Mesopotamia

Nile Civilizations Section 1
“It’s not the years in your life that count, but
the life in your years.”
- Abraham Lincoln
A flamingo can swallow only if its head is
facing downwards.

Main Idea
The first known civilization arose in
Mesopotamia, and its culture and innovations
influenced later civilizations in the region for
thousands of years.
Mesopotamia and Sumer

Geography Promotes Civilization
• Fertile area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers became
site of world’s first civilization
• Fertile Crescent well suited for agriculture
• Farming in Mesopotamia posed challenges:
– If water levels too high, crops washed away
– If water levels too low, crops died
• People developed methods to control water:
– Basins, canals, and dikes
– Organization: assigning jobs, allocating resources

Question:
What factors influenced the rise of
civilization in Mesopotamia?
Answer(s): fertile land; plentiful food; need to
organize people for jobs

• Shaped life in city-states
• Polytheism: worship of
many gods
• Priests had high status and
were the first rulers
• War chiefs began to rule
as kings
• Dynasty: series of rulers
from one family
Religion and Government
• Large cities developed by
4000 BC
• Structures made of mud
bricks
• Ziggurat: pyramid-shaped
temple
• Massive wall encircled each
city
• Each city and its land formed
a city-state, with its own
government
The Cities of Sumer
Sumer

Writing
• Cuneiform: Sumerian writing
• Business accounts and records
• Law, grammar, literature
The Arts
• Arches, ramps, columns
• Sculpture
• Cylinder seals
Math and Sciences
• System based on number 60
• Geometry
• May have been the first to use the
wheel
• Invented the plow
• Basic surgery
Trade and Society
• Traded for wood and
metals
• Social hierarchy
• Distinct male/female roles
Sumerian Culture

Anu Enki

Enlil
Inanna

Utu
Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Question:
Why was the Sumerians’ development of
cuneiform a major turning point in history?
Answer(s): After the development of cuneiform,
humankind moved from prehistory into the
historical age.

• Each conquering invader adapted aspects of Sumerian culture.
• Thus Sumerian civilization continued to influence life in Mesopotamia.
• Sargon I:
– Around 2330 BC, created first
permanent army
– Conquered Sumer and
northern Mesopotamia
– Established world’s first empire
(Akkadian), which lasted about
100 years
• Sumerian culture spread far
beyond Tigris and Euphrates
valleys
Sargon’s Empire
• Hammurabi became king in 1792
BC
• United all of Mesopotamia
• Able ruler and administrator
• Hammurabi’s Code:
– 282 laws covering everything
from trade to murder
– Written for all to see
– Babylon became
Mesopotamia’s greatest city
The Babylonian Empire
Empires in Mesopotamia

Main Idea
Indo-European invaders introduced new
technologies to the Fertile Crescent while
adapting earlier technologies developed by the
civilizations they encountered there.
Fertile Crescent Empires

Decline of Babylonian Empire
• Nomadic tribes moved into the region, drawn by wealth
• Included Indo-Europeans
• Steppes: arid grasslands north of the Black Sea
Hittite Culture
• Blended their culture with cultures around them
• First to make objects out of iron
• Rule reached peak in 1300s BC
Hittite Military Might
• Hittites: warlike Indo-European tribe
• Built strong empire in Asia Minor (now Turkey)
• Horse-drawn war chariot and new techniques
The Hittites

Question:
How were the Hittites able to build an
empire in Asia Minor?
Answer(s): With their military advantages, they
were able to conquer people in surrounding areas.

After the Hittite empire fell, other peoples fought for dominance in
western Asia. In time, the Assyrians became the supreme power in
the region; later the Chaldeans formed their own empire.
• (Neo) From Northern
Mesopotamia
• Barley, cattle
• Adopted Sumerian
culture
• New empire in 900 BC
• Mesopotamia, Asia
Minor, Egypt
• Nineveh - capital
The Assyrians
• Fierce warrior society
• War chariots, foot
soldiers, cavalry
• Masters of siege
warfare; terror
• Bible called it “the
Land Bathed in
Blood”
War Machine
• Efficient system
• Local leaders
• System of roads
• Brutal with opposition
• Cultural
achievements, library
– Nineveh – 22,000
cuneiform tablets
Assyrian Rule
The Assyrians and the Chaldeans

Notable Assyrian Kings
• Sargon II – 721-705
BC
• Sennacharib – 704-
681 BC
• Both involved in the
conquest of Israel
• The Ten Lost Tribes
• Assurbanipal –
668-627 BC
• Had the library of
Nineveh built (Epic
of G)
• Last of the Neo-
Assyrian kings
• Gave way to the
Neo-Babylonians

Sargon II
Sennacharib

Assurbanipal

The Chaldeans (Neo-Babylonians)
As Assyria began to decline, the Chaldeans
swooped in.
• Babylon, capital of their new empire
• Nebuchadnezzar II
– Warrior and builder
– Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Chaldean culture
– Admired ancient Sumerian culture
– Developed calendar; advances in astronomy

• Biblical references:
• Daniel Ch. 3 – story of the
three Hebrew children
who were thrown into the
fiery furnace for not
worshipping the
Babylonian idol at Dura.
• Daniel Ch. 4
• Had a bout of insanity for
7 years – boanthropy or
porphyria?

In an area of western Asia called Phoenicia, city-states emerged as
trading centers, and Phoenicians built a wealthy trading society.
• Western end of Fertile Crescent
• Farming difficult
• Trade and sea for livelihood
• Expert sailors
• Founded colonies on routes
• Trade brought great wealth
• Invented glassblowing
• Exports: ivory, silver, slaves
Trading Society
• Greatest achievement
• Invented by traders to record
activities
• Adopted by many, including the
Greeks
• Ancestor of the English language
alphabet
Alphabet
The Phoenicians

Main Idea
The ancient Hebrews and their religion, Judaism, have
been a major influence on Western civilization.
The Hebrews and Judaism

The Hebrews were the ancestors of the Jews, and most of what we
know, including the laws and requirements of their religion, Judaism,
comes from their later writings.
• The Torah
• Abraham, father of
the Hebrews
• God’s covenant
• 12 Tribes of Israel
• Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob were
patriarchs
• Israelites in Egypt
Hebrew Fathers
• Slaves in Egypt
• Moses
• Pharaoh, plagues
• Exodus
– Israelites out of
Egypt
– Passover
• The Ten
Commandments
Moses and Exodus
• Israelites in desert
• Canaan
• Land of “milk and
honey”
• Israelites battled for
land
• Canaan = Israel
Promised Land
The Early Hebrews

The Period of the Judges
• Scattered communities
• No central government
• Judges enforce laws
• Prophets keep Israelites focused on faith
• Israelites united against Philistines
• Saul, first Israelite king
• Never won full support
• David, second king
• Strong king, gifted poet
• Solomon, David’s son
• Israel reached height of wealth
Saul, David, Solomon
• Conflict after Solomon’s death
• Two kingdoms, Israel and Judah
• 722 BC, Israel fell to Assyrians
• 586 BC, Judah fell to Chaldeans
• Chaldeans enslaved Jews
• Diaspora = scattering of Jews
• Persians conquered Chaldeans
Division and Conquest
The Kingdom of Israel

David

Solomon

The Teachings of Judaism
Religion the foundation of Hebrew and Jewish societies
• Belief in One God
– Monotheism
• Justice and Righteousness
– Kindness, fairness, code of ethics
• Obedience to the Law
– Ten Commandments, Mosaic Law
• Jewish Sacred Texts
– Torah, Talmud, Tanakh

• Semite – descendent of Shem, son of Noah
• Rabbi – teacher
• Synagogue
• Mitzvot – observance of the 613 commandments
• Messiah – from the family of David
• Covenant – between God and Abraham
• Kosher
• Jewish calendar – lunisolar, for holiday purposes
• Revolt of the Maccabees – Seleucid Empire, statue of Zeus
• Hanukkah (Chanukah) – 165 BC, 8 days, Festival of Ligths, menorah,
shamash light, dreidel
• Rosh Hashanah – Jewish New Year – 10 Days of Repentance
• Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement, prayer and fasting
• Passover – 7 days, spring, celebrates Exodus, matza
• 3 branches – Orthodox, Conservative, Reform

Main Idea
The Persians formed one of the largest and best
governed empires in the ancient world and made
great cultural achievements.
The Persian Empire

Persia under the Medes
• Both the Medes and Persians were Indo-European tribes
• Both are pre-Islamic Iranians
• Medes helped Babylonians overthrow Assyria and had
conquered the Persians
• Persians allowed to keep their own leaders as long as
they did not rebel
• 559 BC – Persian King Cyrus leads a rebellion against
the Medes
Persian Beginnings

Cyrus the Great
• Defeated Medes in 559 BC
• Founded and expanded the
Achaemenid Persian Empire,
largest in the ancient world
• Freed Jews in Babylon –
allowed them to rebuild their
temple in Jerusalem
• Respected by those he
conquered
• 539 BC – Defeats and ends the
Neo-Babylonian Empire

Darius I
• Crushed rebellion after death of Cyrus’s son, rose to power in
522 BC
• Created standing army, built roads, strengthened army, empire
• Strong follower of Zoroastrianism
• Created satraps to help govern the 20 newly provinces of the
empire
• 499 BC – Miletus rebellion leads to Persian Wars
• 490 BC – failed invasion of Greece at Marathon
• High point of Persian culture
• Famous in the Bible as the king who threw Daniel into the den
of lions for praying to God

Persia in Decline
• Xerxes, son of Darius, took the throne in 485 BC and
failed to conquer Greece during the Persian Wars
• Famous battles – Thermopylae and Salamis
• Last strong ruler of Persia - praised for being just
• May be King Ahaseurus in the Bible, destroyer of
Babylon’s golden idol
• Succeeded by son, Artaxerxes I – one of which is thought
to be the husband of Ester

During the reigns of Cyrus and Darius, a new religion called
Zoroastrianism took hold, based on the teachings of Zoroaster.
• Ahura Mazda, source of good
• Ahriman, evil spirit
• Dualism = good and evil
• Free will
• The Avesta, holy text
• A savior will bring triumph
• New spiritual bodies, one
language, evil destroyed
Teachings
• Much of Persian Empire
• Darius worshipped Ahura
Mazda
• Other religions discouraged
• The Greeks converted the
Persians but never
completely disappeared –
often persecuted
• Still exists in India and Iran
• Parsees (Parsis)
Spread
Zoroastrianism

Blended Culture
• Cyrus and Darius encouraged cultural unity
• Shared culture led to peace
• People worked together to improve empire
Art and Architecture
• Animals a common subject
• Persepolis, monument to Persia’s glory
• Greatest example of Persian architecture
Communication
• Network of high quality roads
• Royal Road = world’s first long highway
• Horseback messengers in shifts
Persian Achievements

Mesopotamia

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