Near East Study Guide for Midterm (no pics)

Akkad

New capitol of Akkadian empire

Amorites

group from west that is semi-nomadic and contributes to end of Ur III dynasty

Babylonia

City-state Hammurabi becomes King of and makes into an empire through conquest

Catalhoyuk

7250-6500 BC; Proto-city of 200 families

Catalhoyuk houses had/were

Wall paintings; No doors; equal burials; made of mudbrick

Catalhoyuk was in control of

obsidian trade

Euphrates River

Longer, slower, channels/shift and move. Better for irrigation

Fertile Crescent

Lots of rain, good for domestication

Gobeklitepe

SE Turkey; 9600 BC; oldest megalithic structure

Gobeklitepe had/was

4 circular rings; T-shaped limestone pillars; religious origins?; built by hunter-gatherers

Halaf Culture

Villages in Syria and Northern Mesopotamia that had more goddess figurines

Jericho

8000-7000 BC; farming village

Jericho is

a tell site of round houses for 600 people

Jericho had

A wall for war/protection from flash flooding; plastered skulls

Karahantepe

9400 BC; megalithic structure

Karahantepe had

megalithic structures focused on rites of passages

Karum Kanesh

An economic node that Asur/Ashur traded too. Along the caravan route; tax evasion/smuggling; family-run business

Levant

Israel-Palestine-Jordan area

Mari

City-state Hammurabi conquers and destroys

Mesopotamia

Euphrates (slow, moving river) + Tigris River (fast, worse for irrigation)

Sumer

Region between Akkad and Persian Gulf; Contains Ur and Uruk

Tigris River

Faster moving, worse for irrigation.

Ubaid Culture

Expanded irrigation canals; farming villages; temples; craft specialization.

The Ubaid Culture was a

Predecessor to Uruk (first city)

Ur

Patron deity of Nanna; royal burials + cemetery

Uruk (Revolution)

Simultaneous development of cities, differentiation, state-level organization, monumental building, long-distance trade, and writing

Uruk (city)

First city in 3300 BC of 40,000 people; had a city wall

An(u)

Sky god; father of Ishtar and Enlil

Enheduanna

Daughter of Sargon; high priestess at Ur to moon god Nanna; Poet, first named author

Enki

Renamed to Ea. God of subterranean waters, wisdom, and craft. Patron deity of Eridu

Enkidu

Hairy man, forged from clay, meant to be Gilgamesh’s match; nature→civilized

Enlil

God of earth, air, wind, agriculture. Patron deity of Nippur

Gilgamesh

King of Uruk; 2/3 divine; not well liked king at beginning. Turned down Ishtar.

Gudea

Governor of Lagash; 27 figures, depicted as strong-armed. Pious King unlike Akkadians

Hammurabi

Just (justice) King.

Hummbabba

Cedar Forest guardian; killed by Enkidu and Gilgamesh

Innana/Ishtar

Goddess of love and sexuality; patron deity of Uruk

King Meskalamdug

Sumerian ruler of Ur; gold helmet found in royal cemetery

Nanna

Moon god

Naram-Sin

Sargon’s grandson

Ningirsu

Deity of Lagash; agricultural god and of warfare

Queen Pu’abi

Big grave at Ur; tons of human sacrifice; know her name thanks to cylinder seal in tomb

Sargon of Akkad

Founder of Akkadian empire; origins similar to Moses (baby in reed basket)

Shulgi

Had many wives and consorts, one wrote a lullaby. Claims divinity

Ur-Nammu

Helped build ziggurat of Ur

Ut-napnishtim

Given immortality by gods in Epic of Gilgamesh because he survived a flood

‘Ain Ghazal Figures were

Made of lime and reed; buried in 2 pits; about 30 in total

Bronze Statue of Akkadian King

Found at Temple of Ishtar in Nineveh. Sargon or his son Manishtushu?

Cult Statue of Innana at Ur

Representation of god; deity thought to reside in; made of composite

Cylinder Seals

Stone, cylindrical objects. Engraved and rolled.

Cylinder Seal function

Authentication, identity, ownership, and worn as jewelry

Eanna Compex at Uruk

Sanctuary of Innana; had mosaic cylinder things

Foundaiton Figurines

Figurines made to honor gods and pray buildings did not collapse; good for historians to know about builders (kings) of temples

Goddess Figurines

Found at Catalhoyul; egalitarian matriarch?

Gudea’s Temple of Ningirsu

Floor plan matches up to a statute of Gudea of Lagash

Hammurabi’s Code

Eye for eye punishment if both people were of equal status; if→ then structure

Liver models

Early divination practice; reading guide for animal guts since liver believed to be location of soul

Mace head of Barakisumun

2450 BCE; symbol of Ningirsu, storm god

Palace of Mari

Belonged to Zimri-Lin and his father. Famous in antiquity for beauty and grandness; had 260 rooms; burned so it’s well preserved. Had archives that historians like

Relief of Urnashe

of Lagashe; 2600 BC; snake charmer and cupholder

Royal Tombs of Ur

Pit graves + royal tomb with ramps. Can see differences in social structure; know name of Puabi because of cylinder seal’ Puabi headdress

Standard of Ur

Blue mosaic box that emphasizes the duality of Kings: war and peace

Stela of Naram-Sin

Grandson of Sargon; 37 year reign; deifies himself with horned crown (big change). Defeat of Zagros tribe

Stela of Ur-Namu

Pious King who gets rod and ring from Nanna; build temple to Gods

Sumerian King’s List

Cities, rulers, and lengths of reign. Includes a “before the flood” era so mythological periods. Copied over generations

Uruk Vase

Made of Alabaster; found in Eanna Complex; repaired in antiquity; Ianna recieving offerings

Akkadian Empire

First unification of Mesopotamia; group of states under a single authority, Enlil primary deity; new language and capitol

Cuneiform

Script (like our alphabet) for Sumerians and Akkadian. 79 AD last known use; limited literacy

Cuneiform is

wedge-shaped; syllabic+ideographic; impressed

Uses of cuneiform

Economic, literary, royal administrative stuff

Domestication

the process by which plants become dependent on humans for propagation

Hunter-gatherer

Only 100 people in groups; moved where food went

Irrigation

6000 BC earliest evidence

Kuankes

Sheepskin wrap for men and women

Lapis Lazuli

Hard to get material from Afghanistan; symbolized divine royal

Mudbrick

Mud + temper sundried

Obsidian

Volcanic glass formed from hardened molten silica of volcanoes; Catalhoyuk controlled obsidian trade; can be fingerprinted

Old Babylonian Empire

Peaked under Hammurabi

Proto-cuneiform

3400-2900 BC; ideographic, economic, institutional archives, drawn. Syllabic (sign=syllable)

Rite of passage

Ceremony or event marking an important life-stage or transition

Tell

mound formed from accumulation of debris from long-term human settlement

Votive Offering

two sided contract; dedicated to god and ask for favor in return; make permanent in action.

Ziggurat

Stepped tower for worship of gods; made via mudbrick.

Ziggurat at Ur dedicated to

moon god.

Stage 1 of Rediscovery

Antiquarians, diplomats, individuals and adventurers

Stage 2 of Rediscovery

Imperial powers

Stage 3 of Rediscovery

More University centered and sponsored

Law of superposition

Deepest layer of sediments is oldest

Karahantepe art is not in

reliefs and does not depict women

Catalhoyuk burials are

mostly articulated

Skulls at Jericho are

Plastered and not articulated

Everyone buried at Jericho was _________ except ____

articulated; kids

‘Ain Ghazal Figures have

ambiguous gender

Halaf and Ubaid Cultures

Part of upper and lower Mesopotamia respectively; showed transition from farming villages to first cities

True/False: Sacred objects cannot be removed from ritual space in Sumerian period

True. Uruk vase found in pit in Eanna complex in Uruk

The emergence of cuneiform in Mesopotamia is for

Economic/administrative reasons; not to preserve religious ideas

The Sumerian Kings List only records

dominant cities

Cylinder seals could be

different colors (lapis lazuli thought to bring divine favor); also gods could own them too