THE SUMERIANS

THE FERTILE CRESCENT Aswan DamDraining of the Marshes

Pre-requisites for Civilization  Agriculture developed in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 bce  Mining and use of copper around 6000 bce  Growth of villages and towns  Division of labor  Smelting of tin and copper to make bronze around 3000 bce > Bronze Age

Sumerian Inventions  Cuneiform writing  The wheel  Potter’s wheel  Sailing ship  Pick-axe  Brick mold  Glass  60-based counting system: 60 minutes to an hour, 360 degrees to a circle  Number positioning  Beer  Epic poetry Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur

Mesopotamian Empires

Characteristics of Mesopotamian Civilizations  City states  Each city had its own king and patron god or goddess  City states often warred with each other  Theocracy -- king as god’s representative  Hierosgamos: ritual marriage with the goddess/priestess  Highly legalistic  Law Codes  Contracts  Judicial proceedings and appeals processes  Extensive trading networks  Architectural Marvels of Ancient Mesopotamia Architectural Marvels of Ancient Mesopotamia

Tablet of pre-cuneiform script South Mesopotamia Uruk III, end of 4th millenium BC. Clay (?sun-baked clay) Louvre Writing Origin and the Deveopment of Writing in Mesopotamia Origin and the Deveopment of Writing in Mesopotamia

Writing: Pictograms Cylinder Seals Cylinder Seal with Watergod, Birdman, and Deities Mesopotamia, Akkadian Period, B.C. Emory University

Writing: Cuneiform Cuneiform Cylinder of Nabopolassar Recording Repair of the City Wall of Babylon, Mesopotamia, Babylon Neo-Babylonian Period, Reign of Nabopolassar, B.C Emory University

Sumerian Schools  Literacy was a highly valued skill  Sumerians set up first institutions of formal education: edubba  Education included writing and mathematics  Tuition paid for education  Educated were privileged elite: government officials, scribes, etc.

Nippur Flood Tablet The tablet can be dated by its script to the late 17th century BC....a flood will sweep over the cult centers; To destroy the seed of mankind... Is the decision, the word of the assembly of the gods. By the word commanded by An and Enlil... All the windstorms, exceedingly powerful, attacked as one, At the same time, the flood sweeps over the cult centers. After, for seven days and seven nights, The flood had swept over the land, And the huge boat had been tossed about by the windstorms on the great waters, Utu came forth, who sheds light on heaven and earth, Ziusudra opened a window on the huge boat, The hero Utu brought his rays into the giant boat.

Deciphering Cuneiform 1835: Henry Rawlinson, an English army officer, found some inscriptions on a cliff at Behistun in Persia. Carved in the reign of King Darius of Persia ( BC), they consisted of identical texts in three languages: Old Persian, Babylonian and Elamite.

THEOCRACY: Kings: Servants of the Gods Sumerian King List The powerful gods communicate their desires to humanity through the medium of a powerful priestly class or autocratic king who serves as the intermediary. - Government of the gods/priest class - Ruler may be divine himself, or chosen by the god/gods - Each city had its own gods This system centralizes power in the hands of a small group of people and gives political decisions a religious authority

The City Center  Temples served civic and religious purposes  Daily sacrifices and rituals  Storage of surplus grain and other foods  Dwelling of priests and priestesses  Locale where craftsmen and artisans could practice their trades Ziggurats: Temples to the Gods

Gilgamesh, the Hero-King  Ruled in Sumer c bc  Epic of Gilgamesh chronicles his reign  Evolves from selfish, uncontrolled autocrat to benevolent ruler via:  friendship  rebellion  loss  quest  recognition of mortality  acceptance of responsibilty and service to the goddess Ishtar (Inanna)

LAWS: The Code of Hammurabi, ca bce Law-Codex of Hammurabi,first half of the 18th century BCE, Basalt, Louvre Full Text of the Code of Hammurabi  2350 bce law reform by King Urukagina of Lagash to protect exploited citizens  21st c. bce: earliest extant law code from Ur-Nammu (1000 years before the 10 Commandments

A stele is a monolithic monument that commemorates an historical event. The Stele of Naram Sin has a formality and rigidity similar to Egyptian art. Compare its strong diagonal composition with the horizontal registers of the Standard of Ur. Victory Stele of Naram Sim c B.C.E. 61/2' tall, sandstone Continual warfare among Sumerian city states and against invading tribes eventually led to the downfall of Sumerian civilization. But the influence of Sumerian civilization was felt in throughout the Near East, Egypt, India, the Mediterranean civilizations: Crete, Mycenae, Greece, Rome, and in Judeo- Christian traditions.

Flood Myths  Flood myths are present on every continent  Leeming: “The pattern behind the many forms that the flood myth takes is the archetype of the productive sacrifice…. The flood myth…reminds us that life depends on death, that without death there can be no cycle, no birth.  Floods connected with cleansing, washing away of blunders or evil  Spared survivors are heroes of a new life

Mesopotamian and Hebrew Flood Myths  Gilgamesh text: ca bce  Utnapishtim or Ziusudra  Enlil annoyed by human noise  Ea/Enki warns Utnapishtim in dream of oncoming flood  Boat built in 7 days  Contents: family, kin, animals, craftsmen, gold  6 days and 6 nights of rain and rising water  Ishtar (Inanna) regrets divine council’s decision  Boat lands on Mt. Nisir  Dove, swallow and raven released  Sacrifice and libation  Ishtar’s necklace set in sky as token  Genesis text: ca bce  Noah  God dismayed by evil of mankind  Noah chosen as righteous man  Noah follows God’s directions to build ark  Contents: family, 7 of clean beasts, 2 of unclean  40 days and 40 nights of rain  All mankind perishes except Noah’s family  Ark lands on Mt. Ararat  Raven, dove, dove released\  Burnt offerings  Rainbow sent in sky as token of new covenant between God and mankind.