect themselves. Solution: City walls out of mud bricks were built for defense. Natural resources were limited. (stone, wood, metal, etc.) They could not make tools that could help them in building or defending themselves. Solution: They traded with people from the mountains and desert. Example of a thriving organized government: To create a system such that their solutions work and benefit their people, everyone had to work together and leaders had to supervise and instill laws to keep the stability of how procedures were going, how land and water were distributed, and settle disputes. “The Sumerians Form a Civilization” Key characteristics of Sumer which helped them thrive: - Advanced cities - Specialized workers - Complex institutions - Record Keeping - Advanced technology By 3000 B.C. -They created city-states: the city and the surrounding land it controlled. City-states are like modern day countries. Examples: -Uruk -Kish -Lagash -Umma -Ur The power of priests: - Earliest governments were run by temple priests. - Priests acted as go-betweens with the gods. - The ziggurat was a city wall where the priests managed the irrigation system and demanded a portion of farmer’s crop as tax. Monarchs taking over: - Sumerian priests and people gave commanders permanent control of armies when war became frequent. - Some military leaders → monarchs or full-time rulers. - Rulers passed down power through their heirs. - 3000-2500 B.C. sumerian city-states were ruled by dynasties (series of rulers from same family) Spread of Sumerian cities: - Surplus food from their farms helped trade systems and the city-states prospered. - Because of contacts with their surrounding areas, more cities rose over the fertile crescent and the Sumerians also absorbed some of their neighboring belief systems and cultures. (Cultural Diffusion) Sumerian Culture Belief systems, social structure, technology, arts → Sumerian’s Civilization Triumph. RELIGION: They believed in polytheism. Enlil: God of clouds and air. Sumerians feared his power, “the raging flood that has no rival” Lowest of all gods were the demons. These demons were known as “Wicked Udugs” who caused diseases and misfortunes and trouble. They believed in around 3000 gods. They believed that their gods led similar lives to those of human traits, but they were all-powerful and immortal which differentiated them. In fear and praise, they offered sacrifices to them and built temples like ziggurats. AFTERLIFE: Sumerians believed their souls go to the land of no return, between earth’s crust and ancient sea, where no joy awaits. Fate of dead souls: “dust is their fare and clay their food” LITERATURE: The epic of Gilgamesh: King Gilgamesh’s adventures take us through the beliefs and concerns of ancient Sumerians. It tells of Gilgamesh’s unsuccessful search for immortality. Sumerians’ beliefs and legends influenced cultures like the Hebrews and Greeks.. LIFE IN SUMERIAN SOCIETY Social classes started arising. Slaves: - Foreigners who had been captured in war. - Sumerians sold into slavery as children to pay debts of their poor parents. Social classes affected the lives of everyone, men and women. Women played a great role in sumerian society, being given the same opportunities as men. However due to the few female scribe records, it can be concluded girls were not allowed an education like upper class boys. BUT they had more rights than civilizations that came after them. SUMERIAN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - They invented the wheel, the sail, the plow - First system of writing (cuneiform) One of the first maps made was on cuneiform from 2300 B.C. Proof of scientific investigations (astronomy, chemistry, diseases) - First to use bronze - Arithmetic and geometry - Architectural inventions permanently influenced Mesopotamian civilization. FIRST EMPIRE BUILDERS -From 3000-2000 B.C. city-states of Sumer were constantly at war. 2350 B.C. Sargon of Akkad: - Sargon defeated the city states of Sumer. - Sargon came from north of Sumer, Akkad. - The akkadians were semitic. - Sargon created the world’s first empire by controlling north and south mesopotamia. - The peak of his empire extended from the Mediterranean coast of the west to modern day Iran. - His dynasty lasted about 200 years, it declined due to internal fighting, invasions and severe famine. Babylonian Empire - from 2000 B.C. , the Amorites (also semitic) invaded Mesopotamia. - The Amorites' capital was at Babylon on the Euphrates. - Hammurabi’s reign made the empire reach its peak (1792-1750 B.C.) - Two centuries later, the empire fell to nomadic warriors. - New groups dominated the fertile crescent but the idea of early sumerians were still a major influence on the Assyrians, Phoenicians, and Hebrews, which came later. HAMMURABI’S CODE : HIS LEGACY -His code of laws helped unify diverse groups -The code lists 282 specific laws: family relations, business conduct, crime, etc.. -The code applied to everyone, with different punishments for the rich and poor or for men and women, but it was applicable for every member of society. -Most famous law: an eye for an eye. -It reinforced the principle that the government was responsible for what occurred in society.  FROM THE SLIDES MESOPOTAMIA AND GILGAMESH Hierarchical order: 1-King 2-Government officials and priests 3-Scribes, merchants, and artisans 4-Farmers and slaves The epic of gilgamesh is a primary literary source for the period. MAP OF SUMER (WHERE THE CIVILIZATION AROSE) : About a cuneiform tablet found about the flood story: First told: 2700 First written: 2100 First surviving tablets: 1800 First complete tablets: 13th-10th centuries First copies of the complete text: 7th century Who was Gilgamesh? - Semi-mythic king of Uruk, hero of the epic. How is the quest for meaning of life first explored in the epic? - Gilgamesh leaves his city following the death of his best friend, Enkidu, to find the mystical figure Utnapishtim and eternal life. What is Gilgamesh’s fear of death actually a fear of? - Fear of meaninglessness, he fails to win immortality, but the adventure and quest he takes on gives his life meaning. IMPORTANCE OF THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH: HISTORICAL: - Insight into ancient mesopotamian society. Through Gilgamesh’s adventures and interactions with the gods, readers gain an understanding of how Mesopotamians viewed kingship, divine power, and humanity's place in the cosmos. - Historical myth and real kingship Gilgamesh was not purely a mythological figure—he may have been based on a real king of Uruk CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS: -The flood story in the epic parallels the story of Noah’s Ark in the Bible, suggesting that the flood myth was a shared cultural motif in the ancient Near East. -Mesopotamian belief in the power and unpredictability of gods, and humanity’s desire to understand the divine. It portrays the complex relationship between humans and gods. LITERARY: - Earliest example of the epic hero archetype. - This archetype echoes in heroes like Homer’s Odysseus and more modern heroic journeys. - Complex narrative techniques: integration of multiple stories, symbolism, themes. - It set the stage for future literary traditions in Western and middle eastern cultures. EXPLORATION OF UNIVERSAL THEMES: - Searching for eternal life and finding meaning in life. - Immortality is unattainable for humans, but your legacy can be immortal. - Friendship turns Gilgamesh from a tyrant to a compassionate and self aware individual. - Internal journey, self growth. PHILOSOPHICAL AND ETHICAL: - Death being inevitable encourages existential questions about the meaning of life and how to live knowing we are mortal. - Humans can achieve immortality through leaving a legacy, an idea of central concern in many cultures and philosophies. THE WORLD’S FIRST EMPEROR: SARGON OF AKKAD - Sargon was born to a humble family. (illegitimate son of a priestess) - His mother put him in a reed basket and set him adrift on the Euphrates where he was found and raised by a royal gardener. - He rose to power in the court of Kish, a powerful Sumerian City-State and overthrew the king of Kish. 1-Conquered Sumerian city-states: Ur, Uruk, and Lagash. 2-Building an empire: his extensive network of territories made the Akkadian Empire the largest of its time (modern day Syria, Turkey, and Iran). 3-Establishing Akkad: the empire’s capital, a center of political power and culture. 4-Diplomatic Relations and trade: from ancient near east, persian gulf to mediterranean, which enriched his empire and spread akkadian culture. POWER: - Creating the first bureaucracy. - Centralized administration. - Governors and Akkadian officials had control over certain parts and regions. LANGUAGE: - Akkadian language replaced Sumerian, and became the language of administration, culture, and diplomacy. MILITARY STRATEGY AND INNOVATION: - Organized a standing army. - Integrated different city-states and ethnic groups into a single political entity. CHALLENGES AND REVOLTS: - Rebellious city states revolted to regain independence. - By the end of his reign, he had issues maintaining control over such a large empire. DEATH AND SUCCESSION: - Died around 2279 B.C. - His empire continued under his sons: Rimush and Manishtushu Then his grandson: Naram-sin. - The empire weakened gradually but his legacy lived on. GUTI, ARMORITES, ELAMITES, UR, HAMMURABI THE GUTIANS: GUTI → 2150 B.C. - Group of nomadic people from the Zagros Mountains (modern day western Iran) - Played significant role in Mesopotamian history - Overthrew the Akkadian empire. - The Gutians ruled Sumer for roughly 100 years after the fall of Akkad. - Their governance was chaotic and ineffective. (Poor administration, economic decline, disruption of traditional urban life) - They were known to be barbaric and destructive They did not leave a certain legacy, but their role marked a transitional period between fall of the Akkadian empire and rise of the Neo-Sumerian period under the 3rd dynasty of Ur. UR DYNASTY: UR NAMMU OF UR → 2100 B.C. UTU HEGAL OF URUK → 2100 B.C. - Utu Hegal defeated the Gutians in battle. - Establishment of the 3rd Ur dynasty and resurgence of Sumerian civilization. - Controlled much of southern and parts of northern mesopotamia Third Dynasty of Ur: - Complex systvem of tributaries across southern mesopotamia. Including regions in the Zagros mountains, Elam, and northern cities like Mari and Ebla. Cities often paid tribute in the form of agricultural produce, labor, and materials to support large state projects. ELAM, PRESENT DAY IRAN: - Major tributary state. - Commonly Elam paid tribute to Ur. - They had precious metals, timber and other resources. Various tribes from the Zagros mountains were forced to pay tribute to Ur. MARI AND EBLA IN SYRIA: - Part of Ur III - Wealth in trade - Paid metals, timber and luxury items as tribute. The tribute and taxation system was documented using clay tablets in cuneiform script. Ziggurats, temples and public projects were financed through the tributes. Citizens and regions also had to provide labor for state projects. SUMERIAN DISAPPEARANCE IN 2000 - No more sumerian language - No sumerian identification The Lamentation of Ur: - It mourns the fall of Ur and the 3rd dynasty. - It addresses Nanna and forms a mourning song - Human suffering is the result of divine will and anger - Hope for reconciliation with gods. - Example of sumerian literature - Themes : fate, divine justice, human suffering. - End of golden age - Inspired other lamentations: Eridu, Jeremiah (for jerusalem) - Valuable information about Sumerian religious beliefs. THE UR EXODUS: 2000 According to biblical book of genesis: Abraham, first of Hebrew patriarchs left Ur because God called him to find a new nation in the land he learned was Cannan and was promised his “seed” would inherit the land. The promised offsprings: - In Judaism: promised offspring is his son Isaac. - In Christianity: Near-sacrifice of Isaac foreshadows Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. - In Islam: Abraham’s first son, born of Hagar, Ishmael, is viewed as fulfillment of God’s promise, with prophet muhammad as the descendant. 2000-1800: PERIOD OF CHAOS Elamites from the mountains: - Iran, across Zagros Mountains - Language unrelated to sumerian or akkadian - Clashed with mesopotamian - Trade with mesopotamia Amorites from the dessert: - Originated from the Syrian desert, areas around modern Syria and Jordan. - Semitic dialect of Akkadian - Culture of Akkadians and Sumerians - Established Babylon when they migrated to Mesopotamia. - Semi-nomadic → settled communities - Clashed with established city states then formed their own kingdoms - Their legacy lived on. - Babylonian dynasty was amongst the most influential ones in Mesopotomian history, especially under Hsmmurabi’s reign.