Writing & city life M. Imp
1. What’s history?: the study of past based on facts & evidence which helps us to understand our roots
& connects past to present. To understand our roots & To learn from mistakes
2. Who’s Hammurabi? What do you mean by Hammurabi?
• Hammurabi was famous king of Babylon (in ancient Mesopotamia) around 1792 BCE
• He was a Babylonian king who made one of the first/earliest law codes, i.e. Hammurabi law code
to keep justice in his kingdom
• The law code contains laws about justice, punishments, trades, family & property
• The theme of the law code is “ an eye for an eye”
• An inscription shows him receiving a message from the sun god, with laws written in cuneiform
• Though strict, the code strengthened administration & made the upper class more responsible.
3. Who was Assurbanipal? Why and where did he established a library?
• Assurbanipal was the last ruler of Assyria.
• He is known for collecting many cuneiform writings & establishing an earliest library
• He established a library at his capital, Nineveh
• He collected 20000-30000 cuneiform writings and kept them as stacks
• He built a library to preserve/save & transfer the knowledge to future generation
4. Why were civilization on river banks: Fertile lands, Transportation, Agriculture , Water supply, rearing
animals & rivers have religious importance
5. Who were the kings of ancient Mesopotamian cities
• Uruk city (Sumerian) { 3200-1900} of Gilgamesh – for Gilgamesh, temples, Enmarker’s organized
trade, is in southern Mesopotamia
• Ur city (Sumerian) { 3000-1900 BCE} of Ur-Nammu is in southern meso. For bad city planning &
royal tombs
• Sumerian civilization/empire (3000-2000 BCE) of Gilgamesh- first known Mesopotamian
civilization, invented cuneiform script and earliest language is in southern Mesopotamia
• Mari city-state {2900-1750 BCE} Of Zimrillim- imp for trade & pastoral city, for palaces in western
Mesopotamia
• Akkadian civilization/empire {2300- 2150 BCE} of Sargon- I- for starting an earliest empire is in
central Mesopotamia
• Babylonian {1900-540 BCE} of Hammurabi- for Hammurabi law code is in southern Meso
• Assyrian /empire{1350-650 BCE} of Assurbanipal – for earliest library in northern
SABAS= Sumerians Akkadian Babylonians Assyrians
6. Why Mesopotamian growth?
• Fertile land: located between 2 rivers- Tigris & Euphrates, hence support agriculture, resulting in
food surplus
• Trade’s growth: cities become trade hubs by trading goods, textiles, metals, etc
o Ziggurats’ construction:-
o They were centre for trade, work & religious activities, storage & records
o They employed people, kept records & organized resource/goods’ distribution
• Division of labour: division of labour create specialization in different works like pottery, textile
• Cuneiform writing: helped/improve city management & record kings’ deeds, trade & administration
, 7. What’re factors of urbanization?
• Division of labour: people did different jobs like family, trade
• Transportation: goods & people moved by boats & carts
• Keeping records: they write everything down
• Occupational change: people opted new jobs beside farming
• Social organization: society has classes like rulers, priests. Workers & slaves
• Storage facilities: goods were stored in big buildings
8. Write a note on cuneiform writing system?
• Cuneiform is derived from the Latin word “cuneous” & “forma” which means wedge & shaped,
which means wedge-shaped writing systems
• It’s the first writing systems/ is one of the first writing systems
• It was developed by the Sumerians in ,Mesopotamia around 3500 BCE
• The script was written on clay tablets by a reed pen marking wedge-shaped marks
• It was used to record trade, laws, goods, kings’ deeds, stories & daily life, etc’
• It was invented by Sumerians and later continued in Akkadian for over 2,000 years
9. Urbanisation in Southern Mesopotamia: Temples and Kings(Why Temples= houses, Villages
Relocation)
• From 5000 BCE, settlements began in southern Mesopotamia
• earliest cities grew around temples, trade, or as imperial cities.
• Early settlers built small brick temples for gods like Moon God of Ur or Inanna.
• Temples grew larger with rooms around courtyards;
• Gods were worshipped with grain, curd, and fish; they owned fields, fisheries, and herds.
• Temples processed produce, employed merchants, and kept written records of distributions.
• The temples managed work, employees & kept records of animals & goods
• The temple was used as storehouses
• People offer grain, curd, fish, etc to the temple to gods
• The temple was the centre for work, food, storage & records
• The god was the theoretical owner of everything
• It was used as shelters during warfare
• villages were periodically relocated in Mesopotamia Because rivers changed their course & Also
there were man-made problems like people living in the upstream of river could diver so much water
into their fields that the people living in downstream were left without water
• Successful war chiefs distributed loot, took prisoners, offered booty to gods, beautified temples, and
managed temple wealth.
• War captives and locals worked for temples or rulers, were paid in rations
• one temple needed 1,500 men for 10 hours a day over five years.
• People made baked clay cones for colourful temple mosaics, sculptures were made in imported
stone.
• Potter's wheel allowed mass production of pots, a technological landmark for urban economy.
• Temples built at higher elevation To show respect for gods & keeping god as the superior power,
people can see the temples from far away & It protects the temple safe from floods or dirt
10. Life in the city
1. What’s history?: the study of past based on facts & evidence which helps us to understand our roots
& connects past to present. To understand our roots & To learn from mistakes
2. Who’s Hammurabi? What do you mean by Hammurabi?
• Hammurabi was famous king of Babylon (in ancient Mesopotamia) around 1792 BCE
• He was a Babylonian king who made one of the first/earliest law codes, i.e. Hammurabi law code
to keep justice in his kingdom
• The law code contains laws about justice, punishments, trades, family & property
• The theme of the law code is “ an eye for an eye”
• An inscription shows him receiving a message from the sun god, with laws written in cuneiform
• Though strict, the code strengthened administration & made the upper class more responsible.
3. Who was Assurbanipal? Why and where did he established a library?
• Assurbanipal was the last ruler of Assyria.
• He is known for collecting many cuneiform writings & establishing an earliest library
• He established a library at his capital, Nineveh
• He collected 20000-30000 cuneiform writings and kept them as stacks
• He built a library to preserve/save & transfer the knowledge to future generation
4. Why were civilization on river banks: Fertile lands, Transportation, Agriculture , Water supply, rearing
animals & rivers have religious importance
5. Who were the kings of ancient Mesopotamian cities
• Uruk city (Sumerian) { 3200-1900} of Gilgamesh – for Gilgamesh, temples, Enmarker’s organized
trade, is in southern Mesopotamia
• Ur city (Sumerian) { 3000-1900 BCE} of Ur-Nammu is in southern meso. For bad city planning &
royal tombs
• Sumerian civilization/empire (3000-2000 BCE) of Gilgamesh- first known Mesopotamian
civilization, invented cuneiform script and earliest language is in southern Mesopotamia
• Mari city-state {2900-1750 BCE} Of Zimrillim- imp for trade & pastoral city, for palaces in western
Mesopotamia
• Akkadian civilization/empire {2300- 2150 BCE} of Sargon- I- for starting an earliest empire is in
central Mesopotamia
• Babylonian {1900-540 BCE} of Hammurabi- for Hammurabi law code is in southern Meso
• Assyrian /empire{1350-650 BCE} of Assurbanipal – for earliest library in northern
SABAS= Sumerians Akkadian Babylonians Assyrians
6. Why Mesopotamian growth?
• Fertile land: located between 2 rivers- Tigris & Euphrates, hence support agriculture, resulting in
food surplus
• Trade’s growth: cities become trade hubs by trading goods, textiles, metals, etc
o Ziggurats’ construction:-
o They were centre for trade, work & religious activities, storage & records
o They employed people, kept records & organized resource/goods’ distribution
• Division of labour: division of labour create specialization in different works like pottery, textile
• Cuneiform writing: helped/improve city management & record kings’ deeds, trade & administration
, 7. What’re factors of urbanization?
• Division of labour: people did different jobs like family, trade
• Transportation: goods & people moved by boats & carts
• Keeping records: they write everything down
• Occupational change: people opted new jobs beside farming
• Social organization: society has classes like rulers, priests. Workers & slaves
• Storage facilities: goods were stored in big buildings
8. Write a note on cuneiform writing system?
• Cuneiform is derived from the Latin word “cuneous” & “forma” which means wedge & shaped,
which means wedge-shaped writing systems
• It’s the first writing systems/ is one of the first writing systems
• It was developed by the Sumerians in ,Mesopotamia around 3500 BCE
• The script was written on clay tablets by a reed pen marking wedge-shaped marks
• It was used to record trade, laws, goods, kings’ deeds, stories & daily life, etc’
• It was invented by Sumerians and later continued in Akkadian for over 2,000 years
9. Urbanisation in Southern Mesopotamia: Temples and Kings(Why Temples= houses, Villages
Relocation)
• From 5000 BCE, settlements began in southern Mesopotamia
• earliest cities grew around temples, trade, or as imperial cities.
• Early settlers built small brick temples for gods like Moon God of Ur or Inanna.
• Temples grew larger with rooms around courtyards;
• Gods were worshipped with grain, curd, and fish; they owned fields, fisheries, and herds.
• Temples processed produce, employed merchants, and kept written records of distributions.
• The temples managed work, employees & kept records of animals & goods
• The temple was used as storehouses
• People offer grain, curd, fish, etc to the temple to gods
• The temple was the centre for work, food, storage & records
• The god was the theoretical owner of everything
• It was used as shelters during warfare
• villages were periodically relocated in Mesopotamia Because rivers changed their course & Also
there were man-made problems like people living in the upstream of river could diver so much water
into their fields that the people living in downstream were left without water
• Successful war chiefs distributed loot, took prisoners, offered booty to gods, beautified temples, and
managed temple wealth.
• War captives and locals worked for temples or rulers, were paid in rations
• one temple needed 1,500 men for 10 hours a day over five years.
• People made baked clay cones for colourful temple mosaics, sculptures were made in imported
stone.
• Potter's wheel allowed mass production of pots, a technological landmark for urban economy.
• Temples built at higher elevation To show respect for gods & keeping god as the superior power,
people can see the temples from far away & It protects the temple safe from floods or dirt
10. Life in the city
