FG

Ancient Mesopotamia and Near East Civilizations (Vocabulary)

  • Submitting assignments in Canvas
    • There are multiple ways to fill out and submit forms
    • Easiest method: fill out the document and upload screenshots
    • Other options: print it out and fill by hand, take photos with your phone, download, print, fill by hand, and upload the JPEGs
    • Everything uploaded should open correctly after submission; test this multiple times
    • Occasionally a blank submission happens; if you upload a blank document, you may be contacted to correct it
    • The material is reading documents from the past; perspectives aren’t strictly required
  • Timeline and context: Mesopotamia and early civilizations
    • Mesopotamia dated to about 3500\text{ BCE} (three thousand five hundred years before the birth of Jesus)
    • Empires covered: Akkadian empire (Sargon) → Babylonian empire → Assyrians → Neo-Babylonian/Chaldean empire → Persians under Cyrus the Great
    • Leadership styles (monarchies) and norms:
    • Akkadian Empire: cultural monarchy
    • Babylonian Empire: legal monarchy; Hammurabi’s/ Babylonian law tradition
    • Assyrians: terror monarchy (operations of fear)
    • Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire: restoration monarchy under Nebuchadnezzar; emphasis on unity after long period of hardship under Assyrians
  • Nebuchadnezzar and the Neo-Babylonian restoration (Chaldean Empire)
    • Nebuchadnezzar sought to unify Mesopotamians and restore Mesopotamian strength
    • Idea of turning back the clock to a simpler, stronger past; similar to modern themes of national renewal
    • Public works: large building campaigns to create infrastructure, generate employment, stimulate the economy ("primes the pump")
    • Economic rationale: jobs → income → spending; money circulating improves the economy
    • Political strategy: appear tough; war as a display of leadership and power
    • Military campaigns: war with the Hebrews (exemplary of coercive power and enslaving conquered populations)
  • The Persian Empire and Cyrus the Great
    • Cyrus the Great’s empire: the Persian Empire; considered a model for rule
    • Type of monarchy: tolerant monarchy
    • Governance approach under Cyrus:
    • Do not enslave all subjects; permit local leadership and institutions to remain
    • Allow locals to keep religions and cultural practices
    • Share technologies (e.g., iron weapons); build roads; standardize coinage
    • Example of policy toward Hebrews: allowed them to return to their homeland
    • Religion and cosmology under Cyrus:
    • Persian rulers largely followed Zoroastrianism in practice, though they did not enforce it across the empire
    • Cyrus’s empire supported religious diversity and local religious autonomy
    • Zoroastrianism basics (cosmology):
    • Dualistic cosmos: Armaiti/Araman? (Ahura Mazda — light/truth) vs Ahriman (lies/darkness)
    • Zendavesta as the sacred text describing cosmology and ethics
    • Ahura Mazda = force of light and truth; Angra Mainyu/Ahriman = deceit and chaos (described as a counter-prince)
    • End-time judgment and a cosmic struggle between light and darkness
    • Economic and infrastructural policies under Cyrus:
    • Coinage and roads célèbrés as symbols of centralized control and unity
    • Polytheistic society overall, but Cyrus’s personal belief system influenced governance rather than forced uniform religion
    • Cultural impact: Cyrus’s tolerance contributed to stability and relative prosperity across the empire
  • From Cyrus east to Greek conquest: shift of center of civilization
    • After Cyrus, Greeks begin to conquer the Persian Empire; the center of civilization in the Western world begins to move westward
  • Linguistic landscape in Mesopotamia
    • Common language families among Mesopotamian peoples: Indo-European and Semitic
    • Indo-European examples include languages spread across Europe and parts of Asia (e.g., Greek, Latin, Germanic, Slavic languages)
    • Semitic languages include Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, etc.; Mesopotamians largely spoke Semitic languages
    • Jesus as a Semitic speaker; references to Aramaic/Hebrew ties in historical context
    • The map of language families shows Indo-European spread into Europe and parts of Asia; Semitic languages occupied Mesopotamia and surrounding regions
  • Cosmology and myth in Mesopotamia
    • Cosmology as a worldview that informs daily life and values; not merely a religion but a framework for understanding existence
    • The Epic of Gilgamesh as a central text for Mesopotamian cosmology and culture
    • The Epic of Gilgamesh
    • Oldest written versions date to around 2600\text{ BCE}
    • The story predates the written versions and was transmitted orally for generations before being codified
    • Multiple versions exist due to oral transmission and regional adaptations; the same hero Gilgamesh appears across versions with variations in details
    • The epic is compared to modern superhero franchises (e.g., Spider-Man) to illustrate how stories are rebooted for changing audiences
    • An Akkadian recitation of Gilgamesh would have showcased a deep, tripartite narrative cycle: hero → divine ancestry → quest for meaning and immortality
    • Core plot threads and characters:
    • Gilgamesh: king of Uruk; part god, part human; superior strength and leadership causing tension with the people
    • Enkidu (Ankidu in lecture): created by the gods to humble Gilgamesh; later becomes his companion; initially enemies, later friends
    • Ankidu’s dream: dream of a terrifying creature (hybrid human-animal) foreshadowing their journey
    • The house of dust: imagery of death; the afterlife where rulers and kingship lose its power
    • Immortality quest: Gilgamesh and Enkidu seek eternal life but ultimately learn mortality is part of human condition
    • Suduri: goddess of wine and hospitality; offers counsel to Gilgamesh, emphasizing living fully in the present rather than pursuing eternal life
    • Central moral: death is the fate allotted to humanity; life should be enjoyed (eat, drink, be merry) and cultivate relationships
  • Social structure and daily life in Mesopotamia
    • Society portrayed as hierarchical with little mobility; typical structure from bottom to top:
    • Enslaved or conquered populations at the base
    • Free farmers above enslaved populations
    • Merchants and traders next in the hierarchy
    • Bureaucrats and administrators above merchants
    • Priests/clerics above bureaucrats
    • King and royal family at the top
    • Gender and economy: agriculture-based economy with heavy reliance on enslaved labor; craft and trade networks supported by a priestly bureaucracy
    • Religion and polytheism: widespread polytheism tied to nature and local cults; religious practice interwoven with governance and daily life
  • Early Egyptian civilization and the Nile
    • Egypt dated to about 3100\text{ BCE}; sometimes described as a later start than Mesopotamia but with a long, continuous development
    • The Nile as the lifeblood of Egypt; the land is known as the Black Land due to nutrient-rich floodplain soils
    • Geography and defense: natural borders provided safety from invasion (Red Sea to the east, Mediterranean to the north, Sahara to the west and south, and the Swamp of Sood in the south)
    • Population and settlement pattern: Egypt described as a "nation of villages" rather than a cluster of walled cities; farming communities along the Nile valley
    • Economy and agriculture: irrigation and floodplain farming; predictable Nile floods allowed planful agriculture; river navigation facilitated trade and unity
    • Religion and cosmology in Egypt: like Mesopotamia, Egypt was polytheistic with gods tied to natural forces; Osiris and other deities would feature prominently in future discussions
  • Comparative reflections and broader themes
    • Common threads among Mesopotamian civilizations: shared linguistic heritage (Semitic languages in Mesopotamia; some Indo-European influences elsewhere), cosmologies, and urban-rural dynamics in the face of environmental challenges
    • The Epic as a tool for understanding collective memory and cultural values; myths encode attitudes toward death, leadership, and communal resilience
    • The shift of center of civilization from Mesopotamia to the Aegean/Greek world and eventually to Rome; how political power, religion, and culture co-evolve
    • The influence of empires on identity and diplomacy: tolerant rulers (Cyrus) vs coercive ones (Assyrian terror monarchy) and the political messaging of warfare and empire-building
  • Connections to modern history and ethical reflections
    • Historical analogies: public works programs during crises (e.g., the Great Depression in the U.S. and government-led infrastructure programs) create jobs and boost morale; analogous to Nebuchadnezzar’s building campaigns
    • Leadership and legitimacy: rulers attempt to unify populations through monumental projects, political theater, and war; the ethics and consequences of such strategies are debated in both ancient and modern contexts
    • Cultural memory and cosmologies: ancient cosmologies (like Zoroastrianism) inform modern discussions about truth, benevolence, and the role of religion in governance
    • Language and identity: Semitic vs Indo-European language families shape cultural and historical identities across Mesopotamia and the broader region
  • What’s next in the course
    • A deeper dive into Osiris and Egyptian religion in a subsequent session
    • Continued exploration of how these ancient civilizations influenced later Greek and Roman civilizations, as well as modern Western political thought
  • Quick recall prompts (for study)
    • What is the difference between a cultural monarchy and a legal monarchy? How does Nebuchadnezzar’s rule illustrate public works and social cohesion?
    • How did Cyrus the Great’s approach to governance differ from the Assyrian rulers in terms of control and religious policy?
    • What are the key themes of the Epic of Gilgamesh regarding mortality and the human condition?
    • How do Indo-European and Semitic language families differ, and where are they most prominently found in the ancient world?
    • Why is the Nile described as making Egypt a "nation of villages" and what are the implications for defense and governance?
  • Note on terminology and naming in the lecture
    • The Chaldean Empire is also referred to as the Neo-Babylonian Empire in the lecture
    • Ankidu/Enkidu and Kiju are used in the speaker’s narration to describe mythic figures and dream sequences; the canonical spelling in many sources is Enkidu
    • The term Zendavesta refers to the Zoroastrian sacred text
  • Summary of key dates and landmarks
    • Mesopotamia independent civilization dating to around 3500\text{ BCE}
    • Earliest written Gilgamesh versions around 2600\text{ BCE}; oral tradition predates writing
    • Egypt dating around 3100\text{ BCE}; Nile geography and agricultural system define the civilization
    • Cyrus the Great’s era marks a turning point toward tolerant governance and infrastructural development within the Persian Empire