Monday-
Sumerians- society: always under state of war (farmland and water supplies), cities surrounded by walls. Religion Sumerians left mark on the entire middle east, Judeo-christian-Islamic. Different towns had different gods, polytheism more than one god. Enki- god of water, created man, assign roles of each god. enlil-god of wind and agriculture, anu-sky god and father of gods, evil spirits, and demons. Sumerian gods- wearing horned cap/long rods as ascending for the mountain and the sun rise. Entertainment- board games, dice games, wrestling, boxing, music. Geography- located on the fertile crescent (middle east) most located in the Iran, Iraq, and Syria. They had natural protection because they were surrounded by rivers and the ocean. a lot of villages were by the Tigris (flooded a lot) and left silt for fertile ground. rivers include Euphrates and Tigris. Economy- agriculture based: barley, wheat, lettuce. Farms- cows, sheep, goats, pigs. trade- they used streams for trading. Shekel was the money they used to buy things. a shekel equals a bushel. Advances: cuneiform (writing system), styluses (a sharp tool to write on to clay tablets), potter wheel (could make pottery faster), wheeled vehicles (to help round up animals, plants, and to get work done), the plow and sowing machine (made it easier to farm the land, to get a better yield), math system based on the number 60, mud brick houses (higher class had bigger ones and lower class had smaller ones). Political history- original creators of politics, used to organize labor, construction, and regulate trade. made people work together and make something greater, citizens were expected to know laws punishments, democracy and monarchy are still used today. There were 8 city states (big society with separate parts in that one society) that had separate kings with priests and nobles ect. kings received guidance from the assembly. The assembly: consisted of free and elected men within the city-state, one man selected in war or famine, army had full time/village soldiers, "general" was supposed to only be a kind during war. Organization: king decided via hereditary, monarchy ruled over large lang, middle management was in charge of distributing crops, land, and law. no empire, power shifted often (between the city-states). Court system- decided by 2 houses, upper (elders) and lower (free soldiers), citizens were expected to know law and punishment. continued- earliest laws included family rights, trade, slavery, tariffs, taxes, prices, and wages. different for rich and poor, poor were somewhat protected, inscribed on 6ft high stone.
shang dynasty-Where is it? located in Northeast China, mostly in the yellow river valley, natural borders- oceans, but no mountains. King tang of Shang: jie of xia overthrown (tortoise shell prophecy, drought, 9 foot tall, white, whiskered, pointed head, six jointed arms), xia or early shang. shang beat the xia. Tang was the greatest ruler of the Shang Dynasty. When he ruled it was all peaceful (king tang of shang). The final battle (battle of muye)- the final battle, facing clans of zhou, di xin preoccupied, 50,000 vs, 53,000, slaves defecting from Shang, better trained Zhou, Di Xin fleed the battle and later committed suicide.
Tuesday- Shang Dynasty:
economy- Social classes: king- most respected, responsible for governing the smaller parts of the dynasty. craftsmen- "middle class" hand crafting weapons and chariots. bottom were peasants- poorest, majority of the population, farmers, serfs (slaves). economy was agricultural based- crops (wheat and rice), tools (wood/stone), breeding livestock (cows and sheep). Trading: yellow river and yangtze river. They traded cows, bronze, crops. Currency were sea shells (easy to count, not from central china). technological advances- Chinese calendar (lunar new years calendar), early Chinese script (writing), use of bronze tools/weapons (industrialized and gave advantage over nearby people), oracle bones (early fortune telling), Politics- feudalism like empire (not complete feudalism but had different classes). Led by the Tang family (+500 years), regional/city rulers (had control over their certain areas), emperor Zhou (last king) overthrown by Zhou dynasty rulers. Culture- musical instruments (drums, winds, and cymbals), writing using oracle bones (writing in general and used for fortunes), sculptures (made out of jade, stone, bronze, shells, and ceramics). "bronze age" most things they made were made from bronze. wrote a lot of poetry. Tombs- would put everything in the tomb with them to take to their after life. Aerobatics and dance- told stories and bent while dancing. Kites- made from animal skins to make. Card games played with a deck of 30 cards . Go and stones: kind of like poker using jade. Religion- polythestics, taoism (belief of a god and an afterlife), buddhism (life is full of suffering, can be relieved by meditation, and wisdom), confucianism- philosophy (don't believe there is a god, but believes there is an afterlife). Gender roles: women his behind men, no rights, did housework, and no jobs, no tombs. Men- did the work.
Wednesday-
Babylonian presentation. Normal period and Neo babylonians.
Egypt (old kingdom)- Social: religion- after life (ideal young and healthy), a spirit called Ka (person's life force), polytheistic (belief in gods). king and god- pharaoh: a person who was believed to be a messenger of a god (they got blamed if something was bad or if something was good). Art- monumental structures in stone, life size statues (sculpture) made of wood, copper, and stone. Stone carvings were natural world (animals, plants and landscapes, placings (temples). Education: girls were taught by mother (sewing, cooking, and reading. Boys taught by priests and scribes (math reading, writing, geography, kids from royal families or the rich got more education. Entertainment: board games senet"game of passing", sports (to be prepared for war), storytelling. Technology: pyramids (pyramid of djoser), writing (hieroglyphics, papyrus), mathematics (factors of 10). Geography- located in lower nile valley, to the south there were mountains, east and west were deserts, north was the Mediterranean sea, also there was flooding. Culture: art and images (sculptures) made of wood, copper, and stone. temples and tombs were made by masters of their craft. Big on technology- building of pyramids, mathmatics. Politics- paraoh (upper class), then nobles, next is scribes, and finally the lower class (slaves). Political system: pharaoh- had all of the power, was considered a king and god, blamed when bad stuff happened, hereditary (next son would be the next king). Nobles: gov. officials- appointed by Pharaoh, usually family members, upper class. Priests (oversee that the gods are taken care of). Scribes (middle class)- wrote and were craftsmen. Servant "class"- made up of farmers, servant or slaves, hard labor. Economy-
Thursday- Economy of Egypt (old kingdom)- basics: Barter system- negotiated and used debens (little copper pieces used as "money"), Workers- paid with wheat, barley, occasional craft products. Later money changed for foreigners and used coins. Women were normally not treated equally but they did have some contracts. Jobs- pharoahs, soldiers, servants, scirbes, doctors, merchants, dancers, preist, hunters, bakers, pyramid builders, carpenters, coffin-makers, hairdresser, spinners, weavers, jewellers, musicians, egyptian artists, farmers. Basic pay- lowest: 10 loafs of bread, 1/3 - 2 jugs of beer, 2-50 times that amount depending on rank. highest known 38 1/3 loafs, lowest 1/3 loaf. Trade- 4th century BC- traded with areas around them including Aegean, Mediterranean and red sea. sailors on trading ships paid in grain. Taxes- part of produce collected- redistributed to states pay list for people of a local basis, distributed needs, regional facilities (back up). Grain banks (take portions of it for a fee), "supply state". Traded-grain, linen, papyrus sheets, golds, other minerals. Received- copper, animal skins, ivory, silver, iron, spices, rare stones, wild animals.
Harappan- Political/history- gov was ruled by priests and kings, religion was basis for their gov. , laws all came from religious beliefs, monarchy- form of gov. with supreme authority, well organized, rulers governed through trade and religion not military, priest were higher than kings. How/when did they lose power- earthquakes, flooding, and climate change. When the desert settled in the soil became infertile, Aryans attacked the civilization, by 1700 BC the Harappans had broken up into smaller cultures. Describe how it worked, include laws- they are a theocracy gov, run by a priest, karma was a big part of their laws, be a good person and do your duty, they had social, human, and personal laws, men treat women with honor and respect, most important job of women was to take care of children. What wars did the fight and what were the results- really peaceful civilization, avoided war for over 2000 years, main fight was the Aryans (wiped out the harapans). How/when did they come into power- the earliest evidence of religious practices in the Indus valley was 5500 BCE, evidence of farming dates back to 4000 BCE, the first sign of urbanization was around 3000 BCE, by 2600 BCE there was dozens of towns and cities, between 2500 and 2000 BCE was the peak of the Indus valley, they had many houses, wells, bathrooms, even underground drainage systems. Economy: trading based economy )traded on the silk roads), refined materials, Indian rivers, wealth=grains. They loved raw materials that came in. How did people make a living? priest, warriors, landowner/farmers, traders/merchants, made clothes/pottery/jewelry. Social classes- the caste system (believed in reincarnation, and you were born in this class based on karma) (not legal today). Geography- By India right by the Indus river (on today's Pakistan) (called Indus River Valley). Does it have natural barriers? Himalayan mountains on one side and the desert on the other side and the Arabian sea as well. Is it by a body of water or river- yes Indus river, Arabian sea. How did geography impact them? earthquakes and flooding. Social- entertainment/art- the monkey sliding down a string, they like gambling and board games, some music instruments were found, they were very skilled and pottery, weaving, and metal working. Gender roles/educational system- women were to take care of the house, men could own land and had an education, women were to be respected, education was practical and aimed for priests and scribes, basic reading, writing, math, ect. Religion- they worshiped a mother goddess of fertility, swastika signs on seals, a proto-shiva god, male and female deities, a possible tree of life, mostly female deities. Advances- Plumbing, grid systems. Large cities- 370 acres, 23,500 people.
Friday- Assyrians- Political History: monarchy (one person in charge), it was hereditary, you could lose power. The king was the lawmaker, administrator, commander in chief. Court- were ministers, health officials. You could lose power if you get voted off. Laws- same as Babylonians laws but more harsh- cropping of ears, cropping of noses. They followed Hammurabi's code (based on social power higher=less punishment, lower=harsher). Hammurabi's code- 282 laws, stone pillar, was the most celebrated king, it ended up being a universal code, legal experts collect data, the code requires accusers to bring accused to court, not the first laws made, found in 1901 in modern day Iran. Hammurabi was not Assyrian but he was Babylonian. Economy- farming- wheat, barley, melons, vegetables. herding animals- sheep, goats, donkeys, water buffalo. Tigris River- used for irrigation, importing/exporting goods, trade routes, taxed other traders to use. Jobs- potters, goldsmiths, engravers, woodworkers, leather producers, brick makers, masonry, stone cutter, fishers/hunters, carpenters, farmers. Military jobs- archers, soldiers, spear throwers. Social classes- top class- king, upper class- nobles, merchants, business owner, lower class- artisans, carpenters, farmers, bottom class- slaves. Geography- modern day northern Iraq, in the fertile crescent (between Tigris and Euphrates river), they had the Zagros Mts., had water routes, natural barriers. Fall/expansion of empire- Tiglath-piseser III. They got taken over by the Babylonians and then they took back over the Babylonians and went back and forth. Advances- cavalry, siege warfare (trap people and starve them), not great inventors, canals, and flood irrigation, and the plow/planter. Religion- two religions (ashurism and Christianity), ashur god of air, 256 A.D., accepting Christianity. Education- mainly for upper class (for priests and scribes), schools were attached to temples (only boys went to school). Entertainment- with city growth the had a lot of entertainment come. Music- drums, lyres, flutes, harps. sports- wrestling, boxing. Kids toys- jump rope and tops. Gender roles- Female- wives, housekeepers, mothers, clothes makers, tended the fire. Men- kings, rule makers, farmers, warriors, architects, father.
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