Unit 2: Hammurabi and Gilgamesh�Chapter 8: Sargon and Empires

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Ms. Sells 7^th Grade Ancient History Class

Sargon's Beginnings

• “Legend of Sargon” - 1^st millennium BCE
• Written in Sumerian, hundreds of years after his reign
• These are legends/myths, not history; Sargon, however, DID actually become king in 2340 BCE and reigned 56 years in Mesopotamia. We know this from royal inscriptions
• The Story: His mother puts him in a basket and floats him down the river (never knew his father).
• Similar to...?

Sargon Continued

• The Story (cont.)
• A simple farmer named Akki finds baby Sargon and raises him as his son
• Goddess Ishtar takes a liking to Sargon and he becomes king of “black-headed people.” (This is what Mesopotamians called themselves)
• What we actually know about Sargon.
• Grew up in North, may have overthrown current king to take the throne, made the city of Agade his capital city
• He conquered all of Mesopotamia creating the 1^st empire

Sargon cont.

• Famous for “tearing down” city walls
• basically meant Sargon conquered that city
• Also famous for spreading trade
• Had ships in the farthest parts of the known world – rulers will imitate him!
• Conquering lands in Syria and Lebanon meant that Sargon no longer had to trade for valuable lumber and metal
• Sargon prayed to both his gods and his enemies' gods during war. Why?

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Agade and Ebla

• Agade, Sargon's capital, has never been found
• Another big city, Ebla, has been found!
• “treasure trove” of info. from Sargon's time
• Fire in the palace ironically saved thousands of clay tablets in stone allowing historians to decipher them!
• Contents include:
• lists of rations, clothing, and records of workers
• Most in Sargon's empire depended on the king for provision and protection

Tira-il and Diplomacy

• Tira-il's Background
• Scribe and palace steward
• Summoned to write to Ebla's king representative in the town of Hamazi.
• Letter emphasizes friendship between cities
• We know the kings of Ebla communicated with rulers in other cities because their letters appear in other cities
• Messengers like this became the world's first diplomats
• Fate of Ebla?

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destroyed in 3rd Millennium BC

Chapter 9: Priests & Priestesses

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Ms. Sells 7^th Grade Ancient History Class

Enheduanna the Priestess

• She was King Sargon's daughter!
• High priestess at the temple of Nanna (god of the moon).
• Her life (thus, the life of priests/priestesses)
• Lived “shut away” from everyday life
• Not allowed to marry.
• Lived in luxury
• Each day she sang to Nanna, chanted prayers, wrote hymns
• More than 50 copies of these prayers and hymns have been found!
• She is one of the world's first known authors!

More on Mesopotamian Religion

• Each god/goddess had 2 forms
• #1 Spirit in nature
• #2 Spirit in a “cult statue”
• Cult Statues had the same needs as humans
• They were fed by “inhaling” food placed before them
• Afterwards, priests or slaves would “finish up” the meal
• No complete statues have survived, only pieces
• Made from gold, bronze, decorated with gemstones; statues wore clothes, seated on thrones.

Priests/Priestesses

• Two types of priests
• Purification Priest: rid the temple of ordinary dirt (also spiritual wickedness and evil).
• Diviner: interpret the will of the gods by deciphering “signs”
• Studied “innards” of sacrificed animals
• Festival Days: Cult statues paraded around cities while people hold celebrations
• Gods go “Visiting”: Cult statues carried by boat to neighboring cities to express friendship and good will

Mesopotamian Religion cont.

• Each city was home to specific god/goddess
• City of Nippur = home of Enlil
• Ziggurats (temples), like palaces, owned land, orchards, fields
• People lived and worked on the land
• Cuneiform demonstrates workers swept floors, carried buckets of water, worked as security guards, etc.
• Who had the most important job of all...?

priests/ priestesses

Chapter 10: Shulgi, Hammurabi, and Law in Mesopotamia

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Ms. Sells’ 7^th Grade Ancient History Class

King Shulgi

• Successful Mesopotamian king; came to the throne in 2094 BCE and ruled for 48 years
• A writer who wrote hymns to himself!
• Proud and boastful, yet cared for the poor.
• Built the first Ziggurat, a massive temple
• Ziggurats became common to ancient Mesopotamian cities
• Emphasized peaceful aspects of his rule in royal inscriptions
• Encouraged trade
• Known for standardizing weights/ measurements across his kingdom.

King Hammurabi

• Ruled Babylon for around 43 years (1792-1750 BCE).
• Conquered the rest of Mesopotamia piece by piece
• Biggest empire since Sargon, 600 years earlier
• Admired Sargon and imitated him
• Claimed he conquered cities because their god or goddess supported him
• Called himself “King of Justice.”
• Was a hero to the people; forgave them their debts and set the slaves free

King Hammurabi

• Hammurabi's Code (282 Laws)
• Inscribed on stone monument 7.5 feet high, topped with image of Hammurabi standing in front of Shamash
• Laws covered all types of cases, including: divorce, property, duties to king, criminal acts, theft, and assault
• Shulgi punished with fines, Hammurabi punishes with physical suffering: “Eye for an eye”
• “If a man accuses another man and charges him with murder but cannot bring proof against him, the accuser shall be killed.”
• Underlying message:
• Respect and adherence to a centralized court system is important for civilizations!

Chapter 11: The Justice System

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Ms. Sells’ 7^th Grade Ancient History Class

Ninshubar-tayar

• Lived in city of Nippur during reign of Hammurabi.
• No wife or children
• He adopts Patiya through an adoption contract (1733 BCE) to take over his farm, provide him with more daily goods
• In exchange, Ninshubar-tayar will provide him with everything he needs to live!
• If Patiya broke bargain?
• Is this unusual?

Only pay a fine

Yes, most were harsher

Contracts and Justice

• Who “decided” contract disputes?

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• Mesopotamians kept ________ of their court system, so we know how it worked!
• Mesopotamian Justice System
• No ______; a panel of ___-___ judges decided the fate of the case
• No _________; all participants defended themselves.
• Judges did call for __________.
• What happened if you lied under oath?.

judges

records

jury 6 7

lawyers

witnesses

Death

Story of Shamashnasir

• Example of the Mesopotamian justice system at work
• Shamashnasir inherited majority of property and wealth, his brother was not happy, the dispute went to court
• Witnesses swear Shamashnasir was adopted legally, he wins the case!
• His brother loses his share of the family wealth.
• Types of Contracts?

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sales, rentals, slaves, adoptions, marriages, hiring workmen

Final Thoughts About Hammurabi's Laws

• Hammurabi's laws are not general rules like laws we have today
• They do not say people should “never” or “always”
• They cover particular situations: “if this”, “then that”
• Many cases that end up in court did not have a legal precedent set
• Therefore, judges probably looked at similar cases and used their “best” judgement

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Chapter 12: Mesopotamian Workers

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Ms. Sells’ 7^th Grade Ancient History Class

The Story of Ningallam

• Demonstrates aspects of ordinary Mesopotamian workers
• She was a slave; scribes kept record of her around 2400 BCE
• She raised pigs in the queen's palace in Lagash.
• For payment, she received 18 liters of barley each month (4 and 3/4s gallons).
• Had two children who helped her work
• Suddenly, in the records, what happens? What does this tell us?

She dies, yet children still recorded as her’s because they didn't have last names

Mesopotamian Workers

• Thousands of Mesopotamians worked for temples or palaces
• Professions included:

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• Were most workers slaves?
• How were workers paid?

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• How did most families spend their “income?”

raising animals, made tools or furniture, tanned leather, wove cloth, created jewelry, brewed beer, carving inscriptions

no

items needed for survival, silver, wealthy got land

on food

Signs/Smells of Mesopotamian Streets

• What could be found on them?

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• What was unique about taverns?

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• What does this tell us about their society?

Sights: bakers, potters, metal workers, taverns, professionals

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Smells: smoke, bread, hot metal

owned by women, criminal hangout, (Hammurabi's law 109)

“Professionals”

• “Skilled” vs. “Unskilled” Labor

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• Examples of Mesopotamian “professionals”:

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• Where did most trade/shopping take place?

Skilled: specialized and requires longer training period

Physicians, Barbers, Veterinarians

Public Squares

Chapter 13: Ur-Utu and the Mesopotamian Family

Ms. Sells’ 7^th Grade Ancient History Class

Story of Ur-Utu

• He lived around 1650 BCE in the city of Sippar.
• His house burns, he flees his home abruptly with his family
• Records found at his house give historians a glimpse into the lives of him and his family!
• His Family:
• Ur-Utu's father was Inanna-mansum

Inanna-mansum & Marriage

• Came into his inheritance
• Asked for Ilsha-hegali's hand in marriage by visiting her father and making a contract. Did Ilsha-hegali have a choice...?
• Hammurabi's law 128: “If a man marries a wife but does not draw up a formal contract for her, that woman is not his wife.”
• A dowry was an important part of Mesopotamian marriages. It was wealth the bride brought with her into the marriage. Legally, if they divorced, she could take back her dowry and return to her father's household.
• Ilsha-hegali's dowry consisted of a slave girl, a bed, 5 chairs, chests, and garments

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Mesopotamian Marriage

• Mesopotamians did have marriage ceremonies to celebrate marriage contracts
• After the marriage ceremony: bride moved into groom's household with her dowry
• Usually, his parents still live there!
• Brides stayed in touch with their families, through letters and written communication
• Once married, wives were expected to have children, raise children, and help manage the household

Mesopotamian Infants & Children

• High infant mortality rates
• Many died of disease; medicine was not great
• Parents “protected” children with chants, prayers, magical spells, and lullabies
• Mesopotamian childhood: not much is known
• Played with toys such as balls and clay wagons
• Some went to “scribal school” where they learned to read/write in order to serve the king

Chapter 14: Education in Mesopotamia

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Ms. Sells’ 7^th Grade Ancient History Class

Education in Mesopotamia

• Discipline
• Teachers would “cane” misbehaving students - hitting them with a long stick.
• Students could get hit for a variety of things:
• Being tardy, misbehaving in class, messy handwriting
• Only the wealthy could afford to send children to school
• “scribe” means “one who writes.”

Education in Mesopotamia

• Prepared students for careers as scribes, doctors, judges, priests, astronomers - although scribes were the chief focus
• Almost all students were male
• The few women scribes mostly worked for other women
• What were the “workbooks” of ancient Mesopotamia?
• Schools were called “edubbas” or “tablet houses.”
• Work done in Sumerian (written language), NOT in Akkadian (spoken language), though students spoke in Akkadian in class!

Education in Mesopotamia

• Work consisted of:
• Copying lines of cuneiform from teacher, myths, or legends
• Memorizing lists of Sumerian words
• Writing words out repeatedly.
• Students used a “stylus,” a pointed writing tool made from a reed, to imprint cuneiform writing onto clay tablets.
• Boys started school when they were young and finished in their late teens
• No sports, arts, history, or science classes - only literature, math, and music.

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Pagirum

• He was a well-known slave who lived around 1650 BCE.
• Self-employed, made a living by writing letters & contracts for people
• Became well educated and understood math; because of this, he could survey houses and lands to calculate sizes
• He was rewarded by the king with 51-acre field!
• Story illustrates that, while rare, social mobility, to an extent, was somewhat possible in Mesopotamia.

Chapter 15: Zimri-Lim and the Mesopotamian Palace

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Ms. Sells’ 7^th Grade Ancient History Class

Zimri-Lim's Story

• Mesopotamian king of Mari.
• We know a lot about his personal life; he had ____ daughters and was married to ________.
• He was a ________, judge, __________, religious leader.
• Archaeologists have uncovered letters from _________ to Zimri-Lim.
• She _________ her husband!
• When Zimri-Lim was gone, Shibtu controlled the __________. What did this include?
• One of his daughters, _____-______, was unhappy in her __________. Result?

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Shibtu

king military leader

Shibtu

city

Inib sharri

marriage

She got to go home

loved

Story of Shimatum and Kirum

• Another daughter, Shimatum, married King _____-_____; the marriage doesn't go particularly well.
• In response, Zimri-Lim sends another daughter, Kirum, to marry the king.
• Result: an early version of sibling _________!
• King _____-_____ ends up divorcing _________ who returns to Zimri-Lim's household.
• Other recovered letters show that kings received advice from _______, palace _________, and others regarding how to act in situations.

Haya Sumu

rivalry

Haya Sumu Kirum

advisors officials

Zimri-Lim's Palace

• It was ___________ for its time.
• It was ___ acres, had _____ rooms on ground floor.
• King & family had their own private _________ protected by guards.
• Contained bathtubs (and servants to bathe you) and “flush _______.”
• Throne room = 1 wall decorated with large __________ of king; floors covered with rich _________.
• Throne made of _______ & ______.
• ____-_____ = in charge of the king's kitchen.
• Recipes on clay tablets; earliest known ever!

enormous

6 260

quarters

toilet

painting

carpets

ivory gold

Ama dugga

Chapter 16: The End of an Era

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Ms. Sells’ 7th grade Ancient History

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Timeline - The Old Babylonian Empire

• 1900 BCE - Amorite dynasty founded; old Babylonian period begins
• 1792 - 1750 BCE - Hammurabi created Old Babylonian Empire
• 1775 - 1761 BCE - Zimri-Lim of Mari, Syria reigns
• 1749 - 1712 BCE - Samsu-iluna of Babylon reigns
• 1650 BCE - Foreign invaders destroy Sippar
• 1625 - 1595 BCE - Samsu-ditna of Babylon reigns
• 1595 BCE - Mursili of Hatti attacks Babylon; Old Babylonian Empire ends

King Samsu-ditana

• His empire had shrunk, but was still the major power in Mesopotamia
• King of Babylon and ruler of the Neo-Babylonian empire

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The Destruction of Babylon in 1595 BCE

• No archaeological evidence exists from this time in Babylon
• We have records from other places that describe the event: “In the time of Samsu-ditana, the Man of Hatti marched against Akkad”
• Records found in Hattusa give details about the Hittites
• Hittites returned to their homeland after destroying Babylon, but did not leave a leader in charge!
• Did they simply raid the city for its wealth?
• Hittites took the Babylonian god Marduk and his wife from the temple

The Hittites

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• More than 25,000 cuneiform tablets found in Hattusa described the Hittites
• King Mursili of Hatti conquered Babylon in 1595 - it was a small kingdom at the time
• A later Hittite leader described Mursili’s victories:
• “ He destroyed Aleppo and brought captives… to Hattusa… Later he… destroyed Babylon and … brought captives and possessions of Babylon to Hattusa”
• Mursili’s brother-in-law killed him and took the throne
• Mursili’s brother-in-law was also assassinated

1595 - 1400 BCE

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• Mesopotamia in a “dark age.”
• Hittites left Babylon without a leader
• A group called the Kassites took control, and by 1400 BCE, the Kassites merged into Mesopotamian society
• Kassites adopted Mesopotamian dress, religion, and customs
• Strength and stability under Kassite Kings

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Hittite Language

• The Hittite language is distantly related to English.
• The first in a family of languages known as Indo-European. Other Indo-European languages include Greek, Latin, English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Farsi and others.
• Hittite is the first Indo-European language to be written down (on clay tablets in cuneiform script).
• The first Indo-Europeans may have originated in the area near the Caspian Sea in modern day Russia. They began to migrate beginning around 2500 BCE, using horses and wagons.

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Chapter 17: The Great Powers

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Ms. Sells’ 7^th Grade Ancient History Class

Amenhotep III and Tadu-Heba

• Setting: 1350 BCE - Thebes, Egypt
• Tadu-Heba comes from Syria with servants and gifts; she is marrying Egypt's king and is bringing her dowry
• The purpose of the marriage was to ensure peace and prosperity between regions

The Great Powers (1387 – 1176 BCE)

• 5 great kingdoms that dominated the ancient world: Hatti, Mittani, Babylon, Egypt and Alashiya (Cyprus).
• Most powerful: Egypt due to gold
• Called one another “brothers”: implies respect, not relation
• Marriages, like Amenhotep and Tadu-Heba, united them to ensure peace
• Language of diplomacy: Akkadian
• Both the Kingdom of Mittani and the Hittites wanted a port, so they started as enemies
• But, by the 14th century BCE, fighting between Mittani and Egypt / Hittites ended

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The Great Powers

• Time period also called the “International Age.”
• Ended in 1176 BCE with collapse of the Hittite empire
• By 1,000 BCE Mesopotamia was completely changed.

The End Of The International Age

• Documents from Ugarit give some evidence of the events leading up to the end of the International Age.
• In 1185 BCE, Ammurapi, a Hittite King in the city of Ugarit, saw warships in the harbor. His troops were not in the city and it was sacked. Archaeological evidence showed the city was burned around 1185 BCE and never rebuilt.
• Hattusa was burned and abandoned around the same time, as was Alashiya.
• By 1100 BCE, Mittani, Hatti, and Alashiya were destroyed. Babylonia was in decline and Egypt was struggling.

Primary Characters

• Gilgamesh (protagonist)
• King of Uruk; part god, part man
• Enkidu
• Gilgamesh's close friend (they fight at first and then respect one another); cursed and killed by Ishtar (his death has profound impact on Gilgamesh)
• Humbaba
• A monster who guards and terrorizes those the forest; killed by Gilgamesh and Enkidu
• Utnapishtim
• Wise, old man (immortal; gives Gilgamesh quests)

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Plot Summary