Me So Pot a Mia

MESOPOTAMIA, THE CRADLE OF HISTORY GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING MESOPOTAMIA (now IRAQ) means “Land Between Two Rivers”. -A huge valley of the twin rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) – which flow from the Armenian Highlands into the Persian Gulf. -This region forms part of the famous “Fertile Crescent”, which is a wide belt of fertile land of crescent shape, stretching from Iran (Persia) to the Mediterranean coast. - Because of its strategic location, fertile soil, and favorable climate, Mesopotamia became the birthplace of history and civilization. SUMERIANS, FIRST BUILDERS OF CIVILIZATION -Shortly before 4000 B.C., the farming tribes from the Iranian Mountain settled in the southern part of Mesopotamia. These tribesmen, called Sumerians were the first inhabitants of Mesopotamia. -The Sumerians established independent city-states, each ruled by a priest-king. - 3500 BC, invented writing – which enabled them to keep written records inscribed on baked clay tablets. Their writing was called CUNEIFORM because of its wedge-shaped characters. - Cuneiform from the Latin cuneus (wedge) and forma (form) -with the Sumerian invention of writing, man’s historic period began. Thus, history began in ancient Mesopotamia. -the oldest known city map in the world is the map of Nippur, a Sumerian city. – drawn by a Sumerian cartographer about 1500BC. -first people to mix copper and tin, which produces bronze, a metal which is harder and more durable than copper. -first people to use bronze weapons in war and to make bronze weapons in war and to make bronze ornamentals and tools for everyday use. -settled in the lower parts of the fertile Tigris-Euphrates valley -bulbous heads, low foreheads, prominent aquiline nose and spoke in a language unrelated to any language today -chief economic pursuit: Agriculture THE AKKADIAN EMPIRE (2334-2154 BC), WORLD’S FIRST EMPIRE -3000 BC the nomadic Akkadians migrated to Mesopotamia and founded the city-state of Akkad in a region north of Sumer. -Later, at about 2334 BC, KING SARGON of Akkad conquered the Sumerian city-states. -He created the world’s first empire --- the Akkadian Empire --- which lasted nearly two centuries (2334-2154 BC) THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE (1792-1595 BC) - Their leader, SUMUABUM became the first king of the kingdom of Babylonia, so named

after the Babylon, the capital city. - One of his descendants, Hammurabi, proved to be a mighty conqueror. He extended his kingdom to Syria in the north, Elam in the south, and the Mediterranean seaboard in the west. -In so doing, he founded the Babylonian Empire. -Because his greatest achievement was the promulgation in 1750 BC of a written law code, historians called him the “Lawgiver of Babylonia.” THE HAMMURABI CODE -was inscribed on a black stone eight feet high. -consists of 285 laws pertaining to family relations, property rights, marriage, divorce, adoption of children, labor, commerce, and crimes. - from the Hammurabi Code originated such laws as “an eye for an eye,” a life for a life,” etc., and the rights of women to own and inherit property and to work or do business. SOCIETY AND SOCIAL CLASSES -Babylonian society was stratified into 3 social classes: 1. the nobles – who included the king, aristocrats, priests, and rich landlords; 2. the freemen – composed of farmers, merchants, soldiers, and artisans 3. the slaves -the women occupied a high position in Babylonian society -they could inherit and own property, engage in business, and receive an education -some women kept stores and others earned a living as scribes -a woman could separate from her husband, if he was cruel or unfaithful, and return to her parents, with her property. ECONOMIC LIFE -Farming was the chief industry of ancient Babylonia. -the farmers raised wheat, barley, dates, oats, and vegetables. -transported their trade goods between cities and villages on donkeys or camels. -they were professional money-lenders, who lent money to merchants and craftsmen at usurious rates of interests RELIGION -ancient Babylonians worshipped as many as 65,000 gods -the principal ones were SHAMASH, god of the sun; MARDUK, god of war; ISHTAR, goddess of love; BEL god of the earth; EA god of water;

TIAMAT goddess of chaos; -the most feared deity in ancient Babylonia was NERGAL god of death -Prayers and sacrifices were offered to the gods to gain their favor or appease their anger -the Babylonians did not believe in heaven, hell, and purgatory but they believed in life after death -Associated with Babylonian religion were black magic and superstitious to drive away evil spirits or to bring luck in love, gambling, and business -used many amulets and charms to protect themselves from demons or evil spirits WRITING AND LITERATURE -system of writing: CUNEIFORM (which they borrowed from the Sumerians) -they wrote on soft clay tablets with a sharp stylus as pen -these clay tablets were baked in ovens to make them hard like bricks -for many centuries, scholars could not decipher the Babylonian writing -it was finally deciphered and made known to the world by HENRY RAWLINSON (British scholar 1847) because of his discovery of the Behistun Rock which was the key to Babylonian writing -this Behistun rock inscribed the accounts of the victories of King Darious I of Persia in three languages --- Babylonian, Assyrian, and Persian. -literature: rich in tales, fables, and poems -greatest literary classic: Sumerian EPIC OF GILGAMESH – a forerunner of the “Great Flood” in the Old Testament ARTS -greatest architectural achievement: ZIGGURAT (an edifice of several stories on a huge platform, each story being smaller than the one below it; on top of the last story was a small shrine for the god, to whom religious rites were offered. A large stairway or ramp led to the shrine. -the Ziggurat was surrounded by courtyards, school rooms, living quarters for the priests, and storerooms for foods and wines. SCIENCES -excelled in Mathematics:-invented sexagesimal system of calculation by sixties -first people in history to divide the circle into 360 degrees, or six 60s -divided the hour into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds -Astronomy and astrology made the Babylonians famous -their priests knew the stars and the heavenly bodies -they believed that every planet was a god - JUPITER was Marduk - VENUS was Ishtar - MERCURY was Nabu

- the SUN was SHAMASH - MARS was Nergal -they developed ASTROLOGY because of their belief that the stars and planets affected the lives of men, they devise the Zodiac which is used until today to make horoscopes THE RISE OF ASSYRIA -2900BC, a Semitic people called Assyrians settled the region north of Babylonia. -established their capital city on the bank of the Tigris River and named it ASSUR after their war god (ASHUR). -warlike and cruel people -made iron weapons, organized the horse-drawn war chariots into a mobile cavalry unit, and improved the fighting tactics of the armored archers and pikemen. -camels and horses were utilized to carry army provisions and camp paraphernalia. -because of their superior armaments, advanced military tactics, and fierce courage, the Assyrians became the best warriors in Asia during their time. THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE -shortly after conquering Babylonia, Phoenicia, and Syria, TIGLATH-PILESER I (the greatest Assyrian emperor) founded the Assyrian Empire. -military genius who never lost battle, he conquered Armenia, Syria, Egypt and other lands -for the 1st time, the diverse kingdoms of the Middle East were welded into an empire, whose frontiers extended to Iran in the east and to the Mediterranean Sea. -ordered his chief Archer to dip his arrow into the Mediterranean Sea as a symbol that the sea belonged to Assyria -Tiglath III’s successor SENNACHERIB who transferred Assyria’s capital to NINEVEH (named after the goddess Nina, Assyrian goddess of love) -despite the might of her arms, Assyria began to decline during the reign of ASHURBANIPAL (he hated war and loved peace) – he was trained to fight, but he preferred to read books. -In 612 BC Nineveh (capital of Assyria) fell before the attack of combined Chaldean-Medes armies -with the capture of this city, the Assyrian Empire collapsed which elicited great jubilation among the peoples of the Middle East. RISE AND FALL OF CHALDEA -from the ruins of the Assyrian Empire rose the Chaldean Empire, also known as the 2nd Babylonian Empire -founded in 612BC by NABOPOLASSAR (Chaldean conqueror of Nineveh) -Chaldeans: a Semitic people from the Arabian Desert, entered Babylonia at about 1100BC and conquered the land -greatest monarch:

NEBUCHADNEZZAR

(son

of

Nabopolassar)

conquered

the

neighboring kingdoms, including Phoenicia, Syria, and Egypt -captured Jerusalem and carried the Jews off into Babylonian captivity -after his death, the empire rapidly disintegrated -NABONIDUS (last Chaldean ruler) neglected the affairs of state for he was more interested in archaeological studies -539 BC, Babylon (capital of the Chaldean Empire) surrendered without a fight to the Persian invaders CHALDEAN CIVILIZATION -the splendor of Chaldean civilization was symbolized by Babylon, which was one of the finest cities in the world -a gorgeous city with splendid temples and palaces, and gardens -towering over the roofs of the city dwellings was the famous Tower of Babel (a majestic ziggurat of 7 stories), which was built by Nebuchadnezzar -The crowning glory of Babylon was the fabulous HANGING GARDENS, one the 7 wonders of the Ancient World built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife. MESOPOTAMIA’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO CIVILIZATION -Mesopotamia enriched the heritage of mankind: 1. invented writing, thereby ushering in the historic period (this writing was called CUNEIFORM) and was inscribed in clay tablet 2. invented the plow which improved farming, and the wheel that gave birth to pottery and revolutionized land transportation 3. produced the world’s first written literature consisting of epic poems, prose stories, fables, and proverbs (most famous: Epic of Gilgamesh) 4. gave mankind the earliest written law codes, including the Ur-Nammu Codes and the Hammurabi Code 5. introduced the sexagesimal system in Mathematics, counting by 60’s. under this system, a minute has 60s, an hour has 60 minutes,and a circle is divided into 360 degrees or six 60’s 6. developed astrology with the zodiac of 12 signs, in the belief that the planets and stars affect the destiny of men 7. gave mankind the first cities, schools, libraries, temples (ziggurats), hanging gardens (hanging ardens of Babylon, palaces, and sculptural objects.