Mesopotamia: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order (ca. 3500–330 B.C.E.) Chapter 1 Mesopotamia: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order (ca. 3500–330 B.C.E.)

The Gods of Mesopotamia Associated with the effects of the environment/forces of nature Sumerian creation myth: The Babylonian Creation The search for immortality: The Epic of Gilgamesh The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Rulers of Mesopotamia Sumer Loosely-knit group of city-states Earliest Bronze Age technology Babylon Sixth king of Babylon named Hammurabi developed unifying code of law The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Social Order Law: Hammurabi’s Code Primarily secular in scope, but with the force of divine decree Represented a landmark in the development of human rights in that it was written, unlike the traditional oral laws The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Arts in Mesopotamia The ziggurat Traditional spiritual center of the city-state Shrine room statuettes Expressed the insecurities of a people surrounded by reminders of their own vulnerability The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Hebrews Early history of the Hebrews The covenant Ethical monotheism The early Hebrew social order Morality and patriarchy Laws added to the Decalogue The early Hebrew state The role of the prophets The Babylonian Captivity and the Book of Job Book of Psalms The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Iron Age The Assyrian Empire The Persian Empire The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.