The Ancient Middle East

1. The Ancient Middle East

3. Nomadic: Agrarian:

4. What does it mean to change to an agrarian society? In contrast to hunting and gathering as a mode of life, agriculture means modifying the environment in order to exploit it more effectively. Agriculture alters both the animals and plants it domesticates. Ultimately, it changes the very landscape itself. Cooperation leads to the beginning of civilization

5. Domestication of Animals

7. 1. Mesopotamia: "Land Between the Two Rivers"

8. The Ancient Fertile Crescent Area The Middle East: “The Cradle of Civilization”

9. Sumerians

11. Achievements of the Sumerians • City-States/Kings • Cuneiform/Writing • Devotional Statues • Games • Irrigation • Mathematics • Medicine • Metalworking • Music • Organized Armies • The Plow • Sailboat • Written Laws • Ziggurat/Stepped Pyramid If you remember nothing else remember that they invented: THE WHEEL and WRITTEN LANGUAGE

13. Sumerian Religion - Polytheistic Enki Innana Anthropomorphic Gods

14. Cuneiform Writing

15. Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing Why do we need a writing system?

16. The Beginnings of Writing Farmers needed to keep records.The Sumerians were very good farmers. They raised animals such as goats and cows (called livestock). Because they needed to keep records of their livestock, food, and other things, officials began using tokens. Tokens were used for trade.Clay tokens came in different shapes and sizes. These represented different objects. For example, a cone shape could have represented a bag of wheat. These tokens were placed inside clay balls that were sealed. If you were sending five goats to someone, then you would put five tokens in the clay ball. When the goat arrived, the person would open the clay ball and count the tokens to make sure the correct number of goats had arrived. The number of tokens began to be pressed on the outside of the clay balls. Many experts believe that this is how writing on clay tablets began. A system of writing develops. The earliest form of writing dates back to 3300 B.C. People back then would draw "word-pictures" on clay tablets using a pointed instrument called a stylus. These "word-pictures" then developed into wedge-shaped signs. This type of script was called cuneiform (from the Latin word cuneus which means wedge). Who used cuneiform?Not everyone learned to read and write. The ones that were picked by the gods were called scribes. Boys that were chosen to become scribes (professional writers) began to study at the age of 8. They finished when they were 20 years old. The scribes wrote on clay tablets and used a triangular shaped reed called a stylus to make marks in the clay. The marks represented the tens of thousands of words in their language.

17. Deciphering Cuneiform

18. Babylonian Math

19. Sumerian Scribes Sumerian Cylinder Seals

20. Ziggurat at Ur • Temple • “Mountain of the Gods”

21. Social and political organization: • The King: he had military powers. • The Governors: they governed the territories of the kingdom. They were generals and judges at the same time. • The aristocracy: they were priests and traders. • The peasants: the people who work the land. The King The Governors The Aristocracy The Peasantry

22. Gilgamesh

23. Gilgamesh Epic Tablet:Flood Story • The Epic is the first known piece of literature • It tells the story of Gilgamesh the King • The story is of the King who oppresses his people. • The Gods create a wild man to distract him • At one point it describes a flood that is considered a possible influence on the Biblical story of Noah

24. Mythologies are our collected stories They are how we understand ourselves and the world around us

26. Star Wars: The Modern Myth • A 20th century addition to the telling of myth is the film • Films are a collective experience • Think of the films that you share with your friends • Star wars like many myths before builds on its predecessors • Ex. Noah and Gilgamesh • Ex. Senator Palpatine and Adolf Hitler • The Birth of Anakin and the Birth of Jesus • The fall of Anakin and the fall of Lucifer

28. Sargon of Akkad:The World’s First Empire [Akkadians] Sargon of Akkad unifies Mesopotamia: world’s first empire, ca. 2240 B.C.

29. The Dynasty of Ur, 2100-2000 B.C. Sumer, 3200-2350 B.C. Sargon’s Empire, 2350-2320 B.C. Reign of Hammurabi of Babylon, 1792-1750 B.C. The Amorite invasions, 2100-1900 B.C.

31. Babylonian King Hammurabi’s Code [1792-1750 B. C. E.]

33. Hammurabi’s Law Code • Rule of Law • Codified system • Written code that is accessible to all the people • Punishments fit the crime • Ex. An eye for an eye • Justice for All • No one is above the law

34. You be the Judge • 1.What should be done to a carpenter who builds a house and it falls and kills the owner? • 2. What should be done when a sister of god (Nun) enters a wine shop for a drink? • 3. What happens if a man is unable to pay his debts? • 4. What should be done to a wife who ignores her duties and belittles her husband? • 5. What should be done if a son is adopted and the birth parents want him back? • 6. What should happen to a son who slaps his father? • 7. How is the truth determined when a man brings accusations against another?

35. What Hammurabi would say? • The builder should be put to death • The nun should be burned to death • The man should sell his wife, son or daughter for three years to pay the debt. In the fourth year they should be freed • Drown the woman • If he is taken in and raised as their own he should not be returned • Cut off the boys hand • The accused should go to a river and jump in. If he sinks the accuser will take possession of his house. But if he survives the accuser will be put to death and the accused will take possession of the accuser’s house.