THE SUMERIANS

Pre-requisites for Civilization

Agriculture developed in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BCE

Mining and use of copper around 6000 BCE Growth of villages and towns Division of labor Smelting of tin and copper to make bronze

around 3000 BCE > Bronze Age

THE FERTILE CRESCENT

Aswan Dam Draining of the Marshes

Characteristics of Mesopotamian Civilizations City states

Each city had its own king and patron god or goddess City states often warred with each other

Theocracy -- king as god’s representative Highly legalistic

Law Codes Contracts Judicial proceedings and appeals processes

Extensive trading networks Architectural Marvels of Ancient Mesopotamia

Mesopotamian Empires

Tablet of pre-cuneiform scriptSouth MesopotamiaUruk III, end of 4th millenium BC.Clay (?sun-baked clay)Louvre

WritingOrigin and the Development of Writing in Mesopotamia

Writing: PictogramsCylinder Seals

Cylinder Seal with Watergod, Birdman, and DeitiesMesopotamia, Akkadian Period, 2300 - 2200 B.C.

Emory University

Writing: Cuneiform

Cuneiform Cylinder of Nabopolassar Recording Repair of the City Wall of Babylon, Mesopotamia, Babylon

Neo-Babylonian Period, Reign of Nabopolassar, 625 - 605 B.CEmory University

Sumerian Schools Literacy was a highly valued skill Sumerians set up first

institutions of formal education: edubba

Education included writing and mathematics

Tuition paid for education Educated were privileged elite:

government officials, scribes, etc.

Sumerian Inventions Cuneiform writing The wheel Potter’s wheel Sailing ship Pick-axe Brick mold Glass 60-based counting system: 60 minutes to an

hour, 360 degrees to a circle Number positioning Beer Epic poetry

Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur

Akkad

• Sargon the great and his people the Akkadians conquered the region of Mesopotamia.

• They tore everything down.

• They were also very good artisans.

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Hanging Gardens of Babylon

• Nebuchadnezzar II whom ruled Babylon from 605-562 BCE made the gardens for his wife who missed the lush gardens she was used to in Mede

• It had an elaborate irrigation system

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THEOCRACY:Kings: Servants of the Gods

Sumerian King List

The powerful gods communicate their desires to humanity through the medium of a powerful

priestly class or autocratic king who serves as the intermediary.

- Government of the gods/priest class - Ruler may be divine himself, or chosen by the

god/gods - Each city had its own gods

This system centralizes power in the hands of a small group of people and gives political

decisions a religious authority

The City Center

Temples served civic and religious purposes

Daily sacrifices and rituals

Storage of surplus grain and other foods

Dwelling of priests and priestesses

Locale where craftsmen and artisans could practice their trades

Ziggurats: Temples to the Gods

A stele is a monument that commemorates an historical event.

Victory Stele of Naram Sim c. 2300- 2200 B.C.E. 61/2' tall, sandstone

Continual warfare among Sumerian city states and against invading tribes eventually led to the downfall of Sumerian civilization. But the influence of Sumerian civilization was felt in throughout the Near East, Egypt, India, the Mediterranean civilizations: Crete, Mycenae, Greece, Rome, and in Judeo-Christian traditions.

Gilgamesh, the Hero-King

Ruled in Sumer c. 2700 BCE

Epic of Gilgamesh chronicles his reign

Evolves from selfish to great ruler via: friendship rebellion loss quest recognition of mortality acceptance of responsibility

and service to the goddess Ishtar

Flood Myths

Flood myths are present on every continentThe flood myth…reminds us that life depends on death, that

without death there can be no cycle, no birth. Floods connected with cleansing, washing away of

blunders or evil Spared survivors are heroes of a new life

LAWS: The Code ofHammurabi, ca. 1760

BCE

Law-Codex of Hammurabi,first half of the 18th century BCE, Basalt, Louvre

Full Text of the Code of Hammurabi

2350 bce law reform by King Urukagina of Lagash to protect

exploited citizens 21st c. bce: earliest extant law code from Ur-Nammu (1000 years before

the 10 Commandments