Mesopotamian Civilizations Mesopotamian civilizations formed on the banks
Mesopotamian Civilizations Mesopotamian civilizations formed on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is today Iraq and Kuwait. Early civilizations began to form around the time of the Neolithic Revolution— 12000 BCE. (Compare Neolithic and Paleolithic) Some of the major Mesopotamian civilizations include the Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian, and Babylonian civilizations. Evidence shows extensive use of technology, literature, legal codes, philosophy, religion, and architecture in these societies.
Civilizations born along rivers By roughly 6000 to 8000 years ago, agriculture was well under way in several regions including Ancient Egypt, around the Nile River; the Indus Valley civilization; Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; and Ancient China, along the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. This is because the regular river floods made for fertile soil around the banks and the rivers could also supply fresh water to irrigate crops. It’s no coincidence that as agriculture allowed for denser and denser populations along with more specialized societies, some of the world’s first civilizations developed in these areas as well.
Unit 1 Essay Questions Develop TWO Essay Questions from the textbook. 1) What do you feel you need to understand more deeply? 2) What do you want to explore in a new way because it was interesting to you? Theory of Pangea / Paleolithic and Neolithic Era Compare and Contrast the Bronze and Iron Ages “Evolution” of early human types such as Homo Erectus, Neanderthal, Denisovans, etc Women’s lives and freedoms in the eastern vs. western world (historical and modern examples) Differences in the rule of the Egyptian Queens vs. Kings
Sumerians Sumerian civilization first took form in southern Mesopotamia around 4000 BCE—or 6000 years ago—which would make it the first urban civilization in the region. Mesopotamians are noted for developing one of the first written scripts around 3000 BCE: wedge-shaped marks pressed into clay tablets. Cuneiform is also the script that one of the world’s first great works of literature, The Epic of Gilgamesh, was written in. Sumerians built ships that allowed them to travel into the Persian Gulf and trade with other early civilizations, such as the Harappans in northern India. They traded textiles, leather goods, and jewelry for Harappan semi-precious stones, copper, pearls, and ivory. Sumerian religion was polytheistic—or worshipped multiple gods—many of which were anthropomorphic—they took human-like form. Temples to these gods were constructed atop massive ziggurats which were in the centers of most cities. These structures would have taken thousands of people many years to construct.
Akkadian Empire Around 3000 BCE, the Sumerians had significant cultural interchange with a group in northern Mesopotamia known as the Akkadians—named after the city-state of Akkad. The Akkadian language is related to the modern languages of Hebrew and Arabic. These languages are known as Semitic languages. The term Semitic comes from the biblical character Shem, a son of Noah, the purported progenitor of Abraham and, accordingly, the Jewish and Arab people. Around 2334 BCE, Sargon of Akkad came to power and established what might have been the world’s first dynastic empire. The Akkadian Empire ruled over both the Akkadian and Sumerian speakers in Mesopotamia and the Levant—modern day Syria and Lebanon. The Empire of Akkad collapsed in 2154 BCE, within 180 years of its founding.
The Hittites • An ancient Anatolian (modern-day Turkey) people who formed an empire between 1600 -1180 BCE. • The Hittites manufactured advanced iron goods, ruled over their kingdom through government officials with independent authority over various branches of government, and worshipped storm gods. • The Hittites’ ongoing conflicts with Egypt produced the world’s first known peace treaty. The Hittites were an ancient group of Indo-Europeans who moved into Asian Minor and formed an empire at Hattusa in Anatolia (modern Turkey) around 1600 BCE. The Hittite Empire reached great heights during the mid-1300 s BCE, when it spread across Asia Minor, into the northern Levant and Upper Mesopotamia. Like many Indo-Europeans, the Hittites were able to travel long distances and migrate to other lands due to the domestication of horses. The spread of technologies like the wheel and wagon. After about 1180 BCE, the empire ended and splintered into several independent Neo
Although their civilization thrived during the Bronze Age, starting around 3000 BCE, the Hittites were pioneers of the Iron Age and began manufacturing iron artifacts around 1400 BCE. This is significant because the Hittites’ use of iron and steel created tools and weapons that were more efficient than those made of bronze. A couple of theories exist about how the Hittites developed this technology. Some scholars believe the Hittites had been experimenting with metalworking for years, eventually leading them to discover a smelting process that would melt iron, which melts at a higher temperature than other metals like copper or tin. It’s also possible that the Hittites learned some of this technology from peoples in the Zagros Mountains in western Iran. The Hittites’ trading partners in Assyria and parts of the Egyptian empire had a high demand for iron products.
Development of Judaism Jews were monotheists—they believed in and worshipped only one god. This stands out to historians because monotheism was relatively unique in the ancient world. Most ancient societies were polytheistic—they believed in and worshiped multiple gods.
From some time in the eleventh century BCE until the end of the sixth century BCE, the Jews lived in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The two kingdoms split apart, probably around 930 BCE.
In the late eighth and early sixth centuries BCE, the Assyrian Empire and then the Babylonian Empire, respectively, conquered these Jewish kingdoms. In both instance, these empires forced many—though not all—Jews to move other regions of the empire. The period after the conquest by the Babylonians is often called the Babylonian exile and it played a major role in shaping Jewish thought. When the Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Persians, the Persian ruler, Cyrus the Great, allowed the Jews to return to their homeland in 539 BCE. To celebrate their return, the Jews rebuilt the Temple of Solomon that had been destroyed by the Babylonians. Historians call the time from 539 BCE until 70 CE the Second Temple period. It was during this time that many of the writings that would become the Torah—the history and
Remember: Monotheism itself is not a religion by itself. It has no uniting doctrine; it's just an adjective meaning one God. Not all monotheistic religions believe in the exact same God, so lumping them into one category wouldn't be fair. For example, Jews believe in the God of the Old Testament (Yahweh/Jehovah), Christians generally believe in the Triune God (The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit), and Muslims believe in Allah. Yes, each of these religions follow one God, but they characterize that God differently. These religions also don't all follow the same text. Jews follow the Torah, Talmud, and Mishnah; Christians follow the Bible, with emphasis on the New Testament; and Muslims follow the Qu'ran.
It was also during this time that Jewish monotheism became more clearly defined. According to Jewish beliefs, they had a special covenant— agreement— with their God. This covenant said that the Jews were God's chosen people, and in exchange they would follow God's laws, and worship only him. This was the source of an exclusive belief in the Jewish God. Some historians have argued that Jewish monotheism was influenced by Zoroastrianism—a faith the Jews would have encountered during the Babylonian Exile and in their broader interactions with other Near Eastern peoples. Zoroastrianism was not entirely monotheistic, but it did teach that there was a single Supreme Being. Zoroastrianism was common in Persia under Cyrus the Great. It's possible that Cyrus the Great's actions of restoring the Jews to their homeland helping them rebuild the Temple positively influenced Jewish views of Zoroastrianism.
- Slides: 12