Mesopotamia Test Review 2025

describe daily life in mesopotamia

• there are multiple small and large city-states

• each city controls itself and its own population

• each city has its own separate god to worship

• each city has its own “government” (until conquering citites begin)

Hammurabi

• King Hammurabi of Babylon

• united Mesopotamia

• raises Babylon to major capital-city status

• made Babylon royal god Marduk

Gilgamesh

• “epic of gilgamesh”

• considered the earliest known epic

• about Gilgamesh, Sumerian King of Uruk and Enkidu, his best friend

• the story:

  • gilgamesh, king of Uruk is cruel to tame gilgamesh goddess Aruru created a rival called Enkidu

  • Enkidu lived outside city walls where there was chaos

  • after a priestess of goddess Ishtar seduced Enkidu, he was kicked out by wild animals beyond wall

  • he ventured into city, he fought gilgamesh, both were almost perfectly matched

  • gilgamesh won by a hair, after they were inseparable

  • after Enkidu gilgamesh stopes being cruel and focuses on being strong

  • goddess ishtar took romantic interest in gilgamesh, gilgamesh rejects her

  • ishtar releases bull of heaven on kingdom Uruk, gilgamesh and enkidu killed bull

  • gods killed enkidu, gilgamesh became scared of death, seeked immorality

  • gilgamesh returned home after journey and took care of city and lived his life

Ur Nammu

king of Ur

creator of Earliest legal text of laws (or maybe his son Shulgi)

Ur Nammu’s code went “if____, then____” (crime then consequence)

Enheduanna

first author known by name

daughter of King Sargon of Akkad

high priestess of Ur (Sumer)

first to use the pronoun "I" to express deep emotions

Hammurabis Code

written in cuneiform,

282 laws, known best for law 196: “an eye for an eye”

divides society into 3 classes

• full citizen/ free man

• commoner/ dependent (including women)

• slave

protects women and children, gives slaves rights

no decision??? Trial by River

covered Property, Slaves and Class Structure, Family (children) and Women, Farming and Agriculture, Merchants and Sales

Hammurabi’s Law Trials

relied on EVIDENCE and INTENT

No police to enforce (relied on community)

No prisons (relied on punishment)

No lawyers (defend yourself)

No juries (decisions by elders and judges bench)

could appeal to the King in some cases

Trials held in temples

Declared “Oath” on god

name 5 Most Significant Gods

Enlil

• God of the Air

• Powerful and aggressive warrior

• Manifests in violent storms

• fosters crop growth

Ishtar (or Inanna)

• Mother goddess

• Fertility, life, sex and love

• Also goddess of war

An

• God of heaven

• “Authority” figure

• Control of kingship and cosmic laws

Enki

• God of the underworld

• Craftsmen of the gods

• Clever and cunning

Shamash

• Sun god

• Giver of laws

• God of truth and justice who can see all

explain Babylonian myth

Apsu (freshwater) and Tiamat (saltwater), birth first gods

younger gods' noisy nature disturbs Apsu

plots their destruction but is slain by the god and son of Apsu Ea

mother Tiamat then takes revenge creating monsters to fight the gods

god Marduk defeats Tiamat, splitting her body to form the heavens and earth, and creates humankind from her blood to serve the gods.

explain egyptian myth

Nu was the name of dark swirling chaos

Out of waters rose Atum (not female/male)

Atum had one all seeing eye

created a son and daughter, Shu (the god of air) and Tefnut (the goddess of moisture)

Shu and Tefnut organised chaos into light and dark, this order is called Ma’at

Shu and Tefnut have babies, create the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut

Shu and Tefnut get lost, Atum finds them and cries tears of joy

Tears became first men

explain zulu myth

there was darkness and one large seed

seed sank into earth

Uthlanga = source of all things

seed grow into reed

reed grew the first man (Unkulunkulu)

Unkulunkulu = creator of all things

Unkulunkulu sent chameleon to send message that his people would never die

Life chameleon was slow

sent Fast lizard called death

Death reached mankind before life

death has never left since

explain norse myth

huge void called Gunnuggaga

one side was Muspelheim (fire), and to the other was Niflheim, (ice)

ice from Niflheim met fire from Muspelheim

from this, giant Ymir was born

cow Audhumla came, licked ice, freed Buri 

Buri son, Bor, has three sons: Odin, Vili, and Vé.

These brothers killed Ymir

Ymir's flesh to create the earth

his blood to form the oceans

His bones became mountains

3 brothers found logs on a beach and gave the first man the name Ask (from an ash tree) and the first woman Embla (from an elm tree)

Odin took sparks from Muspelheim to create the sun, moon, and stars

explain navajo myth

there was nothing except 6 beings

• first man

• first woman

• salt woman

• fire god

• coyote

• begochiddy

there was no light, begins grew tired, decided to leave first world

so begochiddy plant seed which grow into reed

climbed inside, reed greew out of first world into second

second world inhabited by cat people

fire beings and cats fought for years

couldnt stop fighting, beings went back into reed and grew into third world

third world was paradise

beings stayed, has children

coyote found baby of water monster by river

coyote stole baby, hid under blanket

water monster mad, floods world

beings run away into fourth world

begochiddy create mountains, set moon and sun and stars

became home of navajo

explain maori myth

world was born from the endless darkness of Te Kore (the Nothingness),

void gave birth to Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother)

Ranginui and Papatūānuku joined so tightly no light was left between them

children lived in the suffocating darkness between them

until Tāne Mahuta god of forests separated them, allowing the world of light, Te Ao Mārama, to exist

Tāne Mahuta pushed his father, Ranginui, up into the sky and pushed his mother, Papatūānuku, down to the earth

why is geography important for civilizations

• Development of life

• Protection or isolation

• Sustaining life

• Resource availability

• Understanding of peoples, civilization, etc.

how did geography around mesopotamia contribute to its success

North

• Mountains – good for defence

• Closer to resources of Mediterranean

• Reliable rainfall

• Rivers rarely flood

• forests full of animals

East

• more mountains (Zagros Mountains)

• more Forests – wildlife

• mountains can be hiding places for rebels/nomads

South

• few natural resources, much building material

• marshes – abundance of fish

• Crux of the rivers – extremely fertile

• Some protection from marshes

• Invaders can come from Persian Gulf – but not easily cause its also a marsh

West

• Syrian Desert

• Possibility of invaders or nomads from desert

• desert extremely dangerous so likely no invaders

• isolations

NORTH = Assyria

SOUTH = Akkad, Sumer and Babylon

Cuneiform

first form of writing

began as symbols, became sounds

written left-to-right

Wedge shaped

stylus on clay

began as way or organization of harvest stored in ziggurats

Scribes

12 yrs of training

First accountants

Noble sons (or slaves)

becoming was voluntary + expensive

Cylinder Seals

worn on string around neck

cylinder with your name on it

trade deals and exchanges would be sealed by rolling your seal into mud to “sign” your name

religion in mesopotamia

Polytheistic

the Me (pronounced may)

unwritten fundamental laws

the Me could be given or stolen; everyone’s responsibility to uphold the Me

priests perform worship (religious ceremony) in sacred temples - Ziggurats

small chapel at top - only priests or King could go to communicate directly with gods

empires and leaders in mesopotamia

1st (not rlly)

• Sumer and Akkad

  • first to use irrigation (chanels, dams, reservoirs)

  • transfer use of wheel (pottery > chariots)

  • developed cuneiform

  • king IS god

Actual 1st

• Akkadian Empire

  • Sargon of Akkad

    • Military success: phalanx formation, composite bow

    • develops postal service, paved roads, irrigation systems

    • “man of the people”

  • akkad falls to weak rulers, rebellion, drought

2nd

• Rise of Babylon

  • King Hammurabi

    • emphasis on Justice, Infrastructure, and Trade

    • betrays allies to expand (cruel king)

  • falls to weak rulers, Hittites (invaders from turkey)

3rd

• Assyrian empire

  • King Ashurbanipal

    • Warrior King

    • commits atrocities against citizens; cruel to enemies

    • creates Specialized professional armies

    • god of assyria = Ashur

    • temples built for kinds not god

    • focuses on propaganda

  • falls to weak rulers (too large an empire to rule), attacks on borders/by foreigners

4th

• Neo-Babylonian empire

  • King Nebuchadnezzar II

    • Great builder (Hanging Gardens) + thick city walls

    • Literacy increased in schools and temples

    • Math and science flourish

    • “equality” for women and young girls

    • captures jeresalem

  • falls to weak leaders and Cyrus the Great

Social Structure

1. Kings

• responsible for creating the laws

• lived close to the ziggurats

• depth of a king’s relationship with his gods decided by success of empire

2. Priests

• were at the very top of the social pyramid

• closest to the gods

• literate

• served as healers

• first doctors and dentists

• king was likely a priest

3. Soldiers, Scribes and Tutors

• soldiers were proud members of a city-state

• being a scribe was a very prestigious job in Mesopotamia

• private tutors were held in high regard, hired by the wealthy families

4. Traders, Craftsmen, Architects, Merchants, Farmers

• usually spent their day creating items to send to other places, selling goods, or trading

• majority of the people were farmers

• farmers spent their time outside of the city walls, in the fertile fields

• there groups lived furthest from the ziggurat

5. slaves

• lowest social class

• citizens of the city-state could become slaves--by being a criminal or by going into debt

• did household chores in the homes of the wealthy or constructed buildings

• slaves kept house, managed large estates, tutored young children, tended horses, served as accountants and skilled jewelry makers