The Cosmopolitan Middle East

The Seeds of Creativity

Akkadian/ Early Babylonian Period (2350-1650 BC)

Akkadian/ Early Babylonian Period (2350-1650 BC)

• Descendants of Shem – Semitic language (Arabic, Hebrew, etc)

Creative Contributions: • Standing army • System of royal servants and landholders • Poetry/epic • Written law • Governmental bureaucracy • Mathematics

Akkadian/ Early Babylonian Period (2350-1650 BC)

• Standing army – Led by Sargon I the King of Akkad

– Conquered the Sumerians

– Expanded the empire greatly (paid the army from the spoils of war)

– New lands and territories that had to be controlled

• Royal servants given new lands – Very loyal

– Created economic vigor in trade

– Created intelligent division of labor

Akkadian/ Early Babylonian Period (2350-1650 BC)

• Poetry

–Epic of Gilgamesh

• About 2000 B.C.

• Oldest known literary document

• Account of King Gilgamesh

• Includes a flood story (similar to Bible)

Akkadian/ Early Babylonian Period (2350-1650 BC)

• Written Law: The Code of Hammurabi – Developed by King Hammurabi (~1700 B.C.)

• Great leader, ruled during the cultural pinnacle of the early Babylonian Period

• Personally supervised navigation, construction of temples, agriculture, and tax collection.

– First set of laws (predates Moses by 200 years)

– Brought uniformity to society

– Reduced resentment and possibilities for revolt

– Engraved on 8-foot stella (pillar)

Code of Hammurabi – Trial by ordeal

"If a man has accused another of laying a death spell upon him, but has not proved it, the accused shall go to the sacred river, he shall plunge in the sacred river, and if the sacred river shall conquer him, he that accused him shall take possession of his house. If the sacred river shall show his innocence and he is saved, his accuser shall be put to death. He that plunged in the sacred river shall appropriate the house of him that accused him."

Hammurabi Code vs The Bible

• Source: God

• Religious: Strong

• Capital crimes: – Murder (unless God

delivered him)

– Smite or curse parents

– Steal man and sell him

– Killed fetus

– Adultery

• Justice: Eye for eye or compensation

• Equality: No differences

• Responsibility: Repeated ox goring

• Source: Existing laws

• Religious: Little

• Capital crimes: – False accusation or witness

– Stolen temple goods

– Stolen child

– Assisted fleeing slave

– Adultery

• Justice: Eye for eye or compensation

• Equality: Changes by rank

• Responsibility: Surgeon, home builder

• Governmental Bureaucracy

–Established by King Hammurabi

–Administrators paid by the government (local taxes), unlike Sargon I’s.

–Could keep an eye on empire without expensive and continuous military entanglements.

Akkadian/ Early Babylonian Period (2350-1650 BC)

Akkadian/ Early Babylonian Period (2350-1650 BC)

• Mathematics

–Decimal and sexigesimal system

• 60 and 360 – religious numbers

–Sexigesimal numbers today

• Circle

• Time

–Placeholder concept

–No Concept of Zero

Hittites (1450-1200 B.C.)

• From Anatolia (present day Turkey)

• Creative Contribution:

– Iron

Hittites (1450-1200 B.C.)

• Iron – Much harder and stronger than all former

metals • Found in natural state (soft)

– Gold and copper • Bronze (copper with tin) • Brass (copper with zinc) • Iron required much higher temperatures

– Conquered Mesopotamia because of weapon strength (~1650 B.C)

– Agricultural productivity higher when farming tools were made of iron

– Started the move from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age (~1500 B.C.)

Assyrians (900-626 B.C.)

• Creative contribution: – Torture

• Creativity can be good or bad

• Extremely vicious

• Entire cities surrendered because of fear

• Conquered Mesopotamia from within the territory of old Babylonian empire

• Capital was Ninevah (Jonah story)

• Captured the 10 tribes and carried them northward (721 BC)

• Defeated by the Babylonians and Medes (626 BC)

Egypt Creativity for Eternity

Egypt

• Began about 3500BC

• Independent for 2000 years

• 31 dynasties – 4 great kingdoms or

periods • Old Kingdom

• Middle Kingdom

• New Kingdom

• Late Period (non-independent)

• Geography was a blessing and a downfall

Geography and Stability

The Nile River • Predictable and gentle

flooding – Replenished the soil, thus

allowing for 3000 years of continual planting

– Consistent flood times

– Consistent flood amounts

• Planned irrigation – Allowed for enough crops

for a very large population

Geography and Stability

Isolation

• Only realistic route for an invader is over the Isthmus of Suez

• Egypt able to defend it

• Egypt was not influenced by outsiders for 1000s of years

• Even when Egypt became dominated by outside rulers, it held onto its own laws, culture, religion and kings.

Creativity

• Creativity and Change – Old Kingdom was uniting and conquering

– Temples and religion demanded creativity

– Surplus of labor. The Pharaoh put them to work on elaborate construction projects.

• Stagnant but Stable – Middle and New Kingdoms

– Fear of upsetting the profitable system, Egypt stopped creativity

– Delicate balance between gods, nature, and choices of the people

– Pharaohs lost the ability to bring change

New Kingdom (1550 - 1050 BC)

• Began with overthrow of the Hyksos. The pharaoh knew not Joseph (Exodus 1:8)

• Ended with the Third Intermediate Period, led by foreign rulers and internal fighting

• Creativity – Temples

• Luxor and Karnak

– Strong pharoahs

Luxor

Karnak Temple

New Kingdom (1550 - 1050 BC)

• Strong Pharaohs

–Akhenaton (monotheistic)

New Kingdom (1550 - 1050 BC)

• Strong Pharaohs

–Queen Hatshepsut

New Kingdom (1550 - 1050 BC)

• Strong Pharaohs

–Rameses II (military)

–Moses' enemy?

New Civilizations

Nubia

3100 B.C.E. – 350 C.E.

Nubia

• Located in Nile valley from Aswan south

to Khartoum

• Forms a link between tropical Africa and

the Mediterranean world.

• Natural resources included:

– Gold, semi-precious stones, copper.

Development of Civilization

• Spurred by need for:

– Irrigated Agriculture

– Trade with Egypt

• Nubian and Egyptian culture developed

through mutual influence and borrowing.

Trade and Occupation

• Early Nubia carried out trade with Old

Kingdom Egypt

• Northern part of Nubia was occupied by

Egypt during Middle Kingdom period

Kingdom of Kush

• Kingdom of Kush developed in southern part of Nubia by 1750 B.C.E.

• Kush noted for metalworking and construction

• Egypt invaded Kush during New Kingdom period.

– Resulted in Egyptian occupation that exploited Nubian laborers

Kushite Pyramids

Kingdom of Meroë

• 800 B.C.E.-350 C.E.

• This kingdom ruled Egypt as the 25th Dynasty.

• Nubian Kingdom had a capital at Napata.

• Napata period characterized by Egyptian cultural

influence.

• In 4th century, moved capital to Meroë.

– Better for agriculture and trade

Meroë

• Ruling dynasty of Meroë practiced a

matrilineal family system

• Queens were very influential

• Dominated trade routes

• Used reservoirs to catch rainfall

• Became important center for iron smelting

Decline of Meroë

• Shift in trade routes

• Rise of kingdom of Aksum

• Depredations of camel-riding nomads