Mesopotamia+45-56

= ﻿Mesopotamia (45-56) = = = = **Broader Influence of Mesopotamian Society** = The Mesopotamian people influenced societies near and far from their homelands. Migrants from Mesopotamia brought with them. Not copying every aspect of it, but picked and chose what they liked, showing that societies big or small had the ability to influence distant lands. (GD)

**Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews.** Abraham, the Hebrew patriarch, came from the sumerian city of Ur. He migrated to Palestine about 1850 B.C.E. (MU)For more than 2000 years, Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews interacted with the Mesopotamian.Hebrews were speakers of the language of Hebrew. (AM) Israelites formed a branch of Hebrews who settled in Palestine and Jews were from the Southern Israelites in the Kingdom of Judah. Early Hebrews lived between Mesopotamia and Egypt and lived as pastoral nomads, then soon settled in the region's(MU) large cities (AR). The Hebrew Law took some of the principles of Hammurabi's code (//Lex Talionis).// Hebrews altered a story of a flood from //The Epic of Gilgamesh// to fit their own beliefs. This shows that they participated in Mesopotamian society. Hebrews left Palestine for Egypt, but in 1300 b.c.e returned after dividing into 12 tribes, known as the Israelites. Eventually, these tribes combined under a Mesopotamian type monarchy. (GD)

The Israelites dominated the area between Syria and the Senai Peninsula during the reigns of Kings David (who ruled from 1000-970 b.c.e) and Solomon (who ruled from 970-930 b.c.e). (AM) Hebrews believed in many Gods, but Moses embraced monotheism and called all other Gods imposters.(GD) Instead of building a ziggurot in their elaborate capital of Jerusalem, they built a temple in Jerusalem honoring Yahweh.(AR) Yahweh set high standards which were explained in the Ten Commandments(MU). Between 1,000 and 400 b.c.e., the Ten Commandments (MU) were taught in The Torah. After King Solomon, the tribes split in two: Some going to the Large Israelite(MU) kingdom in the north while others went to the smaller kingdom to the south known as Judea. Assyrians conquered the Israelite(MU) Kingdom in 722 b.c.e, forcing many of Israelites(MU) to other areas. There they moved away from their previous religious followings. The New Babylonian Empire defeated the Israeli Kingdom and Judah, then Jerusalem in 586 b.c.e. Exiles returned to Judea where they were then known as the Jews. The Israelite's devotion to Yahweh increased during this time and believed that their conquering was a punishment from Yahweh's wrath from them not following his ways. The Jewish deportees built a distinctive community in which they didn't lose their faith, causing them to stand out.(GD) The Jewish religion later greatly influenced the Christianity and Islam followings.(AR)

**The Phoenicians** The Phoenicians first settled about 3000 b.c.e and lived between the Lebanon Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea where they spoke a Semitic language and called themselves Canaanites. They had individual city-states ruled by Local Kings - often fell subjectto Mesopotamian rule. The Phoenicians couldn't farm large amounts of land after 2500 B.C.E. due to laws in the area and focused on Industry and trade because of it. They provided cedar timber, furnishings, and decorative items. The Phoenicians later adapted to their coastal area and discovered Maritime trade, which allowed them to trade even more items.(GD) Some of these exports including metal goods, textiles (in red and purple), pottery, glass, and many works of art. (AM) The phoenicians showed more interest in pursuing commercial opportunities than in state building or military expansion.(MU) Between 1200 and 800 b.c.e. they dominated Maritime trade as the best sailors with the best ships. Phoenician expeditions for precious items led them well past the Mediterranean Sea. Like Hebrews, they chose which Mesopotamian traditions to follow and believed in things like Nature Deities. They relied on cuneiform writing until 2000 b.c.e where they started experimenting with other styles. (GD) They came up with a 22 symbol alphabet representing the consonants, and didn't come up with symbols for the vowels.(AR) this was created in 1500 b.c.e. by the Greeks. (AM) This was easier to learn, than the cuneiform writing, which created a spike in literate people throughout the area, as you did not have to learn thousands of symbols to become literate. (AR and KW)

= The Indo-European Migrations = Mesopotamia became a very productive and diverse region after 3000 b.c.e. People of different communities mingled together and among the most influential were those who spoke numerous Indo-European languages. Indo-European speakers migrated anywhere from southwest Asia and the larger world as well, influencing many regions. (KW)

**Indo-Eurapean Origins** Languages of Europe, Southwest Asia, and India all had similarities during the 18th and 19th centuries and are called Indo-European languages because of where these languages where found geographicly. Linguists noticed that many languages were similar in vocabulary and grammatical structure. They dertermined that these languages were so closely related because they are descendants of ancestors who spoke a common tongue. Their homeland is modern day Ukraine, where Indo-Eurapean speakers built society between 4500-2500 b.c.e. They lived mostly by herding cattle, goats, and sheep, and growing barley and millet. Indo-Europeans also hunted horses that ran wild in the grasslands. They started domesticating horses in 4000 b.c.e. and learned how to ride them. Having domesticated horses provided great power because the horses allowed them to venture out far beyond their own land and transport cattle for trade and goods. Horses also gave them a big military advantage over the people they met. The Indo-Eurapean speakers considered themselves superior to the other peoples.(GD, KW, MU, AR, and AM)

**Indo-Eurapean Expansion and its Effects** Being able to travel long distances with horses, Indo-European speakers expanded into Southern Russia where the population exploded. This population explosion caused the Indo-European speakers to move into sparsely inhabited lands and beyond the grasslands (3,000 b.c.e. to 1,000 c.e.). As the population dispersed, the early Indo-European society broke up but the Indo-European languages and culture spread. Some of the most influential of these migrants were the Hittites. During the 16th and 17th centuries they had a powerful kingdom, but in 1595, it collapsed to the Babylonian empire.(AR) The Hittities are credited with two technological innovations - light weight, spoked-wheeled, horse drawn chariots and refining the technology of iron metallurgy. With the iron metallurgy they were able to produce large quantities of weapons more efficiently and cost effectively. (KW and AM)

Other Indo-European speakers went to different regions including Greece, Central Asia, Italy, Central Europe, Western Europe and Britian. In these areas, the people focused on grazing and agriculure instead of building big cities or organized states. The language and culture of Indo-European Celtic people was dominate throughout most of Europe north of the Mediterranan. They had three social groups: military, priests, and commoners (the largest class). (KW and AM)

Still, other Indo-European speakers migrated to Iran and India in 1500 b.c.e. They also divided into the three social classes of military, priests, and commoners, but unlike the Celtics, the Medes, Persians, and Aryans built powerful states. (AM)

=The Five Themes =

Interaction between humans and the environment
The migration patterns of the Hittites ranged from India (migration to the south) all the way to Europe and Russia (migration in the east and west). After discovering the uses of Horses they were able to travel large distances and trade with multiple people increasing their ability to migrate. Technology that was refined by the Hittites were war chariots and iron metallurgy. The Mesopotamian's had attempted to make war chariots. However due to the heavy wood in the wheels it was very slow. They also had tried there hand at an iron metallurgy, but the iron was to brittle. Environment/Humans: The Mesopotamians used the land and the water to produce the various types of crops they grew, including barley and many other crops. They also herded cattle, sheep, and goats north of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. (AM)

Development and Interaction of Cultures
The Hebrews believed in a monotheistic religion. Their leader, Moses, explained to the Hebrews that Yahweh, their god, had high standards for them to follow. This religion explained their Yahweh was a very personal god yet punished those that did not follow his standards. Another religion was that of the Phoenicians who believed in Astarte a fertility goddess. They also believed in spirits and other gods. Arts: A writing system was created by the Phoenicians and was made up of twenty-two symbols. The system later spread and other people and groups began experimenting with the writing system too. (AM)

State-Building, expansion and conflict
The Hebrews had multiple kings and were apart of a nation known as the Israelites.They were conquered by the Assyrians and taken into exile. Judah, a split branch of Israel, also fell. There were a few people that stayed to true to their beliefs. They were able to return to their homes. After returning back to their capital of Jerusalem they began to repair there city. During this time multiple Jewish states were beginning to form. The Phoenicians began to form at this time also. Major cities of this empire were Tyre, Sidon, Beirut and Byblos. These cities were ruled by their own local kings. They were able to grow and prosper in wealth through their maritime trade.

Creation, Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems
Agriculture/Trade: Agriculture was used in all regions. Irrigation was used to water the crops where rainfall wasn’t as heavy. The Phoenicians did not develop a large agricultural society, so they turned to trade. They traded over Mesopotamia for cedar timber, furnishing, and decorative items, but used the sea for the majority of their everyday goods. The Phoenicians imported raw materials and food, in exchange of high quality good. Some of these exports including metal goods, textiles (in red and purple), pottery, glass, and many works of art. Also, a new alphabet was invented. It was 22 letters. Because the letters were put together to form words it did not take as long to be able to write compared to a cuneiform system, where there are thousands of symbols in involved...this allowed more people to become educated. (AM and KW)

Development and Transformation of Social Structures
We do not see much of a change when it comes to gender roles and relations nor in the family. Because of the ability to have wealth we do see social class. Kings and noblemen were not treated the same as the common folk.

Griffin Day- done Alexis Rienks-done Alyssa Meyer-done Kenzie Wolfe- done Rebekah Whittle - done Makayla Urbauer - done