Introduction to Mesopotamian Society
Q: Where is Mesopotamia and how did civilization begin there?
A: Fertile Crescent, Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Assyria in the north and Babylonia in the south.
Q: How was agriculture practiced in Mesopotamia?
A: River floods and irrigation systems with canals and levies
Q: Who were the Mesopotamians and what languages did they speak?
A: Sumerian, and Akkadian and its various dialects such as Babylonian and Assyrian
Q: What was their written script like and why did they "invent" it?
A: Polytheistic with a pantheon. Deities are patrons of individual city-states. Rituals involved the "care and feeding of the gods" carried out by temple personnel.
Q: What were their political structures like and what were the responsibilities of the rulers?
A: Mainly dynastic kingship. Kings are "stewards" of the earth for the gods.
Q: What were their legal systems and scientific acheivements and why are these important?
A: King as final judge. "Law codes" are lists of societal reforms created by kings to demonstrate just qualities. Civil and criminal codes. Sexigesimal number system and astronomy.
Q: What are the different periods of Mesopotamian history and how do historians divide them? Periodization based on new ethnic groups and dynastic changes.
A:
| Uruk Period | 3200-2900 B.C.E. (all dates are approximate) |
| Early Dynastic Period | 2900-2300 B.C.E. |
| Akkadian Period | 2300-2100 B.C.E. Sargon of Akkad |
| Neo-Sumerian Period | 2100-2000 B.C.E. |
| Old Babylonian Period | 1800-1600 B.C.E. Hammurabi of Babylon |
| Kassite Period | 1600-1000 B.C.E. |
| Neo-Assyrian Period | 900-600 B.C.E. Sennacherib |
| Neo-Babylonian Period | 600-539 B.C.E. Nebuchadnezzar |
| Persian Period | 539 -330 B.C.E. Cyrus the Great |
| Hellenistic Period | 323-31 B.C.E. Alexander the Great |