Middle Eastern
Civilizations 3500 BCE- 395AD -
Two of the world's first great civilizations developed
along the mighty river systems in
The Mesopotamians developed along the Tigris-Euphrates
river system in
The Egyptians developed along the
People in both civilizations learned to use the natural
environment to their advantage by controlling the floodwaters of the river and
working the rich soils along the banks
A constant food supply freed labour
for other pursuits, which led to the development of thriving cities, temples
and empires
The ancient Sumerian city-state of
Mesopotamians had a profound belief in an afterlife and a
desire to take some earthly belongings to the world after death
Ancient
Meso means middle, potamas means river
Part of the fertile crescent, this side of the world's first
permanent farming villages
Sumerians lived in independent city-states ruled by
separate kings
Each city-state had its own government, laws and military
They managed their own affairs independently
By 3500 BC the population was about 4000
By 3000 BC the population was about 24 000
The various city-states existed independently but on
occasion small battles were fought for control over land or irrigation rights
During conflict, the king of a city-state acted as the head
of the army
Sumerian armies used chariot pulled by donkeys; held two
men who hurled javelins
During his 35 year reign, he attacked other city-states,
Sumerians developed the first known form of writing known
as cuneiform
They made advances in science, mythology and written
literature
The Epic of Gilgamesh
is the oldest known piece of literature in the world
Nomads known as the Amorites established themselves in
The Babylonians were great traders with their ships travelling to
The Babylonians were famous for one of the seven wonders of
the ancient world and took great pride in the physical appeal of their
city-state
Trade routes between
The economic success brought the Assyrians political
influence and after many wars and conquests, the Assyrians dominated all of
They were fierce people known for committing wartime
atrocities against unarmed civilians and for treating conquered armies with
cruelty
Assyrian kings viewed professional armies as essential to
conquests and thus created large armies
The army was divided into units: foot soldiers,
charioteers, cavalry and archers
Mercenaries (hired foreign soldiers) were added to local
armies when necessary
Assyrians had learned the secret of making iron and used
this knowledge to male arrows and lances of superior quality
Assyrian kings expanded the territory to include
King Ashurbanipal (668 - 626) was
the most powerful and the cruelest
All conquered people (civilian or military) were treated
cruelly
Territories were plundered and he used these gains to
enrich his own surroundings (gold, ivory and silver)
Ashurbanipal also showed much interest in science and math
He constructed a garden and a zoo at his palace
He had a library stocked with over 22 000 clay tablets
After the collapse of the Assyrian empire,
The Chaldeans, a Semitic people
settled here about 1000 BC
Their king, Nebuchadnezzar transformed
Nebuchadnezzar was a warrior king, with notable stories
retold in the Christian bible
He conquered
Was also known as a great builder
This empire stood until 549 BC when the powerful Persians
became the new rulers of a growing international world
Government
The early years of city-states saw free citizens elect an
assembly to run the government
The assembly consisted of two houses: an upper house which
contained the wealthiest citizens and a lower house which contained soldiers
These elected members chose the judges, who were responsible
for enforcing the laws and for selecting military leaders at wartime
Kings did not appear until foreign invaders became a
concern and a strong leader was needed
Kings were called lugals
and thought of themselves as living representatives of gods (known as a
government of theocracy)
Lugals major responsibility was to provide defense of the
city-state
The other vital responsibility was to supervise the
development and maintenance of the irrigation works, which were essential to
the economic survival of the city-state
Early Sumian kings were elected,
but as theocracy grew the crown passed from father to son
This was the beginning of dynasties or hereditary
monarchies
Assyrian religious leaders has less political power than in
There was clear separation between government and religion
The king was however bound to certain religious customs
(fasting for five days once a month etc.)
Law and Justice
One of
The codes developed by the Sumerians and the Babylonians
were an attempt to collect, organize and record all existing laws so there
would be one common code for all citizens
One code gave legal protection to peasants and commoners as
well as nobles but the laws were applied differently to different classes of
people
Nobles were treated harshly as better behaviour was
expected from them; peasants usually were fined or punished phosically
Hammuribi, king of
The code distinguished between a minor and a major crime;
established that the state is responsible for enforcing the law and confirmed
that social justice should be guaranteed to all citizens
Promoted the idea that the punishment should fir the crime,
"an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth (if a house collapsed and killed the
owner, the builder was put to death)