Western Civilization

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 What do we mean “the West”?

Term referring to different nations depending

on the context:
– Defining it Culturally: free and participatory
political institutions, capitalist economies,
religious toleration, rational inquiry, and
innovative spirit.

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 What do we mean “the West”?
• Geographically: a
tradition that began
around the
Mediterranean Sea,
spent centuries as a
European preserve, then
migrated to all the earth.
(“A history of western
civilization” by Jhon P.
Markey et al)
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 What is “ Civilization” ?
• “The society,
culture, and way
of life of a
particular area”
(Oxford Dictionary)

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 Western civilization
• So, “western
civilization” studies
the process of
development of
western world.
• It originated from the
“Neolithic period”
also known as “stone
age” from 7000 to
3000 BC.
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 PART A : Foundations of Western
Civilization

Many sources:
• The earliest Western Europe
• The Ancient Near East

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•
.
The earliest Western Europe .
-developed
. numerous
communities uniquely their
own. but also sharing some
common features:
-Mastered astronomy,
mathematics, geometry,
engineering religious
practices, social organization.
-Did not record their learning
and lore in systems of writing.

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 PART A : Foundations of Western Civilization
• In the East, however,
other early peoples also
made progress but they
took the important step
of recording their
experiences in writing.
• The most enduring
innovation occurred in
the ancient Near East, a
region that include:
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Foundation of Western Civilization
• The Ancient Near East:
- Mesopotamia (the area
of modern Iraq)
-The Arabian peninsula
(part of northeastern
Africa)
-The lands bordering the
Mediterranean’s
eastern shore

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 The Birth of Civilization
• 3000 – 5000 BCE “civilized” and
settled agrarian settlements are
found in Mesopotamia and the
Nile River valley of Egypt.

• Which area truly developed first

?
According to First known
written languages,
Mesopotamia probably was
a bit before Egypt
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Mesopotamia:
“The Cradle of Civilization”

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 Mesopotamia-Cradle of civilization

• Mesopotamia
is the Greek
name for the
land between
the Euphrates
and Tigris
Rivers.

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 Mesopotamia-Cradle of civilization
• By about 3000 B.C. the
Sumerian, whose origins
are mysterious, established
a number of cities in the
southernmost part of
Mesopotamia, the
Sumerians soon turned the
region into what
generations have called
“the cradle of civilization”.

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 History of Mesopotamia
• The first state was:
Sumer- southern part
(3200-2000 BC)
• The second was
Akkad- northern part
(2000 – 1900 BC)
• The third was
Babylonia (1900-1595
BC and 650-500 BC)
• And the last state in
Mesopotamia was
Assyria- Assyrian
Empire (1100 -612 BC)
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 Sumer
• 3200 B.C. Sumerian
kingdom building
– Dominant force in
Mesopotamia

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 cuneiform
• Sumerians wrote on wet
clay tablets with the point
of a reed; then dried in
the sun to make a tablet.
• As society evolved, the
first form of writing was
developed called
CUNEIFORM (meaning
“wedge shaped”),
– Used to record daily life
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 Writing
• Greatest contribution of
Mesopotamia to western
civilization
• allowed the transmission
of knowledge, the
codification of laws,
records to facilitate trade /
farming
• Scribes could read and
write. They served as
priests, record keepers
and accountants
• Cuneiform spreaded to
Persia and Egypt
Video: Mesopotamia-secret of 18
the forgotten Empire
 Writing
• Was every Sumerian
able to use this
writing system ?
• Scribes were only
ones who could read
and write and served
as priests, record
keepers and
accountants
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 Writing
• Was cuneiform widely
used by neighbor
countries ?
• Cuneiform spread to
Persia and Egypt and
became the vehicle for
the growth and spread of
civilization and the
exchange of ideas among
cultures
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 School
- Scribal school had a
practical side
- Scribes took
administrative
positions in the temple
or palace
- Scribal school were also
centers of culture and
scholarship
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 School
- Topics of study included
mathematics, botany,
and linguistics.
- Talented student and
learned scribes wrote the
compositions of their
own. As a result, many
literary, mathematical,
and religion texts survive
today 23
 Gilgamesh
• First epic poem
• Narration of the
achievements, labors
• Excellent piece of
literature

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 Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh,
is not only an excellent
piece of literature but
also an intellectual
triumph.

It shows the questions

as life and death,
humankind and deity,
and immortality.
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 Sumerians
social, economic and
intellectual basis
• Irrigated fields and
produced 3 main crops.
• built canals, dikes, dams
and drainage systems.
• develop cuneiform
writing
• invented the wheel
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 Sumerians
• Abundance of food led to
steady increase of
population (farm, towns,
cities)
• Built the first city of the
world
• Developed a trade system
with bartering: mainly
barley but also wool and
cloth , metals, timber,
copper, pearls and ivory
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 Sumerians
• Individuals could only rent
land from priests (who
controlled land on behalf
of gods); most of profits of
trade went to temple

• However, the Sumerians

were not successful in
uniting lower
Mesopotamia.
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Akkadians
In 2331 B.C the
Semitic chieftain
Sargon conquered
Sumer and created
a new empire.
The symbol of his
triumph was a new
capital, the city of
Akkad.

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 Akkadians
• Spread Mesopotamian culture
• However, short-lived dynasty of Akkadians
was conquered by the invading barbarians by
2200 BC

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 Babylonians - in 1830 BC
Babylonians reunited
Mesopotamia
- central location
dominated trade and
secured control
- Babylon was the
capital of
• Mesopotamia
- An excellent
geographical position
• Hammurabi’s Legacy: law code

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Code of Hammurabi

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 Code of Hammurabi
• 282 Laws
• Punishments were designed to fit the
crimes (an eye for an eye, a tooth for a
tooth).
• Consequences for crimes depended on
rank in society
• Consumer Protections (Merchants and
businessmen had to guarantee the
quality of their goods and services)
• dealt extensively with agriculture
Video:
Mesopotamia
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From Normads to
 ASSYRIAN
• 10th century BCE,
Assyria emerged as
dominant force in the
north
• City of Assur:
important trading and
political centre

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 ASSYRIAN
• Ruled by fear as kings were
first to have a permanent
army made up of
professional soldiers
(estimated 200 000 men)
• Made superior weapons of
bronze and iron
• iron changed lifestyles in
Mesopotamia in weapons
and in daily life.

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 ASSYRIAN
• Assyrian reunited
Mesopotamia and
established the first true
empire
• States began to revolt and
Assyrian Empire collapsed by
late 7th century BCE
• By 539 BCE, Mesopotamia
became a part of the vast
Persian Empire (led by Cyrus
the Great) 39
 Mesopotamia Civilization
- Invention of Writing
- Creation of School
- Writing the first epic
- Creation of the wheel
- Writing the first law code
- Building the first city
- Establishing the basic social,
economic, and intellectual
patterns
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 Interesting Facts!
• Nowadays, we still use
some concepts of
Mesopotamian.
- base-sixty system: 360
degrees in a circle, 60
seconds in a minute and 60
minutes in 1 hour
- Calendar based on cycles
of the moon (12 cycles = a
year) Video. Hist Art
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The Rise of New
Empires

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New Empire
Semitic-speaking people who exploited
the use of iron weapons to build an
empire by 700 B.C.

Semitic-Speaking
Spoke Semitic
language

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• Included Territory
From including
Mesopotamia, some
of the Iranian
Plateau, Asia Minor,
Syria, Palestine, and
Egypt.

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Assyrian Rulers
Assyrian kings ruled with absolute
power.
Kingdoms were well organized and
efficient. Kept direct contact with
the people who helped administer
their empire

Ashurbanipal
Considered the greatest Assyrian
King.
He collected the writings of
Mesopotamia and established the
great library of Nineveh
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 Assyrian communication

• Transportation/
Courier system
A system where they
could relay messages
by horseback back
and forth in a week’s
time.

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Nineveh

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Military Strength

The Assyrian military

was one of the
strongest in the
ancient world.

They used fierce iron

weapons and
psychological warfare.
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 Military Strength

• The Assyrians
would often
attempt to get
an area to
surrender
before attack.
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 Military Strength
• If people refused and
were defeated they were
treated harshly.

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 Military Strength
• King Ashurnasirpal once stated:

- “3,000 of their combat troops I

felled with weapons . . . Many I
took alive; from some of these I
cut off their hands to the writs,
from others I cut off their noses,
ears and fingers; I put out the
eyes of many of the soldiers. . . . I
burned their young men and
women to death.” 52
- The Assyrian empire
eventually fell and the
Chaldeans (Neo Babylonians)
under king Nebuchadnezzar
made Babylon the most
powerful state in the region.
- Nebuchadnezzar is most
famous for the construction of
the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon, considered one of
the seven wonders of the
ancient world. 53
• Nebuchadnezzar is also
responsible for the
destruction of the Temple
of Jerusalem and
beginning the Babylonian
Captivity of the Jews and
the first Diaspora.
• Babylon is defeated and
replaced by the Persian
Empire in 539 B.C.
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Cyrus the Great
Persian King who defeated
Babylon and ended the Jews’
captivity.

Cyrus ruled from 559 to 530

B.C. and was a great leader,
hence the name Cyrus the
Great.

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• Ruling Style
• He was very respectful of other
cultures. Not only did he free the
Jews, but he also treated
conquered peoples fairly. He
allowed them to keep their own
religions and customs.
• This respect made the people
who lived under him respectful
of his rule and less likely to
revolt. 57
Expansion of Empire under Darius I

Ruled from 521-486 B.C. added

western India to the Persian
Empire.

Then added Thrace in Europe

and expanded the Empire to its
greatest size. He also brought
the Persian Empire into conflict
with the Greeks.

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 Expansion of Empire under Darius I
Darius divided his empire into
provinces called Satrapies to
make it more manageable.
• Each province was ruled by a
governor called a Satrap.
• This man was the protector of
the kingdom.
• They collected taxes, provided
justice and security, and got
soldiers for the army.
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The Royal Road
The Royal road
stretched from Lydia to
Susa, the chief capital
of the empire. It used
a system of couriers
similar to the
Assyrians.

This allowed for

efficient communication
in the empire
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• Persian Military
• The Persians had an elite military. It contained people
from all over the Persian Empire.
• The Immortals
• The Elite fighters of the Persian Empire. They were so
called because in battle their numbers were never
allowed to fall below 10,000 men. They were constantly
replaced from behind so they appeared to never die.

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 Persian kings became
greedy and so the empire
became weak.
Family spats and
assassinations
became the rule of the
day.

The Empire was

defeated by Alexander
the Great during the
330’s B.C.

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Zoroastrianism
Original Religion of the Persian Empire

Zoroaster
Founder and Prophet of the Religion. Also
known as Zarathustra.

Monotheistic
Taught belief in one universal, all-powerful
god.

Ahura Mazda
The god of Zoroastrianism

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 Beliefs
• Ahura Mazda The god of
Zoroastrianism
• There exists a universal God,
Ahura Mazda, who is the one
uncreated Creator and to whom
all worship is directed. With the
name being a playful
combination of a masculine and
a feminine word, it should be
stressed that this divinity is not
gender specific.
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 Beliefs
• Creation is attacked by
violence and destruction
(The evil force is called
Angra Mainyu ) .
• The resulting conflict
involves the entire
universe, including
humanity, which has an
active role to play in the
conflict. Ahura Mazda will
ultimately prevail, at which
point time will end.
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 Beliefs
• Active participation in life
through good thoughts,
good words and good
deeds are necessary to
ensure happiness and to
keep the chaos at bay.
• There is a concept of free
will, to decide whether to
perform good thoughts,
words and deeds.
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 Beliefs

It is believed by many that

Zoroastrianism influenced
Judaism, and later,
Christianity.
The religion teaches about
an all-powerful God.
An ultimate battle between
good and evil.
The idea of an evil being, or
Video: persian civil
Satan.
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 Questions
1. What are the sources of
western civilization ?
2. Were the Sumerians the only
people living in Mesopotamia ?
3. What are the most important
contributions of Sumerian to
western civilization ?
4. How did the Sumerian write ?

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 Questions
5. Was every Sumerian able to
use this writing system ?
6. Was cuneiform widely used
by neighbor countries ?
7. What did the students
learn in Sumerian school ?
8. Did the Sumerian create
literature works ?

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 Questions
9. What about the belief and
religion ?
10.After Sumerian. Who
dominated Mesopotamia ?
11. What were the advantages
of Babylon ?
12.In conclusion, what were
the mains achievements of
Mesopotamia civilization?

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