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WORLD HISTORY notes
Day 2
Mesopotamian Civilizations
FERTILE CRESCENT
 Shaped like a crescent with fertile land good for growing crops
 Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Iraq
MESOPOTAMIA
 “Meso” = middle
 “Land between the Rivers” – Tigris / Euphrates
CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION
 “birthplace” of civilization
SUMERIANS – 3500 BC
 “history begins at Sumer”
o wheel, arch, potter’s wheel, sundial, 12 month calendar, Astronomy, # system to 60, Bronze
 made up of city-states
 leaders had political/religious power (Theocracy)
o lugals
o bravest warrior
o ”agents of gods”
 Polytheistic
o everything possessed by a spirit
 gods were powerful, immortal, human emotions (Anthropomorphic)
 rain = gods crying
 crops grew = male god mating with his goddess wife
 people saw hot/dry times when their fields turned brown as a time of death for
gods
o gods came back to life when crops grew again
o humanity created to serve gods
o gods controlled past/future
o whatever skills humanity had the gods allowed them to develop
o since they viewed gods as giving them everything, they viewed gods as good
o hardships/misfortunes were result of humans displeasing the gods
o gods let demons punish people for upsetting gods
o people tried to please gods – led to Astrology (Zodiac)
o keep gods happy or at least tolerant
o Ziggurat = temple
o believed in afterlife – dark, gloomy
Cuneiform
 Sumerians developed 1st writing system
 pictographic
 Epic of Gilgamesh
 1st book written
AKKADIANS – 2330 BC
 Sargon I – conquered Sumerians
 1st “warlord”
 beginning of Empire building
 conquering other areas
BABYLONIANS – 1790 BC
 Hammurabi best known/most celebrated of all Mesopotamian kings
 concerned with keeping order in his kingdom
 Babylon was roughly 50 square miles of territory
 As Hammurabi’s “empire” grew, he saw the need to unify the diverse groups he controlled under
one set of laws
 He felt the gods had entrusted him to deal fairly with their people/issues
 ”King of justice to whom Shamash (god of Justice) was committed the truth.”
 he sent legal experts throughout his kingdom to gather existing laws
 282 laws
 written in stone
 laws cannot be changed
 harder to misuse power
 everyone knows the laws
 government controlled punishment and government provides protection
 punishment based on Class and “Law of Retaliation”
 equal classes = “Parallel Punishment”
 different classes = punishment harder for lower classes
 the code is also one of the earliest examples of the idea of “Innocent until proven Guilty”
 it also suggests that the accused and accuser have the opportunity to provide evidence
 not 1st written law code, but the best preserved
REASONS FOR LAW CODE
1. stability and order
2. increase equality
3. protect trade
4. power over the people
WORLD HISTORY notes
Mesopotamian Civilizations
HITTITES – 1600 BC
 developed iron
 3 man chariots
ASSYRIANS – 1300 BC
 Sennacherib
o ruled during high point of empire
o invaded Jerusalem
 in Bible
 God sent “Angel of the Lord” killed 185K – 2 Kings 19:35
o later killed by his sons
 biblical prophecy – 2 Kings 19:1-7
 gain control of throne
 ruthless warriors
o iron, horses, bows/arrows, very disciplined
o extremely cruel
 slaughtered, cut off noses/legs/tongues/hands
 built mounds of skulls near defeated villages as reminder
 ”iron horse”
 nailed skins to walls
 threw salt in wounds
 tortured in public
 sent captives away to lessen rebellion
st
 1 to use cavalry
 built huge library at Nineveh
 latitude and longitude
 360 degree circle
PHOENICIANS- 12OO BC
 excellent traders
o spread culture throughout Mediterranean Sea
 used cedar
 Murex
o purple dye
o from small snail = phonix
 set up colonies
o re-supply and protection from pirates
 22 symbol alphabet
Day 3
LYDIANS- 1200 BC
 1st to develop “coined” money
 Increased trade…no longer based just on bartering
CHALDEANS – 600 BC
 NEBUCHADNEZZAR
o destroyed Jerusalem
 In Bible (2 Kings 25)
 brought thousands back to Babylon as slaves (“Babylonian Captivity”)
o rebuilt Babylon
o built 50’ wall around city
 ”Hanging Gardens of Babylon”
 built for wife = Amytis
 she was homesick
PERSIANS – 550 BC
539 BC
Cyrus defeated Chaldeans
 ”Cyrus Cylinder”
o provides written history of Cyrus’ rule
o records the defeat of Chaldeans and allowing Jews to return home
o records that treatment of captives is very humane
o referred to as world’s first “Declaration of Human Rights”
530 BC
Cambyses stretched empire from Egypt to Indus River
522 BC
Darius
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great organizer
divided empire into satrapies
placed satraps in charge
“kings eyes and ears”
strengthened infrastructure for trade, travel, military movement
o ”Royal Road”
 1600 miles - station every 14 miles
 travel empire in 1 week – like “Pony Express”
 treated captives respectfully – paid taxes / kept peace
Zoroastrianism
 forces of good/evil battle
o people must choose
 in future, good would triumph