early civilization: the fertile crescent. on your desk… each of you has a piece of paper folded in...
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Early Civilization:
The Fertile Crescent
On your desk…
• Each of you has a piece of paper folded in half. • When I tell you, I would like to you read the
directions on the paper and do exactly what it says. Please remain QUIET!– Group A will go first– Group B will go second
• When I say STOP, you must STOP!
Hmmmm…• What happened on the left side of the room?• What happened on the right side of the room?• What was your reaction of the group that you
were NOT a part of?
Chaos vs. Civilization
• Why do civilizations emerge?• What is the key component of a civilization
based on your observations?
• Order – It is the rule of law or proper authority.
• Chaos – It is a state of utter confusion.
Order
Chaos
Think on it…
• Come up with your own definition of a civilization…write it down!
Our Definition
Civilization Defined:
• The stage of cultural development marked by urbanization, advanced techniques of agriculture and technology, material, scientific, and artistic progress, expanded population, and complex social organization that have developed to manage problems of order, security and efficiency.
The First Civilizations
• 3500BC – development of the wheel and axle allows trade to expand from seafaring vessels to land as well–Result: spread of culture and prosperity
• 2900BC – Bronze Age results in the development of durable, long lasting tools –Weapons, helmets, shields, etc.
Civilization over Chaos
• Hunting-gathering eclipsed by agriculture– No more nomadic
existence– Farming = harder work,
but with higher yield and no food shortages
– Need for irrigation– Family size increases
• Emergence of:– Artisans & craftsmen– Cities– Trade– Social Classes
Social Classes
King
Priests, nobles, military
Artisans, small traders, merchants
Farmers
Slaves
Story Time!
Using your iPad
• In the “Education” folder, tap the icon that says “Student”
• The app will prompt you to enter a room number:
– Enter: 915540
Ancient Mesopotamia
• What does Mesopotamia literally mean?– The Land Between the Rivers
• Why was this a perfect place for the 1st civilization?1. Fertile Crescent - large arc of fertile land in the
Middle East due to rich soil
2. Tigris & Euphrates Rivers made it possible for farming due to flooding
What Challenges Did People Face in Mesopotamia?
1. Unpredictable floods destroyed crops, homes & people
2. Some areas were marshy and unsuitable for farming because of over-flooding
The Many People of Mesopotamia
1. Sumerians (3000 B.C. - 1800 B.C.)
2. Babylonians (1800 B.C. - 1200 B.C.)
3. Assyrians (1200 B.C. - 539 B.C.)
4. Persians (539 B.C. - 330 B.C.)
Sumerians
• How was Sumer governed?– Sumer was never united under one ruler – Independent city-states– Largest city was Ur– Results in their downfall…why?
• Sumerians were great inventors– The wheel (around 3500 BCE)– Invention of cuneiform writing– Developed a sexagesimal (base 60) place-value number system
• Earliest literature– World’s oldest poetry– The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Evolution of the Wheel• Stage one: Early men placed rollers beneath
heavy objects so that they could be moved easily.
• Stage two: Early men began to place runners under a heavy load, which they discovered would make it easier for the load to drag. This was the invention of the sledge.
• Stage three: Men began to combine the roller and the sledge. As the sledge moved forward over the first roller, a second roller was placed under the front end to carry the load when it moved off the first roller. A model of a sledge with such rollers is in the Smithsonian Institution.
The Evolution of the Wheel• Stage four: Soon, men discovered that the rollers
which carried the sledge became grooved with use. These deep grooves actually allowed the sledge to advance a greater distance before the next roller was needed to come on!
• Stage five: The rollers were changed into wheels. In the process of doing so, wood between the grooves of the roller were cut away to form an axle and wooden pegs were fastened to the runners on each side of the axle. When the wheels turn, the axle turned too in the space between the pegs. The first wooden cart was thus made.
• Stage six: A slight improvement was made to the cart. This time, instead of using pegs to join the wheels to the axle, holes for the axle were drilled through the frame of the cart. Axle and wheels were now made separately.
I am the great king Gilgamesh…read
the handout about my epic tale!
Sumerian Religion
• Polytheistic, anthropomorphic deities• Each city-state had its own patron god• Ziggurats – Massive, stepped-pyramids used as temples by
Sumerian priests– Existed long before the Egyptian pyramids
Main Sumerian Deities
• An: God of heaven• Enlil: God of the air • Enki: God of freshwater, male fertility, and
knowledge• Inanna: Goddess of love, female fertility and
warfare• Ki: Goddess of the earth.• Nanna: God of the moon• Ninurta: God of war, agriculture• Utu: God of the sun
Religions have attempted to build their sanctuaries on prominent heights. Since no such natural heights were available in the flat flood plains of Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), ancient priests and kings determined to build ziggurats, square or rectangular artificial stepped temple platforms. Functionally, temples were placed on raised platforms to give them prominence over other buildings in a city, and to allow more people to watch the services performed at the temple. Symbolically, however, the ziggurat represents the cosmic mountain on which the gods dwell. The priests ascent up the stairway to the temple at the top of the ziggurat represents the ascent to heaven. The great ziggurat at Khorsabad, for example, had seven different stages; each was painted a different color and represented the five known planets, the moon, and the sun.
WHAT DOES THIS PASSAGE REVEAL ABOUT THE RELIGIOUS BELIEF OF PEOPLE IN MESOPOTAMIA?
This staircase runs directly up the front of the ziggurat. Possibly only the temple priests were allowed to climb these steps to get to the higher stages of the ziggurat.
Many archaeologists believe that there was a temple on the highest
terrace of the ziggurat.
Drains for rain water
Terrace
The mud-brick core of the ziggurat was covered with
baked bricks. Each baked brick measured
about 12 x 12 x 3 in and weighed up to 33lbs. About
720,000 baked bricks would have been needed in building the first stage of the ziggurat. This brick was stamped with
the name and title of Ur-Nammu, the king who ordered the ziggurat built. Most bricks
used to build the ziggurat were stamped. Somebody had the
job of stamping the damp bricks.
ZIGGURATS
BABYLONIAN ZIGGURAT
Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex that included a courtyard, storage
rooms, bathrooms, and living quarters, around which a city was built
The Ziggurat at UR
iPad Reading Quiz
• Use the “Student Socrative” app and login– 915540
1. What was your name?2. How was Assyria’s method of expansion very
different from those of other civilizations?3. Describe the Assyrians in your own words.4. What led to the downfall of the Assyrians?5. How did the Persians treat the people they
conquered?6. What religion did the Persians practice?
The Babylonians
• King Hammurabi creates the Babylonian empire by defeating city-states in Sumer
• Babylonians built or developed:– Great walled cities– Roads allow caravans (groups of travelers) to
converge on Babylon and its bazaars (markets)– First book of codified laws (Hammurabi’s
Code)
Hammurabi• “So That the Strong Should
Not Harm the Weak”
Hmmm…I think
someone “got my nose”?
The Babylonians
• Astronomy & Astrology – First to recognize that astronomical phenomena
are periodic and apply mathematics to their predictions
– Babylonian observations of celestial phenomena are recorded in the series of cuneiform tablets known as the Enûma Anu Enlil.• Series of 70 tablets dealing with Babylonian astrology• Collection of omens, estimated to number between
6500 and 7000
Enûma Anu Enlil
Enûma Anu Enlil
The shelves of a tablet library excavated at Sippar in southern Mesopotamia.
The Assyrians
• Defeat the Babylonians around 1500BC• Very skilled warriors– Develop the battering ram– Used slings and armored chariots– First civilization to have a standing army
• Capital located at Nineveh– Great library and record holdings
• Eventually overcome in 612BC – Who defeated them?– The Medes & Chaldeans
• Babylon rises again
Assyrian Warriors
Assyrian Warriors
Assyrian Warriors
Assyrian Battering Ram
Assyrian Battering Ram
Second Rise of Babylon (New-Babylon)
• Nebuchadnezzar II rebuilt the city of Babylon– Constructed canals, aqueducts, temples and
reservoirs– The Hanging Gardens of Babylon– Once again, Babylon became a center for
learning and science
• New Babylonian Empire falls to the Persians in 539 BC
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Built: Around 600 BC • Function: Royal Gardens • Destroyed: Earthquake, 2nd Century BC– Only wonder whose archaeological remains
cannot be verified.
• Built to cheer up Nebuchadnezzar's homesick wife, Amyitis of Medes who was depressed and missed her homeland
King Nebuchadnezzar II
Rock, paper, scissors,
shoot!
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon: Video
The Ishtar Gate
• The eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon. • It was constructed in about 575 BC by order of
King Nebuchadnezzar II • The roof and doors of the gate were of cedar• The whole gate was covered in lapis lazuli
glazed bricks which would have rendered the façade with a jewel-like shine
Bulls, Lions, & Dragons
Persia
• Cyrus the Great unified the nomadic people – Becomes the largest empire in Mesopotamia – Defeat the Babylonians, Assyrians, Jews, Phoenicians
and Syrians, and the Greeks in modern Turkey– Sometimes called Achaemenid Empire
• Practiced Zoroastrianism – monotheistic– Worshipped only ONE god
• Developed a bureaucratic government– A government that is run by bureaus (or departments)
staffed with nonelected officials– 20 provinces called satrapies
• Highly tolerant society
Zoroastrianism
• Religion based on the teachings of Zoroaster• All good comes from the god named Ahura
Mazda• All evil comes from the spirit named Angra
Mainyu• Holy text is called the Mathra-Spenta ("Holy
Words")• “Good thoughts, good words, good deeds”
Ahura MazdaNot THAT
kind of Mazda…
Angra Mainyu
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