Sumer, Babylon And Assyria

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Sumer, Babylon And Assyria
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First Ancient Sumer

• Approximately 5500 years ago in what is today the
  southern part of Iraq a civilization was founded
• These ancient people built cities and they farmed
  the land between the 2 rivers

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Mesopotamia

• Mesopotamia in Greek means the land between
  the 2 rivers
• Each year snows melt high in the mountains of
  western Turkey and the melt water floods the land
  
• Thus farming became possible down below in the
  desert of modern day Iraq

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The Tigris And Euphrates

• Together the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers are
  the twin rivers that made farming possible here
• Each of these rivers flows hundreds of miles from
  the mountains to the Persian Gulf

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Cities Of Ziggurats

• Because of these 2 life giving rivers, the people
  living here in the desert were actually able to
  produce so much surplus food that they were able
  to build cities
• Cities like Ur And Eridu
• And in these cities were buildings of stone

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Ziggurats

• Ziggurats were large buildings made of stone
• And each was a temple dedicated to a god
• Some could be as many as 7 stories high
• And the Sumerians believed their gods descended
  to the Earth from these temples

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Polytheism

• In fact the Sumerians were polytheistic meaning
  that they believed in many gods
• And they also believed their gods punished
  people who angered them
• They made sure to take care of their gods by
  feeding them daily and cleaning them
• One of their gods was Anu

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A Social Pyramid

• Today we also know that in ancient Sumerian
  society there were DIFFERENTsocial CLASSES or
  LAYERS similar to the stone pyramids they built

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3 Social Classes

• At the TOP of the SOCIAL PYRAMID were high
  priests, top government officials and military
  leaders
• In the MIDDLE were merchants, shopkeepers,
  teachers and farmers all FREE MEN
• And at the BOTTOM were SLAVES captured in wars

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Many Achievements

• The Sumerians learned to control the flood waters
  of the Tigris-Euphrates and irrigate the land
• They domesticated sheep, cattle and goats
• They developed the wheel and made wagons, carts
  and war chariots

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Other Achievements

• They built stone cities which stand til this day
• They had a highly organized army
• They established long distance trade with their
  neighbors

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And A System Of Writing

• Plus the Sumerians invented a form of picture
  writing on clay tablets
• Which today we call cuneiform
• They recorded their history and their market
  transactions

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Ancient Babylon

• Babylon was another ancient civilization that
  soon developed in the land between the 2 rivers
• Around 2000 B.C.E. people called Amorites
  conquered Sumer and founded their capital city of
  Babylon

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Its Location

• Like Sumer Babylon was located between the
  Tigris and Euphrates rivers but it was much
  greater in size
• Including the upper part of the desert in what is
  today Iraq

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Babylon Accumulates Great Wealth

• Its RELATIVE LOCATION on the PERSIAN GULF and the
  CROSS ROADS of Asia made it a natural for trade
• Its merchants bought and sold cotton cloth from
  India and spices from faraway Egypt

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The Rewards Of War

• Conquest also made ancient Babylon wealthy
• When she conquered her neighbors she made off
  with great wealth - the bounty of war

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Hammurabi

• Was a powerful king from 1792 to 1750 B.C.E. (42
  years)
• By conquest his empire stretched from the Persian
  Gulf to the Taurus Mountains of Turkey (Asia
  Minor)
• He collected taxes, build public buildings,
  helped farmers and established justice

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Hammurabis Code

• Perhaps his greatest achievement was he created a
  stable and dependable government
• Governments were often arbitrary and unfair
• They did not do much for the people
• But Hammurabi established the rule of law
• His rules were written down so everyone could
  know the law

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Equality Before The Law

• Under Hammurabi the law applied equally to
  everyone
• Rich and poor
• Rulers and the ruled
• And men, women and children had certain rights

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Babylon Falls

• After Hammurabi died, no strong leader emerged to
  take his place
• First the Kassites invaded around 1530 B.C.E.
• Then the Hittites came to conquer with their iron
  weapons
• And finally the Assyrians came around 1200 B.C.E.
  
• Babylon has no natural barriers or defenses to
  keep out invaders

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Ancient Assyria

• With the Fall of Babylon, Assyria took its
  dominant place
• Assyrias CORE was in the northern desert plains
  in what is today SYRIA
• This was around the year 1350 B.C.E.

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A Warlike People

• The Assyrians were an aggressive warlike people
• They were feared by other peoples
• One Assyrian king boasted that he had destroyed
  89 cities and 820 villages including the walled
  city of Babylon
• Once inside a city they would slaughter ALL the
  inhabitants

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New Technologies Of War

• The Assyrians had weapons many others had never
  seen before
• They had iron tipped spears and swords
• They used archers and horse drawn chariots
• And they had armor of iron and shields

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A New Kind Of Warfare

• PLUS they used battering rams and catapults and
  ladders to climb and shatter the walls of enemy
  cities
• They even dug tunnels underneath city walls

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The Treatment Of Conquered Peoples

• From what we can tell, the Assyrians treated
  their conquered enemies harshly
• They demanded taxes or tribute from vanquished
  peoples
• And if they did not pay, the Assyrians would
  DESTROY and B URN whole cities

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Vanquished People

• If they took captives they made them their slaves
• Others they put to death especially the leaders
• The Assyrians were said to be so cruel that the
  vanquished often rebelled

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Size Of Their Empire

• The Assyrian Empire at its height in 650 B.C.E.
  stretched 1000s of miles forming a Fertile
  Crescent
• From the Nile River to the Persian Gulf
• It was one of the greatest empires for its time

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The City Of Nineveh

• The greatest Assyrian city was the city of
  Nineveh
• Built by King Ashurbanipal, it was their capital
  city
• And it also contained a great library of 20,000
  clay cuneiform tablets
• Writings on subjects such as science, geography,
  medicine, myths and religion

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Nineveh Assyria Destroyed

• Assyria reached its height around 650 B.C.E.
• but it too soon collapsed
• In turn the Chaldeans of New Babylon BURNED the
  city of Nineveh Assyria
• And then did the Medes people of modern Iran

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The Kingdoms Of Ancient Egypt
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Ancient Egypt Further West

• Nearly 5000 years ago, the Egyptian people began
  to settle and farm along the Nile River
• This was nearly the same time that cities
  appeared in Mesopotamia at the other end of the
  FERTILE CRESCENT

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The Nile River

• The Nile River made farming and life itself
  possible in ancient Egypt
• Otherwise Egypt is but a dry desert
• The Nile River flows NORTHWARD from near the
  Equator in Africa and from Ethiopia, 4200 miles
  to the Mediterranean Sea

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An Enduring Civilization

• Along the life giving and fertile banks of the
  Nile, the Egyptian people were able to build an
  enduring civilization
• Their civilization endured for nearly 3000 years
• And they established some 30 dynasties

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Dynasties

• Dynasties were established in ancient Egypt
  whenever MEMBERS of ONE FAMILY and their
  descendents RULED for an extended period of time

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The Egyptian Pharaohs

• The ancient Egyptian people believed that their
  kings or pharaohs were IMMORTAL and DIVINE
• They believed the pharaohs had descended from
  GODS
• And they believed their kings had the power to
  make life itself good or bad rich or
  poor easy or difficult

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Absolute Power

• Viewed as GODS, the Egyptian people gave their
  kings ABSOLUTE POWER over the people
• Whatever the pharaoh decided became law
• The people obeyed the king and his law without
  question
• The king decided whether to go to WAR, where NEW
  CITIES should be located, with whom to TRADE and
  when to PLANT and HARVEST the crops

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Queen Hatshepsut

• Several WOMEN ruled ancient Egypt during its 4000
  years of history
• Queen Hatshepsut was the FIRST and she reigned
  during Egypts New Kingdom
• Her kingdom was best known for its PEACE and
  PROSPERITY
• While her armies defended Egypt from invasion,
  she established NEW TRADE routes and partners in
  Africa
• Her navy returned to Egypt loaded with ivory,
  gold and spices

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King Thutmose III

• After Queen Hatshepsut died, her stepson King
  Thutmose III ascended the throne
• Thutmose II was one of the most militaristic of
  Egyptian pharaohs
• He led the Egyptian armies into war and they were
  able to EXPAND ancient Egypt IN SIZE by capturing
  Nubia to the SOUTH and Phoenicia and Syria to the
  EAST
• In fact his armies reached as far EAST as the
  Euphrates River in modern day Iraq

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Ramses II

• Perhaps the greatest of pharaohs was King Ramses
  II
• While Queen Hatsheput made Egypt powerful by
  trade, Ramses II made Egypt more powerful by war
• His empire became the LARGEST of Egyptian empires
• His army defeated the powerful Hittite Empire to
  the east
• Under Ramses II, ancient Egypt stretched from
  Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea - from the
  upper reaches of the Nile to the Red Sea

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A Social Pyramid

• Like the peoples of Mesopotamia, the ancient
  Egyptians also believed in a SOCIAL HIERARCHY
• Not ALL people were CREATED EQUAL
• At the bottom of society were farmers and slaves
  who PRODUCED the WEALTH and FOOD SURPLUS
• With the PROBLEM of FOOD SOLVED other groups were
  freed to do and produce other things

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A Social Pyramid

• Benefiting from the FOOD SURPLUSES were skilled
  artisans and craftmen whom made OTHER THINGS for
  the people to use
• Then there were MERCHANTS and TRADERS in the
  middle
• And above these were the EDUCATED CLASSES
  priests, scribes, engineers, architects and other
  government officials like judges and governors
• And finally at the very top THE ROYAL FAMILY

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Producers and Consumers

• IN SUM the people near the bottom PRODUCED the
  MOST WEALTH and consumed the least
• Whereas people near the TOP of the social pyramid
  CONSUMED the MOST WEALTH and produced the least
• WEALTH was very UNEQUALLY DISTRIBUTED
• How different is that from our society today???

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Religious Ideas

• The ancient Egyptians were also POLYTHEISTIC
  they too believed in many gods
• They also believed the gods were GOOD to them
  since life in Egypt was mostly good
• And they believed IF one lived a GOOD LIFE their
  lives would continue on in THE AFTER LIFE
• The Egyptians practiced MUMMIFICATION and they
  BURIED their dead with objects necessary for the
  AFTERLIFE
• The Egyptians believed in preparing the DEAD for
  LIFE EVERLASTING

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Many Gods

• Some of the PRINCIPLE Egyptian gods were
• Amon Re the Sun god whom brought them life
  daily
• Anubis whom was the god of the dead
• Osiris whom judged the dead
• Isis whom protected the children, was the
  fertility god and wife of Osiris
• And Horus whom was the god of the sky

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Building The Pyramids

• The most powerful kings had pyramids built in
  their honor
• These pyramids were in fact tombs for the dead
• Built during their lifetime, they were to last
  for all eternity
• Inside kings and queens might be buried with some
  of their servants and all those objects necessary
  for the afterlife

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Building The Pyramids

• Thousands of workers sometimes took DECADES to
  build a single pyramid or tomb
• Khuru had the great pyramid of Giza built in his
  honor
• For 4300 years it was the LARGEST building on
  Earth
• Today it stands over 45 stories high
• It consists of over 2 MILLION building stones
  each over 2 tons in size
• Some of the stones were quarried hundreds of
  miles away up the Nile
• Thousands of workers LOST their LIVES building
  these tombs

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Achievements

• Government and religion
• Astronomy and mathematics
• Engineering and hydro
• Medicine
• A system of writing hieroglyphs and papyrus

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Defeat And Conquest

• The Egyptian empire lasted for nearly 3000 years
• Protected by desert sands, vast distances and a
  sandy coastline with few harbors no one could
  conquer them
• Until the Greeks arrived under Alexander in
• Later the Roman legions followed and conquered
  them

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The End Of Parts I and II
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The Hebrew People
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Abraham Father Of The Jewish People

• According to the Jewish, Christian and Moslem
  faiths- nearly 4000 years ago Abraham and his
  wife Sarah left the city of Ur in ancient
  Mesopotamia and they traveled over desert to
  their new home in Canaan

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Abrahams Covenant With God

• Jews, Christians and Moslems alike all share the
  belief that Abraham left the city of Ur is
  because God commanded him to and God promised
  Abraham IF he and his people honored and obeyed
  God - the land of Canaan would belong to Abraham
  and to ALL his descendents.
• For this reason, Jewish people believe they are
  Gods chosen people and Canaan is the promised
  land.

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The Torah

• We know this early history of the Hebrew or
  Jewish people because their early history was
  written down.
• The Torah consists of 5 books Genesis, Exodus,
  Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
• Christians refer to these books as the Old
  Testament.
• Jews believe that these books were given to them
  by God.
• These books contain the laws, beliefs and history
  of the Jewish people.

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Abrahams Sons
                                               
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                           

• By most accounts, Abraham had at least 2 sons.
• At first Abrahams wife Sarah could not bear him
  a son, and so Abraham conceived a son named
  Ishmael with Sarahs slave girl Hagar.
• Later Sarah conceived and had a second son named
  Isaac.
• The Jewish people are said to be the descendents
  of Isaac whereas the Arab people are the
  descendents of Ishmael.

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Jacob Flees Canaan

• The Torah tells us that Abraham and his son Isaac
  settled in Canaan.
• But Abrahams grandson, Jacob led his people into
  Egypt when Canaan was hit by a famine.
• The Hebrew people lived in Egypt for several
  hundred years in peace before the decided to
  leave.
• In Egypt, they were viewed as valuable subjects
  of the pharaoh.

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Enslaved In Egypt

• Several hundred years later, the Hebrew people
  were enslaved by a new pharaoh and conditions
  grew intolerable.
• Moses half brother to the pharaoh but aJew was
  commanded by God to leave Egypt and return his
  people to Canaan.
• The pharaoh refused to allow them to leave and so
  God brought 10 plagues down on the Egyptian
  people.
• Finally Moses with his people escaped Egypt and
  fled into the wilderness.

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Moses And The Exodus

• Moses escaped Egypt by parting the Red Sea and
  with his people fled into the wilderness of the
  Sinai for some 40 years.
• There God commanded Moses to return with his
  people to Canaan and God renewed the covenant
  of Abraham with Moses.
• IF Moses and his people would honor God and obey
  his commandments, they would be his chosen
  people.

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The 10 Commandments

• Jews, Christians and Moslems alike share a belief
  in the 10 Commandments.
• They believe these Commandments are the word of
  God as handed from God to his prophet Moses.

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The Hebrews Capture Canaan

• During the several 100 years the Hebrews were in
  Egypt, Canaan was occupied by several other
  groups.
• So the Hebrews made war on the people of Canaan
  and led byJoshua (Moses son) and later by Saul
  and David the Jews managed to defeat the
  Canaanites with their great giant Goliath.
• The promised land had returned to the Jews.

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Kings David and Solomon

• King David brought peace and security to Israel.
• David expanded Israels borders and established
  trade.
• He strengthened Israels government and rebuilt
  the city of Jerusalem.
• His son, Solomon continued on the work of his
  father in diplomacy and trade, and Solomon built
  the great Temple in the walled city of Jerusalem.

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The Division Of Israel

• When King Solomon died, there was no other strong
  leader to take his place, and the Kingdom of
  Israel broke into 2.
• One part was called the Kingdom of Israel. The
  other the Kingdom of Judea.

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Prey To Their Neighbors

• Weakened and divided, the Kingdoms of Israel and
  Judea fell prey to their neighbors.
• In 738 B.C.E. first Assyria conquered the 2
  kingdoms and forced them to pay tribute.
• Then in 586 B.C.E. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
  modern day Iraq - conquered the Jews.
• Nebuchadnezzar then destroyed the city of
  Jerusalem and the Temple.

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The Babylonian Captivity

• King Nebuchadnezzar brought the Jews to Babylon
  where they were held captive for some 60 years.
• In Babylon, they were not allowed to practice
  their culture and religion as they chose.
• They were anxious for the day they could return
  home and they hoped for a messiah or savior.

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Set Free By Persia

• Ironically the Persians conquered Babylon in 538
  B.C.E..
• Their King Cyrus apparently believed in religious
  and cultural toleration.
• So the Persians set the Hebrews free and they
  immediately returned to their homeland and
  rebuilt the sacred city of Jerusalem and the
  temple.
• Persia today would be the modern nation of Iran.
  And Babylon modern day Iraq.

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Many Other Conquers

• In the several hundred years that followed, the
  Jewish people struggled to maintain their kingdom
  and their independence.
• They were conquered in turn by several
  aggressors.
• First came the Greeks led by Alexander. Alexander
  was more accepting of other cultures.
• Then came the Syrians and the Jews were not
  allowed to follow their religion, customs or
  laws.
• Finally came the Romans in 63 B.C.E.

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Jewish Resistance

• The Romans always tried to maintain strict
  control over conquered areas.
• The Jews were divided on how to cope with the
  Romans.
• Some favored cooperation. Others fierce
  resistance.
• The Zealots were a group whom favored armed
  revolt and resistance. At the mountain fortress
  of Masada, the Romans crushed the Zealots
  violently.

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The Diaspora

• Jewish resistance was now over and the Romans
  destroyed Jerusalem.
• Plus in retribution, ALL the Jews were forced to
  leave their homeland.
• They were dispersed by the Romans across the
  entire length of the Mediterranean world.
• And they would NO return to their homeland in any
  numbers for another 1800 years.

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End Of Parts I, II and III