Mesopatamia
What modern countries does mesopatamia take up
Iraq, parts of Syria and Turkey.
where was fertile crescent
Stretched in a cresecent from persian gulf through syria to the medetrainnain sea ( and parts of egyp) add visual map
Describe geography of North and South
South was a flat flood plain, summers had droughts. Few natural resources, examples of ones they did have forests, minearls. Few building materials but clay. North the melting water from zagerous mountains caused flooding.
What was Eridu
religious site in Sumer, thought to be first city founded by their gods
who were the og Sumerians overtaken by
Overtaken by Sargon of Akkad and other akkadians who then formed the kingdom of Sumer.
Sargon
Sargon, known as sargon the great lead a revolt to establish himself as king in Kish ( city state). Then he attacked Sumerian city states. During is reign on sumer also invaded Egypt and Ethipoia, extending his hold from Palestine to the persian gulf and creating the first empire.
When did Sumerian culture reach its pique
during the regin of Ur-Nammu
What did Sumerians devolp
- First writing form ( cunneiform)
- Epic of Gilgamesh
- The Wheel and wheeled carts
-Invention of the potters wheel
- math system using base 60 is developed
-lunar calander devolped
-canals and irrigation are created
agriculture revelations- shoulder yoke for ploughs, ox are harrnesed for ploughs, plough is redesinged to turn soil rather than just scratch
- seed drill added to plow
pulleys are created to raise water from well
Why did Sumer decline
- After death of Sargon waves of invaders fought for the land, empire began to fall apart
- Sumerians created canals to irrgate their fields, these canals carried harmful salts that killed the plants, eventually everything became too salty nothing could be grown, affected food supply
Who was king Hammurabi?
Ruler during first dynasty of Babylon, created one of worlds first written code of laws, COnquered Akkad ( to the north), land to the east and west, created with estabshing first empire.
Why did Babylon fall?
After Hammurabis death, he was successed by a number of weak kings, who couldnt hold empire together, tribes from the norht invaded, got invaded by others, eventualy got invaded by the Kassites who established control over valley, eventually displaced by Assyrians.
Describe the Assyrians
Assyrian peole were fierce and war like, known for commitng war atrocites.
what made people migrate to the fertile crescent
changing weather patterns made people migrate north from the arabian pensuila in search of water, there was a decrease rainfall that killed previous water sources, but tigris and eurphatese were perfect.
Ziggurat
pyrmidal temple tower
Ceremonial events held
sort of a competetion to see who could build fanciest ziggurat
-top level housed the gods when they stayed on earth, the took massive amoutns of human and resources to build
this was done because it was important to be closer to god, a town center of religoin, education and law
How to do slaves from mesoptamia differ from modern concept of slaves
In mesoptamia slaves had no single ethincity, slaves werent born out of rascism. Had different roles than just bad jobs or manual labor, did things like managing estates, tutorted children, managed money.
Being a slave was not a permiante state, a slave could acheive freedom eventually. ( Not like modern slaves).
Mesoptamia slaves more like a position of servitude, than slavery ( still slavery but not like modern conception)
Describe Irrigation and why it was helpful
Irrigation brought water to fields faster then they could dru out, kept fields fertile. They would do this by building a main canal that was attached to a dam that fed off the tigris or eurphrates.There were smaller canals that fed off the main canal that were controlled by gates that were open and closed by removing clods of earth
Legend of Sargon
Legend goes, he was aboanded by his mother, placed in a basket pushed into water the euphrates river he was found by a farmer in the kingdom of akkad.
Assyria
Assyria started out in a territory bordered by more powerful civilzations. As a result Assyria was often attacked by neighbors This led Assyria to create a powerful army. They were very cruel to the nations they conquered. Assyrian empire streched all the wy from modern day egypt to Iran and up to Syria and Jordan. They were despised by the groups the conquered, and in 612 the cahldeans and medes overthrew the assyrians
Chaldea( Babylon prt 2)
King Nebuchadnezzar built a powerful nation off of assyria. Rebuilt Babylons best cities, After his death the Chaldean empire fell into decline and they were overthrown by the Persians
Factors of Decline
Environment, ( Climate change, drought + resource depletion, impacted food supply)
People damaging their own enviorment also
Invasions ( Population decrease, spreads diseases, wekaens politcal structrue, loss of allies makes you weaker)
"to big fr your own good. Ex Rome or amy empire that relieze on conquest and slavery. ( enslaving conquered). No trust with slavees leads to instibility. When the empire stops expanding , less slaves, which leads to less production, inflation, economic collapse
Needs that happy medium between size and functionaility
Relgion: Religion can change prominace of a culutre, sometimes religion undermine authority ( do you look at the church or the head of state?) Though during mesoptamai times, the head of church and head of state were one, less confusion??
Look at map of the different civilzations
blehhhh
2-3 inventions for each
Sumer - The potters wheel, cuneiform, 60 base time thing
Babylon- introduction of money, first written code of laws, first to use relief carvings
Assyria- Learned to make Iron
Made efficiation drainage and sewage systems
established a postal service across the empire
Chaldea- Invented hanging gardens
Devolped a more efficiant calender
shower prominate intrests astronomy