Mesopotamia Flashcards
River Valley Civs
civilizations created around a river that could support their agriculture and population’s needs
City-state
city with it’s own government
Urbanization
the creation of cities that differentiate themselves from the urban farming communities, where artisans first developed
Patriarchal
males are dominant in all things social and economical
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
“fertile crescent” land in between these two rivers which this agriculture based civ depended on, at crossroads so good for trade, open to invasion
Ziggurat
stone pyramids thought to be connected with religion (no one really knows)
Hammurabi’s Code
- must be harsh to keep people in-line, given laws from the gods -> ties himself to religion (gives him power)
- creates 3 social classes -> laws/punishments based on class
- makes life for the poor hard
Sumer
city-state “land of black headed people”
Sargon
ruler of Akkad and creates first empire
Ashurbanipal
creates first library
Cuneiform
first form of writing usually on oracle bones
Babylon
city “gate of god” founded by Sargon, ruled by Hammurabi, sacked by Hittites
Hittites
Ramsese signs peace treaty with hittites (only civ prior to dark ages who know how to make iron– kept secret)
Neo-Assyrian Empire
take over where Hittites were and learn how to make iron and use it. Pulled region out of Dark Age
Bronze Age (semi-cosmopolitan)
happens before Dark Age. Civs became more cosmopolitan, but eventually too much so, and when one civ fell, they all fell ( all Mediterranean civilizations fell)
