Tour Ancient Mesopotamia!

Objectives: 1. Students will understand and communicate how conquest brought new

empires and ideas to the Middle East.2. Students will understand the key characteristics of Ancient Mesopotamian

civilizations

Task: 1. Make sure you have printed your tour pamphlet and turned it in

2. Read trough the Green slides (slides 2-4) to get some background on the time periods, technology and general pattern of expansion and conquest that took place during Ancient Mesopotamia.

3. Read the powerpoint section on the Ancient Hebrews and fill in the travel log handout for this culture.

4. Complete the travel log by examining your classmates tour pamphlets

Timeline

Sumerians4000 BC --------2000BC

Egyptians 6000 BC --3200 -3100 - 2660 21802080164015701075 -----751 ----671----521

Amorites (Old Babylon)2000 BC -----------1550BC

*1792 – 1750 ( )

Hittites1680BC -------1200BC

Phoenicians1500 --------1100------800----------300BC

Assyrians850 BC----612 BC

Hebrews2000 BC –1650 –1300 1200 –1020*922 -----586 –538 --------------

Chaldeans (New Babylon)600 BC --539BC

Persians550BC ---------350BC*550 – 539 --530

Advancing Technology

Stone Age (end of the stone age)6000 BC ---------2500 BC

Bronze Age2800BC ---------------------------1200BC

1500BC ------------1200 BC (development of iron by the Hittites)

Iron Age1200BC -------------------------------------700BC

Ancient Mesopotamian SocietiesWarfare• As city-states began to grow, their spheres of

influence overlapped, creating arguments between other city-states, especially over land and canals. – These arguments were recorded in tablets several

hundreds of years before any major war—the first recording of a war occurred around 3200 BC but they were not common until about 2500 BC.

•At this point, warfare was incorporated into the Mesopotamian political system, where a neutral city may act as an arbitrator for the two rival cities. • This helped to form unions between cities,

leading to regional states.

•When empires were created, they went to war with foreign countries. • King Sargon, for example, conquered all

the cities of Sumer, some cities in Mari, and then went to war with northern Syria.

The Ancient Hebrews

• 4,000 years ago, the ancient Israelites (the Hebrews) developed the religion of Judaism on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.

GeographyAncient Israel is outlined in Red on the Map. This empire is modern day Israel

Located where the natural routes to three continents meet, the coastal region has

always been a place of intercultural contact and conflict.

- Geographic features of the Region – - Fertile plans along the coast - Hills and mountains to the north/ west (Galile,

Samaria, and Judaea)- The Jordan River is the only major water supply for

the region . - Rocky Plateau of Transjordan begins on the eastern

bank of the river. From there the desert stretches all the way to Mesopotamia.

The passes through Carmel and Lebanon in the north give access to the Euphrates Valley, and south across the Negev Desert and the Sinai Peninsula lies Egypt.

How They RoseThe Hebrews ancestors may have been wanderers in the Arabian desert during the early part of the 2nd millennium/B.C. At this time big migrations from the desert into the Fertile Crescent were taking place, which led in to the creation of many nations.

According to the Jewish Religious Text: • According to the Torah, Abraham lived

near Ur. Migrated to Canaan (present-day Israel/Palestine).

• Israelites believed that their god had made a covenant (an agreement) with Abraham.

1. God would have a special relationship with Abraham and his descendants = “chosen people.”

2. Canaan would someday belong to the Israelites = “the promised land.”

Moses• Moses later renewed god’s

covenant with the Israelites.– Famine brought

Israelites/Hebrews to Egypt = enslaved.

– Moses promised them that god would lead them out of bondage in return for their faith.

– According to the Torah, Moses died just before they reached Canaan.

Kingdom Established

• 1000 BCE, Israelites had set up the kingdom of Israel.

• Twelve (12) separate tribes of Israel that feuded up to that time, but David (the second king of Israel) united them.

• Solomon—David’s son, turned Jerusalem into an impressive capital, built a temple to god.

Accomplishments and Inventions

1. Hebrews made their own language for speaking and writing.

2. Ancient Hebrews also used a technique in house-building, which are called pillared houses. • Pillared houses are houses that replaced walls with pillars. Pillars

hold the roof up just as well as walls do, but take up much less room, and therefore use less resources. This design to create more room in houses, without any major structural differences was used throughout history.

3. Hebrews also had a sense of individual rights, • Some of these rights were, “do not take advantage of a hired

man who is poor and needy”, “did he who made me not make them”, “seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

Israelites Religion, Government & Law• Monotheistic People (believed in 1 God)– This God was all-knowing and present everywhere– Creation of the Torah (Hebrews’ most sacred text),

promotes the 10 Commandments (ties religion and laws together), & the Talmud (interpretations of laws)

– Today Most religions are Monotheistic

Kings ruled Ancient Israel, These kings were also sometimes considered prophets Abraham was considered the founder of the Hebrews Examples of Kings: Saul, David and Solomon

Religion was a huge part of their every day life and most of what we know about them today is actually from the Bible/ Torah.

Occupations

• Promote “Patriarchy”-Male dominated Society.

Men Women

- Most men worked as farmers

- soldiers, - government officials- craftsmen - merchants

Women handled the household. Things like- grinding grain, - preparing cheese

and yogurt, cooking, - making baskets,

shaping clay pots, spinning thread, weaving fabric, sewing clothing,

- hauling home water.

TradeHebrews is Babylonia were free to practice

many professions, but the vast majority of them were merchant traders. They traveled thousands of miles, establishing synagogues and small Jewish communities along trade routes that stretched from China to England, Scandinavia to Egypt.

Jewish traders traded with many different people and their trade lasted until the Middle Ages, when the Catholic Church was the dominant power in Europe.

Israel Defeated• Kingdom split after Solomon died in

922 BCE. (Israel = north, Judah = south).

• 722 BCE, Assyrians conquered Israel. • 586 BCE, Babylonian armies (under

Nebuchadnezzar) captured Judah, destroyed the great temple. Exiled most Israelites to Babylon; called the “Babylonian Captivity.”

• 539 BCE, Persians defeated the Babylonians and allowed Israelites to go back to their homeland. – Since most were from Judah, they

became known as Jews.

The DiasporaDespite being sent into exile following destruction of the temple of Solomon in Judah in 586 B.C.E. The Hebrews Maintain their cultural Identity in the Diaspora.

Diaspora = being forced from their homes/ forcefully spread out.

• Wherever Jews were forced, they often maintained close-knit groups that helped them retain their identity.

Critical Thinking Questions• What major technological advances enabled

civilization to grow and have influence in Mesopotamia?

• In what ways did political leaders seek to unify the people under their rule?

• What was the role of conquest in Ancient Mesopotamia?

Name of Civilization

Time Period Location Achievements Leadership Culture News/ Noteworthy

Example: Sumerians

3300 B.C.

Southeastern MesopotamiaBetween Tigris & Euphrates

- invent writing (Cuneiform) - developed mathematics and Astronomy- used irrigation to control river flooding

- wrote the Epic of Gilgamesh- Polytheistic Religion -social hierarchy & hereditary rule

- Important cities in Sumer = Ur and Uruk - inspired other civilizations such as Assyrians & Babylonians

Old Babylonians – (Amorites)

Hittites

Assyrians

New Babylonians (Chaldeans)

Phoenicians

Persians

Egyptians

Hebrews

JHBCD

FIAGE

Geography “Quiz”: Mesopotamia