Chapter 02: Mesopotamia Flashcards
When did the last Ice Age end?
15,000-10,000 B.C.E.
When was the first evidence of agriculture in the Levantine Corridor?
10,000 B.C.E.
When did the Sumerians arrive in Mesopotamia?
5,000 B.C.E.
When did the Sumerian city-states begin to develop?
3,000 B.C.E.
Global Warming in 15,000 B.C.E. caused what?
Ice glaciers to melt
The ___________ led to the first farming settlements.
Dryas Event
By ___________ cereal agriculture was wide spread.
8,000 B.C.E.
Who lived in lower Mesopotamia in 5,000 B.C.E?
Sumerians
List the accomplishmets of the Smerians:
- large cities, then city-states
- sophisticated system of writing
- monumental buildings
- Probably invented the wheel
- developed an irrigation system using gravity
- use of a plow
- made bronze utensils and weapons
Effective, unified rule over Mesoptamia occurs whenever ________ takes power in 2,300 B.C.E.?
Sargon the Great
What occupations in this society required an education, formal training, or apprenticeships?
scribes, priesthood, metalworking, shopkeepers, clerks, laborers
What occupations in this society did NOT require an education?
carters, wine pressers, millers
Who comleted the essential task of fetching water?
The women and the children
What is polytheism?
the belief in many gods
Who was Innana?
the goddess of love and fertility
Who was Enki?
the water-god
What were the Ziggurats?
Pyramids where gods reside and preists made offerings
What is the most famous Ziggurat?
The tower of Babel
What were the two key factors of the Mesopotamian environment?
Aridity of climate and the unpredicatinility of the rivers
Religion focused on the control of these:
Mesopotamian gods were ______________
Men, women viewed as ______ of god-creators
People intended to provide ______.
- cruel (like nature)
- slaves
- labor
The Mesopotamians had no trace of ethics. They instead focused on:
offerings and acts to win regularity with nature
Mesopotamian gods punished, but not for sins, by
Natural Catastrophes (drought, flood)
Did the Mesopotamian people believe in an afterlife?
No clear sense of immorality
What is the Epic of Gilgamesh?
Creation myth
What was the first epic poem in world literature?
Epic of Gilgamesh
List two themes of the Epic of Gilgamesh:
- a king’s desire for the secret of immoral life
2. god’s jealous of the king’s power defeat him
How did the Mesopotamians contribute to Chronology?
- discovered time was a of a cyclic nature
- developed 2 calendars: Lunar and Solar
How did the Mesopotamians contribute to modern western societies?
The base unit of 60 (60 seconds and 60 minutes)
The 360 degree circle
What is the term used to describe symbols that derived from pictures?
pictography
What is the term used to describe script in wedge-shaped characters after 3,500 B.C.E.?
Cuneiform writing
When did Emperor Hammurabi reign?
1,700 B.C.E.
What are the two distinct principles of Hammurabi’s Law/Code?
- punishmet depends on the social rank of the violater
2. offenders are subject to the same damages inflicted on others
What is the famous quote from Hammurabi’s Code?
“an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”
Occording to Hammurabi’s law were all people equal?
Individuals were NOT equal before the law, husbands over wives, fathers over children. rich over poor, freemen over slaves
Hammurabi’s code believed that the governement should act as a what?
impatrial referee
What is a theocracy?
rule by the god(s) or priest(s)
What is a kingdom?
an empire, the first known began with Sargon the Great
What is the difference between a city and a village?
City- king is the head
Village- social equality
What were the three classes?
- Small Groups of the Powerful
- Freemen
- Slaves
Who was in the highest class?
priests, noble landlords
Who was in the middle class?
laborers, workers, common man
Who was in the lowest class?
slaves-had no political rights
Was salvery in Mesopotamia different than slavery in colonial America?
Yes, in Mesopotamia slavery was a temporary condition that was seldom inherritable, and had no ties to race or ethnicity, and was accepted socially throughout
How were women viewed in society?
Their sexuality was sacred, dowries and marriage contracts were common, as well as arranged marriages
Who united Mesopotamia?
The Semetic-speaking “step-children’ of the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians
How far did trade expand?
from the Indus Valley (modern day Pakistan) to the Nile Valley and to the eastern Mediteranean
Who replaced the Sumerians?
The Hittites (Indo-Europeans from modern day Turkey)
Who replaced the Hittites?
The Assyrians
Who replaced the Assyrians?
The Hebrews
What did the Hittites do?
- first to smelt iron
- established a multi-ethnic state
What did the Assyrians do?
-centered their settlement in Nineveh
Where were the Hebrews located?
- orginated in Mesopotamia
- settled in Canaan (modern day Palestine)
