Mesopotamia1

A. The Geographical Influence

1. Diverse: Two rivers: Tigris (1100 miles) & Euphrates (1700 miles)

2. Zagros/Taurus mountain ranges (EN to NW)

3. Iranian plateau to the NW

4. Arabian Desert to the W

5. Natural resources: mud

B. Early Settlements

1. The 7^th century BC – northern area – “part-time”

2. 6000 – 4000 Southern area – villages

3. Uruk: the first city, c 2500 B.C. & walled

4. The temple precinct: Ishtar (Goddess of War & lust) & Anu (alpha god) – “actual” residence of the gods; the ziggurat

5. Visible by its absence: a palace

6. Duplication of city states

C. The Writing System

1. Clay tablets

2. Token inscriptions

3. Bullae

a. No physical counting needed

b. Non-memory transmission of information

c. Numerical clay tables, impressed, tabulation accomplished

4. The stylus

4. Early ideographs, later syllabic

D. Religious Myths

1. The cult statutes

2. Function: Protection & prosperity

3. Divine natures: mercurial, violent.

4. Role of humans: satisfy the god’s needs; no heaven (Gilgamesh)

5. The role of priests: appease the gods, requires 1/3 GNP

6. Result: respect & fear, not love or devotion

7. The creation & flood myth

E. The Rise of Kingship

1. By 2900 B.C., an aerial glance at the two rivers will show the rise of a large number of city states ranging from the south to the mid-point of the Mesopotamian area, each a basic duplicate of the others. There is one noticeable exception however to city-states in the earlier period. These now have rulers, not priests as the alpha; military rulers now are making offerings to the gods, erecting public works and, most important, protecting the inhabitants of the cities from their enemies.

2. The inference is obvious: population expansion, agricultural expansion, conflict between city-states for available land and water, the growing conflict arising for control of land and water leads to the rise of a military class and an alpha male we call “King” but which contemporaries simply called “Big Name”

3. .Priest/Warrior rivalry & early propaganda

F. Warfare and the Rise of Empires

1. Population increase

2. Agricultural/territorial expansion

3. Inter-state rivalry, alliances & war

4. Up-stream advantage

5. Propaganda of war

a. Always Defensive

b. Restoration of divine order: “the one who steals fields” v “loved by the gods”

c. Upholding the power/authority of the gods

d. Message: all wars are just and in accordance with the will of the gods

6. Failure of the “Quick Military Fix”

G. Sargon of Kish (The Akkadian Empire) 2334 BC – 2279 BC

1. A mythical origin: “afloat on a river”

2. “Sargon” = “the legitimate one”

3. Military expansion via divine support

4. Imperial strategies:

a. A new capital city: Akkad

b. Standardization of language

c. Overseers (Governors) of conquered lands

d. Uniform weights and measures

e. Sargon’s daughters become cult priestess

5. Succession crisis: the death of Sargon

6. Self-deification?????

7. Fragmentation and instability

H. Hammurabi of Babylon , 1792-1750

1. Opportunity to unite: The Elimite threat, 1765

2. Continued expansion

3. Arranged marriage & gift rituals

4. Governmental innovations

a. Tax and debtor relief

b. Regular reports

c. Neutrality among the various deities

d. The law code

I. The Function of Law Codes

1. Conflict resolution

2. mala per se, mala prohibita

3. Legitimacy: The Ruler as representative of the gods

4. Ideological: Defining social status

5. Supporting basic institutions, e.g., the family

6. “Social Justice” Price regulation

7. Image over Reality: Execution of the laws?????