FERTILE CRESCENT c 3300 BCE 500 BCE Sumerians

FERTILE CRESCENT c. 3300 BCE- 500 BCE Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Chaldeans/New Babylonians, Persians

• Geography Welcome to our journey through the Fertile Crescent. Click on the aspect of our culture that you want to explore first. Enjoy! • Religion • Society • Overview

Geography CAUCASUS MTS. TAURUS MTS. EUPHRATES TIGRIS Mesopotamia- “The land between 2 Rivers” (Greek) “Cradle of Civilization”- (1 st Sumer) Source- seasonal rainfall and snow from Sumer the north Mouth- Persian gulf (Sumer = fertile from sediment) City-states separated by deserts and mountains Located at the “Crossroads of the World” PERSIAN GULF

Geography continued Rivers Mountains/Deserts • • Uses- little protection from other nomadic tribes and civilizations • Sediment creating rich soil flowed into the rivers from the mountains • Both were rich in minerals such as iron ore, silver, gold, copper, lapis lazuli etc. • • • North- snow melted and it often rained causing the river to overflow, rich sediment deposited near the mouth Unexpectedly overflowed= many deaths led to sacrifices to gods (believed to control nature) Summer= droughts- irrigation was a must! Uses- farming surplus, irrigation, drinking water, transportation, clay deposits for building and making tablets Floodplains • • Perfect for growing grain Limited protection from other citystates constant fighting over resoures

RELIGION- POLYTHEISM “poly”=many “theism” =belief in God/gods • gods controlled forces of nature sun, rain, crops, rivers, and land • Gods brought a good harvest or a horrible famine • Gods and goddesses controlled war and invaders • People were at the ABSOLUTE mercy of the gods • A ziggurat was a temple and the home of the god (no inside)- believed the god lived at the top • Sacrificed half their harvest at the ziggurat to appease the gods • No afterlife, once a person died they entered a dark underworld of pain and suffering

Society- the Class system King, nobility, and priests then big landowners ELITE COMMONERS Farmers= largest part of the population SLAVES Farmers, craftsmen (weavers, potters, metalworkers), surveyors, scribes, and merchants Most of Society Common in Mesopotamia Debt, POW’s, sold into slavery Laborers- dug irrigation ditches, mined, house servant

OVERVIEW The following civilizations had a major impact on life in the Fertile Crescent during our time of study. EMPIRE DATES OF EXIST. CAPITAL FAMOUS RULER n Sumer- c. 3300 BCE- 2375 BCE- UR NO SINGLE RULER Akkadia- c. 2575 (kingdom) empire 2550 BCE - 2375 SARGON UR Babylonia- c. 2000 BCE- 600 BCE BABYLON HAMMURABI Assyria- c. 1200 -609 BCE NINEVEH ASHURBANIPAL Chaldeans- c. 605 -562 BCE BABYLON NEBUCHADNEZZAR II Persians- c. 1000 BCE- 640 AD CHANGED CYRUS THE GREAT DARIUS XERXES

Sumer- capital=Ur • Did not have one centralized government • Each Sumerian city was independent with its own government, ruler (separated by deserts), and patron gods/goddesses • city-state - the city and its surrounding country sides • Government had 3 jobs- oversaw farming (built irrigation canals), guarded the harvest (controlled granaries), and protected people from invaders (defended the city walls) • Priests ruled on behalf of the gods • Sargon from Akkad took over Sumerian cities and created the world’s first empire (Akkadian Empire) in 2375 BCE

Akkadians captial= UR • First to have a monarchy 2375 BC • Eventually (2350 BC) became the first empire when Sargon took over both north and south Mesopotamia • Language resembles Semitic languages • Sargon ruled for 53 years. 5 different kings ruled in a 142 year span and this period is considered the most productive in Mesopotamian history (relief sculpture, calendar seal, life size sculptures in the round) • http: //commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/File: Orientmitja 2300 a C. png

Babylonia capital= Babylon I) The king represented the gods- not considered divine II) Hammurabi (1792 -1750 BCE) A. Expanded empire across Fertile Crescent B. Used governors to help him control the lands C. Sent people to collect tax money D. Appointed judges E. Watched over agriculture, irrigation, trade, and the construction of buildings F. Hammurabi’s Code- 1 st written code of law hung on pillars in front of a temple for all to see 1. included 282 laws – “Eye for an Eye” 2. although the intention was to bring justice to all people, punishments were different for each social class http: //www. answers. com/topic/code-of-hammurabi http: //www. wsu. edu/~dee/MESO/CODE. HTM http: //tam. ancient. eu. com/timeline III Epic of Gilgamesh- oldest known literary work (possibly based on a real king) http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh

Assyrian Empire capital= Nineveh 1. Conquered Syria, Babylonia, Egypt, and Palestine between 850 -650 BCE 2. Reached its peak under King Ashurbanipal 668 -627 BCE a. chose leaders, or a native king, from each region to rule under the head king’s direction 3. The government provided an army to watch over all the land- considered the “Military Machine” of the time and used the “booty” from battles to beautify the city 4. Each ruler in a conquered land were forced to send tributes to the Assyrian emperor 5. Assyrian government exiled anyone against his rule to keep down revolts 6. Ashurbanipal collected over 20, 000 cuneiform tablets including dictionaries, myths, stories, science, geography, medicine, and religion. These clay tablets were set up at a huge library, called the Royal Library of Ashurbanipal at its capital (Nineveh)

Chaldeans/New Babylon • • After Babylon fell to the Assyrians it was later revived under that Chaldeans creating the New Babylonian Empire Nebuchadnezzar II – ruled for 40 years and made an everlasting impact on the area including: 1. created a strong empire by force like the Assyrians 2. drove Egyptians out of Syria 3. seized Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, led the Babylonian Captivity (exiled Jews to Babylon as slaves for 50 years) 4. Ishtar Gate 5. Hanging Gardens of Babylon 6. a 300 foot ziggurat in Babylon 7. Tower of Babel 8. A bridge over and a tunnel under the Euphrates River 9. A wall between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to protect the city from attack from the north.

Ishtar Gate Entrance to the Ishtar Gate in Babylon- soldiers guarded from the top Close up of the bas relief sculptures Above is a copy of the original “Doors of Babylon”. In its glory, Babylon was surrounded by thick masonry walls. Built in 604 to 562 B. C. , the tall Isthar Gate, named after a Babylonian god, was ornamented with glazed brick relief images of dragons and young bulls surrounded by blue enameled tiles. The Ishtar Gate we see here is a full-scale reproduction, constructed about fifty years ago as a museum entrance. Ishtar Gate 1963

Hanging Gardens of Babylon Above: hanging gardens with the Tower of Babel in the back Above: Remains left from the gardens Right: machine used to replenish the water in the waterfalls Left: the gardens with waterfalls in action

Tower of Babel Both images are second hand sources created from written descriptions by traveling historians

PHOENICIA c. 1000 -300 BCE • The successors to the Minoans in dominating maritime trade in the Mediterranean Sea • Created the first alphabet with 22 symbols for consonants the precursor to the first complete (vowels and consonants) alphabet created by the Greeks • Using dye from snails along the coast, Phoenicians created the first dye, which was purple. Only royalty could afford the dye due to the high cost, hence royal purple.

THE PERSIAN EMPIRE 1. 1500 BCE Began in modern day Iranoriginated from a tribe of peoples coming from the Caucasus Mts. 2. 612 BCE Helped the Medes build strength to defeat the Assyrians alongside the Chaldeans 3. Took over the Medes and shortly after, began building their empire under Cyrus the Great

Cyrus the Great • • 1 st emperor of Persia- created the largest empire the world has ever seen 1 st ruler to use satraps in Persia- like governors to rule their empire 1 st ruler in history to allow for religious freedom (Toleration) - Cyrus’ Cylinder (1 st human rights charter in history) 1 st ruler in history to enforce conscription (forced labor ex: “The Draft”) Freed the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity and allowed them to rebuild Jerusalem and their temple In 1992, he was ranked #87 on Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential figures in history. On December 10, 2003, in her acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi evoked Cyrus, saying: “I am an Iranian, a descendant of Cyrus the Great. This emperor proclaimed at the pinnacle of power 2, 500 years ago that he 'would not reign over the people if they did not wish it. ' He promised not to force any person to change his religion and faith and guaranteed freedom for all. The Charter of Cyrus the Great should be studied in the history of human rights.

Darius I • Expanded the Persian Empire into the Egypt, the Indus Valley, and Macedon created by Cyrus and created what is now known as the first “superpower in the world” • Changed the capital to Persopolis and rebuilt the city • Built the “Royal Road” from Susa to Persopolis- road was equipped with inns and rest stops • Restructured Cyrus’ idea for Satraps to limit their power and create a more centralized government- 1 satrap to enforce laws, a military leader to control the militia, and a financial consultant to collect the tribute (taxes) • Built a canal from the Nile to the Gulf of Suez-improved trade within the empire • Defeated the Greeks in the Battle of Marathon during the Persian War • Created a unified coin, road, measuring system to improve trade

Xerxes • Defeated the Greeks during the 2 nd Persian invasion by building a bridge to Thrace (2 nd try) • Defeated the Spartans in the Battle of Thermopolis after 2 days, but this weakened the Persians, which led to their demise against the Athenian Navy in the Battle of Salamis • Violently put down revolts by the Egyptians and Babylonians- began to lose the allegiance his ancestors built

The Demise • Akkadians defeated by Babylonians • Babylonians defeated by the Assyrians • Babylonians later came back as the Neo-Babylonians or the Chaldeans 8 years later • The Assyrians defeated by the Chaldeans and the Medes with the help of the Persians • The Medes then the Chaldeans were both defeated by the Persians • The Persians died out slowly; first under Darius III when he could not defeat Alexandar the Great. The Persian empire had already been weakening under Darius II due to battles lost against the Greeks, revolts by the Egyptians and revolts by the Babylonians. It later revived as a new modern empire (Shah). It died out completely in 1979