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ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA: EMERGENCE OF CITIES AND STATES 3000-2000 BCE

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA: EMERGENCE OF CITIES AND STATES 3000-2000 BCE. MESOPOTAMIA:LAND BETWEEN THE RIVERS. Meso potamos. Mesopotomo s. The Euphrates River. The Tigris River. Mesopotamian Plain. Irrigation: The Mesopotamian System.

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ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA: EMERGENCE OF CITIES AND STATES 3000-2000 BCE

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  1. ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA:EMERGENCE OF CITIES AND STATES3000-2000 BCE

  2. MESOPOTAMIA:LAND BETWEEN THE RIVERS Meso potamos Mesopotomos

  3. The Euphrates River

  4. The Tigris River

  5. Mesopotamian Plain

  6. Irrigation: The Mesopotamian System • Water is transported from the rivers to these surrounding plains to provide water for agriculture • This can also bring more sediments and make the area more fertile. • This is at the heart of the Mesopotamian settlement system

  7. Salinization • Irrigation water is a dilute solution of various salts • Irrigation water not absorbed into the soil evaporates, leaving behind a thin crust of dissolved salts • The accumulation of these salts, called salinization stunts crop growth, lowers yields, and eventually kills plants and ruins the land

  8. Mudbricks for buildings Clay sickle for Harvesting

  9. ANCIENT SUMERIAN MESOPOTAMIAN: CITIES: ERIDU, URUK, UBAID,UR, NIPPUR, LAGASH, KISH, KHAFAJE, ESHNUNNA Sumerians were the first ethnic group to live in the area KA.KA.DI = the Black headed ones Redistributive: political and economic centers Commercial: centers of trade Ceremonial: seats of Mesopotamian gods Agricultural, pastoral, aquaculture, industrial, commercial, cultic, administrative activities

  10. Sumerian period Uruk/ Warka -first city (home of Gilgamesh) • Anu • Inanna (Ištar)

  11. Religion • The insecurity of life in Mesopotamia reflected in Sumerian religion • Religion was based on the things that dominated their agricultural life– the Sky, Storms, Mother Earth etc. • Pantheon of gods throughout most of Meso history • BUT Each city state always had its own patron deity • Sumerian pantheon continued to be worshipped in later periods, but under dif names, head of Pantheon changed based on which city/ empire was in charge

  12. Sumerian Deities were anthropomorphic Not only looked human, but had many human virtues – good and bad Immortal with control over humans and the human world An or Anu was the original head of the pantheon, but later gets usurped by Enlil – both god of sky/ air Nippur becomes the holy city for all Sumer for a long time

  13. Feeding the gods Would serve the god two meals a day Accompanied by music, incense Statue would be hidden by a curtain Sumerian votive statues (2600 BCE): Represented the worshippers 24/7

  14. White Temple

  15. White Temple

  16. PRIEST-KING SUMERIAN PRIEST WERE THE FIRST KNOWN RULERS 3000-2600 BC POWER DIVIDED AMONG THE PRIESTS, ADMINISTRATORS AND WARRIORS AWILUM WAS THE CLASS OF FREED MAN LARGE BODY OF SLAVES BELOW THAT

  17. Functions of the temples House of the god Worship, care, and feeding of the deities Storage and display of statues, votive gifts Owned property Specialized craft production Storage of agricultural surplus Promoted trade

  18. PICTOGRAPHIC WRITING URUK 3200 BC ACCOUNTS of ECONOMICAL ACTIVITIES WRITTEN and KEPT in the TEMPLES LANGUAGE UNKNOWN

  19. Developments from tradeWriting? • Earliest texts arise from economic needs – accounting • Initially start off as tokens sealed in clay envelopes • Then wedge shaped marks were inscribed on clay tablets with a reed stylus • The script is called CUNEIFORM (cuneus is the word for wedge in Latin) • First cuneiform symbols were pictograms, then ideograms (standardized figures representing objects or abstract concepts), latter adding of syllabic symbols provided more flexibility

  20. STAMP & CYLINDER SEALS Starts with Neolithic but Cylinder Seals become common in the Early Dynastic Period 3000 BC Administrative tools of the bureaucracy Symbol of ownership, symbol of authority and control Iconography of seals: scenes from life, mythology, ceremonies

  21. SUMERIAN

  22. King Sargon of Akkad -first empire Subartu/Assyria Akkad Sumer

  23. First King called Sharu-ukin • Means “True King” • Become Sargon in English

  24. Akkadian Empire • Centered on the city of Akkad or Agade • Ruled by a single dynasty of 5 kings dating to 2340-2200 • Largely a conglomeration of different groups under a single military power • Establishment of Akkadian empire made the Akkadian language the international language of the Near East • Akkadian Art also became standard

  25. Akkadian Empire • Later Kings of Akkad • Rimush • Manishtushu • Narim-Sin • Sharkallishari

  26. Victory Stele of Narim-Sin • New Approach to Art • Depiction of Historical events • Head dress with horns • Landscapes depicted • Naturalism in human forms

  27. Sometime around 2159 Akkad is sacked by Gutians from the north Shattering of Akkadian empire back into city states Lagash became prominent city in the south under king Gudea End of Akkadian Empire

  28. The Ur III Period Ki-Engi & Ki-Uri King of Sumer & Akkad

  29. Ziggurat SHAD – Mountain

  30. Residential Quarters

  31. The Babylonian Period Hammurrapi • An Amorite leader who came to the throne after his father • Reigned for 43 years • At first was vassal of the main power of the time – Assyria • Eventually takes over all of the N and the S of Mesopotamia, bringing the Golden Age of Babylonian history

  32. Hammurappi’s Law Code • Found at Susa by French • In Louvre today • It is believed to have originally sat in Sippar • Taken to Susa by Elamites in Middle Elamite period • Sets out general outline of society and how different groups interact • Also how groups should be governed given the different levels of society

  33. End of the Old B Period • Most will say it crumbled right after the death of Hamurappi – bit of an exaggeration • Far in the north new groups began to emerge – non-Semites – Indo-Europeans • Groups from somewhere north of the Black Sea, move into Anatolia • Major Kingdom of the Hittites, based in Hattusha • Babylon was sacked in 1595 in a lightening raid by the Hittites leaving political chaos

  34. URBAN REVOLUTION?GORDON CHILDE’S 10 CRITERIA • Monumental architecture: temples, fortification walls, irrigation canals, palaces, storage areas • Invention of Writing • Long-distance trade • Standardized, monumental art-work • Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy Large settlements and high population Uruk: Population around 100,000 people Full-time specialization Concentration of surplus Class-structured society State organization as a political form, existence of a ruling class

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