Western Civ Blog Post #4 - Mesopotamia

January 28, 2020

Mesopotamia

Terms

Fertile Cresent - the rich land of farming in Southwest Asia
Mesopotamia -  the lands facing the Mediterranean sea and a plain; "land between the rivers"
City-state - functioned as an independent county today
Dynasty -  a series of rulers from a single family
Cultural Diffusion - a new idea or product spreads from one culture or place to another
Polytheism - the belief in more than one god
Empire - brings together several people, nations, or previously independent states under the control of one ruler
Hammurabi - ruler of Babylon from 1792 - 1750 B.C.; creator of Hammurabi's Code
Silt - fertile mud from the Tigris and Euphrates

Notes

  • a panthron of Sumerian gods and goddesses emerged, with many of the deities representing the natural elements of the world
  • the world's first (surviving) epic was the Sumerian "Epic of Gilgamesh;" told of a great flood
  • Sumerians first divided the hour into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds
  • the Sumerians calendar was based on moon cycles
  • the Zigguraut was a Sumerian temple built on top of the "mountain of Earth"
  • wandering nomads drove herds of domesticated animals in many areas especially south of Sumer in Arabia
  • Sumer was conquered by the Akkadians c. 2350 B.C. - Sumerians were forced to worship new gods
  • King Hammurabi of Babylon created the laws "Hammurabi's Code"
    • an "eye for an eye"
    • regulations of marriage and divorce
    • punishments for crimes
  • the code was posted on stone tablets all over the country
  • No jails in this time period; criminals mostly put to death
  • slavery was common
  • the Tigris and Euphrates flow through present days countries of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran

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