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Middle East: Mesopotamia

Middle East: Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia means: “land between two rivers ”. The civilization developed between the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers The area is often called the “ Fertile Crescent ” By 3200 B.C. a number of cities are established by the Sumerians.

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Middle East: Mesopotamia

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  1. Middle East: Mesopotamia

  2. Mesopotamia • Mesopotamia means: “land between two rivers”. The civilization developed between the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers • The area is often called the “Fertile Crescent” • By 3200 B.C. a number of cities are established by the Sumerians

  3. Major Contribution: The Invention of Writing • Origins of writing probably go back to the 9000 B.C. • 4000 BC - realized that drawing tokens was easier than making tokens • Developed of cuneiform: • “wedge-shaped” • pictographic system

  4. Sumeria: 3200 BC

  5. Sumeria • Developed advanced city-states • Specialized workers, social classes • Advanced Math: Number system based on 60 (60 seconds = 1 min.) • Polytheistic

  6. Sumerian Inventions • Sail • Some of the earliest known maps • New architecture • Metal plow • Wagon wheel • Potter’s wheel (shape containers) • Number system • 12 month calendar

  7. Akkadians • Sumeria fell to foreign invaders • The Akkadians: • Nomadic people f/ Arabian Peninsula that migrated to Mesopotamia • Sargon (2300-2200 BC) unites all Mesopotamian cities (creates first empire) • The Akkadians did not rule for long …

  8. Babylonia • Located in modern day Syria • Hammurabi--created a system of civil law (a code with harsh punishments) • Borrowed heavily f/ Sumerian culture • After Hammurabi’s death Babylon declined

  9. Hittites: 1400 BC

  10. Hittites • Conquered Babylon in 1400 BC • A strong army with chariots • Knew how to make iron which was plentiful and cheap • Borrowed from Mesopotamian and Egyptian culture

  11. Assyrians: 1100 BC

  12. Assyrians • Powerful army / warfare was central to their culture • Treated conquered people cruelly • Large empire with good roads • Collapsed about 612 BC

  13. Babylon Revived: 612 BC

  14. Babylon Revived: • Descendents from Hammurabi’s Babylonians • At its height during the rule of Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC) • Spent a lot of money on Babylon • Built Hanging Gardens of Babylon • Empire collapsed after being defeated by the Persians

  15. Persians: 539 BC

  16. Persians • Cyrus conquered in 539BC, & eventually conquered from Nile to Indus • Darius I – the skilled organizer • Used satraps (governors) • Tolerant to those who were conquered • Increased trade and built roads • Money economy using coins • Believed in a Single God • Lost to the Greeks in 480 BC

  17. Meanwhile, those Phoenicians ...

  18. Phoenicians • A small state with own contributions: • Sailors around present day Mediterra-nean, including Lebanon and Syria • Manufacturing and trade gurus who set up colonies • Created the basis for the alphabet we use today! • Spread middle east civilization around Mediterranean

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