Mesopotamia. Ancient history

1.

3500 – 2000 BC
Mesopotamia.
Ancient history.
Made by: Ekaterina Malysheva, Anastasia Plotnikova

2.

Geography
Mesopotamia is located in the region now
known as the Middle East, which includes
parts of southwest Asia and lands around
the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Some of the major Mesopotamian
civilizations include the Sumerian, Assyrian,
Akkadian, and Babylonian civilizations.
Mesopotamian civilizations formed on the
banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in
what is today Iraq and Kuwait.

3.

Political & administrative system
The Sumerians and Akkadians (including Assyrians and
Babylonians) dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of
written history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC.
One of the most important works of this First Dynasty
of Babylon was the compilation in about 1754 BCE of a
code of laws, called the Code of Hammurabi, which
echoed and improved upon the earlier written laws of
Sumer, Akkad, and Assyria. The Code consists of 282
laws

4.

Economy
Sumerians lead a successful trade
of textiles, leather goods, and
jewelry for Harappan semiprecious stones, copper, pearls,
and ivory.
The oldest examples of Sumerian
writing were bills of sales that
recorded transactions between a
buyer and seller.

5.

Religion
Sumerian religion was polytheistic—
or worshipped multiple gods—many
of which were anthropomorphic—they
took human-like form.
Akkadian religion was pretty similar
to the Sumerian, however the names
of the Gods still were changed.
Babylonian religion was a
continuation of Sumerian religion
Assyrian had the only difference
with Babylonian in the god being
revered as supreme among in the
divine pantheon.
Ziggurat
The main gods were revered at large
temples; every major city had one.

6.

Gods
Tiamat - Depicted as the primordial goddess of the oceans
Enlil - (‘Lord of Air’) was considered as one of the Mesopotamian gods in the
supreme triad
Enki - (‘Lord of the Earth’), was one of the other important Mesopotamian
gods of the supreme triad (known as Ea in Akkadian and Babylonian
mythology)

7.

Culture
Evidence shows extensive use of
technology, literature, legal codes,
philosophy, religion, and architecture
in Mesopotamian societies.
Some of the great inventions:
The incredibly important invention of
the wheel is also credited to the
Sumerians
The Epic of Gilgamesh

8.

Periods of history
Ancient
Mesopotamia
Sumerians
Akkadian
Assyrian
Babylon
(around 3000-2300)
Empire (around 2350-2160)
Empire (1115-605)
(1800-1595)

9.

Reasons of decline
The main following reasons were:
Pollution (not the pollution we have
nowadays, but the pollution due to the
rivers irrigations, going out of its
banks)
Constant wars, and also
Mesopotamian disability to organize
army system and centralize political
system
Invasion of Hittites

10.

Thank you for your
attention!

11.

Sources:
Britannica.com - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mesopotamian-religion
ancientmesopotamians.com -http://www.ancientmesopotamians.com/ancient-mesopotamian-religion.html
looklex.com - http://looklex.com/e.o/akkad.religion.htm
nb.khanacademy.org- https://nb.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-historybeginnings/ancient-mesopotamia/a/mesopotamia-article
https://nb.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancientmesopotamia/a/mesopotamia-article
factsanddetails.com - http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub363/item1514.html
www.emaze.com - https://www.emaze.com/@AFWFTQIR
www.ancient-origins.net https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-technology/revolutionary-invention-wheel001713 https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-asia/rise-and-fall-sumer-and-akkad-003192
community.foundry.com https://community.foundry.com/discuss/topic/57344/ishtar-gate-city-of-babylon
www.realmofhistory.com https://www.realmofhistory.com/2017/05/09/10-ancient-mesopotamian-godsgoddesses-facts/
scienceinpoland.pap.pl http://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news%2C399197%2Cmystery-of-diseases-ofancient-mesopotamians.html