University:
Bradley University
Course:
HIS 322 | Ancient Egypt and the Near East
Academic year:

2024
Views:

400

Pages:

26
Author:

segolhandworked

Mesopotamia Vocabulary • Mesopotamia – The land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Located in present day Iraq • Levees – Raised areas of land around a river, used for flood control • Canals – Man made ditches that were filled with water, used for irrigation or transportation • Irrigation – Man made system for watering crops Vocabulary • City-State – cities and the area surrounding them, often have their own government • Artisans – Skilled workers • Ziggurat – Sumerian Temple, “Mountain of God”, Square shaped step-like pyramid • Cuneiform – Sumerian Writing, produced by pressing sharp reeds into clay • Scribe – A professional writer Vocabulary • Priest-King – A person who serves a group of people as their government and religious leader • Hereditary – passed down from parent to child I. Intro to Mesopotamia • Sumer was the first area to be settled in Mesopotamia, around 3500 BC • Sumerians were short, black haired people • First known civilization I. Intro to Mesopotamia • Sumerians were the first to control their physical environment – Extended the natural levees left behind after flooding of the rivers to protect from future flooding – They also created a canal system by digging holes in the levees and allowing them to drain into large ditches, this allowed them to water crops during the dry season I. Intro to Mesopotamia • The primary crop of the Sumerians was barley, but they also grew wheat, flax, palm, and other fruits and vegetables • Canal work lead to cooperation among the Sumerians, they learned to work together • Governments were set up so that the Sumerians had a set of laws to live by I. Intro to Mesopotamia • Sumerian cities were made up of buildings that were built with sun dried bricks • The largest of these was the city of Ur • Sumerians built the first cities in Mesopotamia II. City-States • Each city was considered to be its own state • Each had their own god and government, but were protected by the Sumerian Military • Consisted of the city itself and the land surrounding it • Surrounded by a wall of sundried bricks with a bronze gate for protection • City-States often fought one another over boundaries and to prove which one was stronger II. City-States • Center City was were upper class (Priests and Merchant) homes were located – Houses were two stories high – Wooden balconies overlooking courtyards – Outside walls had no windows (protection from heat and smells) II. City-States • Just outside of the upper class homes were the middle class (shopkeepers, gov’t officials, and artisans) homes – One story – Opened to a courtyard • Just outside of the middle class homes were the lower class (farmers, unskilled workers, and fishermen) homes – One story – Stood alone with no open courtyard III. Religious and Family Life • Each city-state had a temple called a ziggurat at the center • Home of the city-state’s chief god • Only priests could enter Ziggurat of Ur III. Religious and Family Life • Around the ziggurat were open areas called courts. • The courts contained: – Schools – Work areas for the Artisans – Storage for the Farmers – An area where special events were held – A place were the poor could get food III. Religious and Family Life • All natural forces were considered to be gods by the Sumerians • Priests were the only ones who could know the will of the gods • Humans were invented because the male gods had to work very hard to please the female gods, so they invented servants HUMANS • Sumerians believed they were only on Earth to please the gods – They could only be happy if the gods were happy III. Religious and Family Life • Priests ran the schools • Schools was only for the sons of wealthy citizens • Located off of the temple court yard they were known as “tablet houses” because the main goal of the school was to teach writing • Learning to write was important they had to hand copy all texts, upon graduation the student would become a scribe and work for the temple, gov’t, palace or private business men III. Religious and Family Life • The Sumerians had their own writing called cuneiform • Cuneiform was produced by pressing a sharpened reed into a clay tablet creating a series of marking shaped liked wedges • Cuneiform was invented to keep track of business transactions III. Religious and Family Life • Women had rights to buy and sell property, own slaves, and run businesses • Husband was the head of the household, divorces would be granted simply by the husband saying “You’re not my wife” • The Husband could sell his wife and kids to slavery if they needed money • He also arranged the marriages of his children III. Religious and Family Life • Children were expected to care for their parents when their parents grew old • Elders were respected • EVERYONE followed the rules of the Gods IV. Priests and Kings • Priest-kings ruled Sumerian city-states • Gilgamesh from Uruk is the most famous of the Sumerian priest-kings • Stories of Gilgamesh make him to be more of a god then a human – Oldest stories in the world – He was searching for eternal life – One story even tells the story of global flooding just like Noah’s Ark IV. Priests and Kings • An assembly of free men gave the priest-kings advice • Of these men a leader was chosen for the military in times of war • Overtime these leaders stayed on even after war was over, taking over for the priest-king and simply becoming King • Kingship eventually became hereditary

A Sumerian Farmer Was a Member of the Lower Class.

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