FEATURE Dates

Ancient Civilisations of the East DESCRIPTION 5000 4000: Halaf / Ubaid 4000 3200: Uruk 3200 3000: Jemdet Nasr 3000 2750: Early Dynastic I 2750 2600: Early Dynastic II 2600 2350: Early Dynastic III 2350 2150: Dynasty of Akkad (Gutian interregnum) 2150 2000: 3rd Dynasty of Ur (Amorite interregnum) 2000 1800: Isin-Larsa Dynasties 1800 1600: 1st Dynasty of Babylon (Kansite interregnum) States emerged as stronger kings overtook the smaller, lesser kings, e.g. the empire of Sargon Akkad shows little evidence of change or transformation which suggests not an empire but a loosely fleeting amalgamation of states with a less definiti ve culture, style and identity: the royal inscriptions of Sargon of Akkad describe how the god Enil gave him the land from the Upper (Mediterranean) Sea to the Lower Sea (the Gulf). From kingdom/chiefdom to state or empire: one mechanism that may explain the rapid spread and decline of states is that aggressive or powerful kings simply invade and take over nearby kingdoms, aggregating them into petty states/empires. BUT the rise and fall of states is NOT necessarily the same as the flux of population and cities. The Mesopotamian Advantage: Environmental Opportunism Irrigation for increased crop yields An integrated system of channels to maximise the mobilisation of stable crops The manipulation of water is very important when considering the development of Mesopotamia social structures Basic Agricultural Resources: Irrigated grain, sheep pastures, palm gardens along channels Crops: dates, figs, peaches, grapes, onions, garlic, olives, cucumbers, wheat, barley, millet, flax, cotton, sugar beet Southern Mesopotamia is remarkably lacking in mineral resources; abundant agricultural land but needs irrigation to be fully productive. Disproportions in resources between countries led to trade: Southern Mesopotamia adopted advanced agricultural techniques so produced a surplus which enabled the creation of a TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM alongside the development of a TAXATION SYSTEM transport goods from one end to the other a tax was established according to how large/heavy the boat was (measured in Gur) Ur III texts c.2100BC huge transportation of cereals. Locally made products: pottery, clay sickles, quern stones, reed matting, bitumen and textiles The 2000 persons employed in the Ur III grain-grinding industry pales into insignificance when placed beside the 15000 employees in the contemporaneous textile industry in the province of Lagash (Warburton). Organic development not a geometric outline Canal and/or harbour acts as a prime organising feature Primary institution temple on highest point Secondary temples in suburbs Secondary institution palace (not always located) Fortification walls around main city Suburb outside walls Residential areas dense, mixed in class Commerce/industry embedded in residential areas The Mesopotamian city was both a religious and political centre. Temples and palaces were urban institutions, and were institutions that defined the city. GILGAMESH: harbours developed in cities as mud and brick were needed to construct residential areas and public buildings so huge pits were dug alongside the rivers and left open for river docking and transportation LAGASH: Known from textual evidence, Lagashs temple controlled 4500Ha of cultivated land, huge flocks of animals and an army of workers (farmers, fishermen, administrators) there was some buying/selling of land by private individuals. Temple played an essential role within the settlement: located in the centre of town and on the highest point the temple was often the oldest of the monumental buildings the continuity of cities in Upper Mesopotamia importance of religion: temples developed into a typical feature of Mesopotamian cities known as ZIGGURATS and can be found from 5000BC + - grand monuments where gods resided and priests tended to their needs. BUT not public buildings where masses went to worship but private monuments with restricted access - Willy Wonkers Chocolate Factory analogy. Remarkable continuity at ERIDU: 16 superimposed temples built upon a series of platforms, rectangular base and stairs. Agricultural resources needed to be extracted from the countryside by an authority and religion provided that authority (Mieroop). Ability to do or act, authority, power enabled small polities to become big: MONUMENTALITY. The City Wall Ur III: the first thing the Ur III kings did in order to establish their control over a city was to raise its walls. Had several purposes: incite fear and intimidate surrounding areas, demonstrate the authority and power of the king, convey that the city was ruled by an established regime, and control who entered and left the area. It is believed that during the Early Bronze Age 2 the regular fortification of cities began as it was a time of city states, with each fortified centre controlling the surrounding land.

States

Resources

Cities

Temple Ziggurat Religion Power

City Gate

Palace

The King

Warfare

Ideology

WRITING

Monumental device: city gates were closed at night, normally security measure (OMAN), the town quarters were named after the city gate; the open area inside the city gates was a place for meeting, selling, gathering and making royal proclamations, therefore it had enormous symbolic values The palace at ESHNUNNA was built to house the rulers of Eshnunna and for the worship of the divine king of Ur, Shu-Sin. The palace similarly had many functions aimed towards controlling the city and its inhabitants. The palaces acted as storage places for the kings possessions, it was a forum for ceremonies of state and for welcoming foreign visitors (the design of many palaces including the one excavated at Eshnunna have been found to contain large courtyards and reception rooms), and it acted as the centre of administration and commerce. However it is notoriously difficult to find many palaces in Southern Mesopotamia, e.g. at Ur there are temples and a ziggurat, kings are listed, but there is no known palace until the Neo-Babylonian Period. EHURSAG structure at Ur (Ur III) / The palace of the rulers at TELL ASMAR (Eshnunna, Ur III). The king acted as builder and architect, commissioned great works, receives visitations from the great and the illustrious, the king acts as lawmaker guarantor of justice made a powerful position. Kings power reinforced by the TEMPLE. THE ROYAL GRAVES OF UR: demonstrate power in Ur during the Early Dynastic periods. Some 2000 in total death pits: Woolley excavated and found burials of royal household with their attendants. Some associated inscriptions refer to king and high status individuals; some suggested the burials of the priest, priestess and people who nominated themselves to die. THE STELE OF THE VULTURES Lagash: depicts a victory of its ruler Eannatum over the city Umma. Eannatum advances before a phalanx of his heavy infantry; spearman protected by wall of shield bearers. Note how they walk over the trampled enemies (border dispute). ROYAL STANDARD OF UR (c.2600BC): found in Urs Royal Cemetery. King reviews prisoners; defeated enemies are trampled by chariots below. Ceremonial banquet scene to celebrate victory. This is NOT the only representation of Mesopotamia... URUK VASE: 1meter high and of alabaster. Depicts pastoral representations of Mesopotamia from c.3000BC: water, plant life, domesticated animals, men bearing the fruits of the land, and offerings to the goddess Inanna. The development of writing is a prime factor behind the development of a complex society: EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS With small scale societies it was fairly simple to remember the number of transactions between peoples and commodities in existence, however as society grew and the items under an individuals control exceeded what could be remembered the need for recording became necessary: more complex economy = more complex structures of control. TOKENS: small pieces of shaped clay used to convey information regarding goods. Usually found together in groups implying that they were possibly held in perishable (leather) bags, which in turn suggests that they were systematically used together. Schmandt-Besserat - compelling theory that tokens represented numbers of items recorded, e.g. sheep, contained in a clay BULLA, then as a security measure the amount was also marked on the exterior, BUT PROBLEM as when subject to x-ray analyses the contents of the bullae do not always correspond to what is marked on the outside. BULLAE: mid 4th millennium BC sees the appearance of bullae: round clay balls designed to enclose and hold clay tokens. Occasionally bore a seal impression on the exterior for protection or types of tokens on the exterior. The bullae allowed the shipper to communicate directly with the recipient regarding quantities contained: assumed that the shipper would have no technological means to tamper with the bulla, decent delivery persons wage, SECURITY MEASURE. Some bullae found unopened which suggests the failure of a delivery of goods or that the bullae came to be such an efficient safeguard that their mere presence was enough the recipient, shipper and trader had mutual relationship of trust. SEALS: elaborate range of seal designs in evidence which suggests they were used to identify individual people, offices or institutions: equivalent to signatures in an illiterate society. FUNCTIONS: lumps of clay found in rubbish dumps: bags tied with leather rope then covered with clay for protection and sealed, simple storage, ethnographic evidence in Morocco. Signs of elite administration? 4th millennium BC saw appearance of CYLINDER SEALS: design cut into surface and rolled across another. WRITING: the first writing systems were employed on clay tablets from the Eanna precinct at Uruk, first clear indication of writing c.3200BC emerged due to administration and accountancy purposes NOT literature. An evolutionary view sees these early tablets as developing directly from bullae, there was just no need for tokens inside. Signs include: PICTOGRAMS which are symbols that look like the things they represent; LOGOGRAMS which are symbols incorporating a complete idea rather than a sound or syllable; IDEOGRAMS represent an object or concept in a more figurative sense. CONCLUSIONS: Writing was an integral part of the development of civilisation It developed in the 4th millennium BC just when we see the growth of massive cities and their associated temples/buildings Increased social complexity appears to have coincided with the need for more elaborate administration structures Scribes (male/female) = specialised profession Ur III period great bureaucrats so slavishly recorded ALL transactions.