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BAA 324 

Ancient Civilization (Bronze age to Iron Age) 

Semester – VI 

Q1. Throw light on the society of Egypt during Pyramidic age. 

During the Old , Middle and New Kingdom, ancient Egypt had developed a flourishing
civilization. Many aspects of Egyptian political, social, economical life have played
important roles in the development of current western civilization. 

Polity – The absolute Power of Pharaoh 

In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs had absolute power partly because most of these rulers
governed justly, but primarily because of the theocracy. The people believed the pharaohs
were descended from a god and were gods themselves. 

In theory, the pharaoh owned all the land, commanded the army, controlled the irrigation
system, and received the surpluses of crops produced on the royal estates. Since no one
person could administer a huge kingdom, the pharaoh appointed officials to assist him. 

However, he was personally responsible for dispensing justice and for making all the
important decisions regarding government affairs. Beginning with the Old Kingdom, the
Egyptians created a complex but efficient administrative system that supported the
absolute authority of the pharaoh. 

Three classes of Egyptian society 

There were three classes in the ancient Egyptian society. First was the class of people
below the pharaoh. We can call it the upper class. This included priests, the court nobility,
and the landed nobility. The priests performed the religious ceremonies, especially those
having to do with the burial of the dead. The court nobles advised the pharaoh and carried
out his orders. The landed nobles managed their great estates, and some of them also
served as generals in the royal army. 

The upper class people lived in palatial homes, with luxurious furnishings and elaborate
gardens. Women used cosmetics, beautified their hair, wore rouge and lipstick, and
painted their nails. Both men and women used perfume and wear jewelry. Women
enjoyed a favored place in society largely because all landed property descended from
mother to daughter, rather than from father to son as in most other ancient cultures. They
could be merchants, eat and dance in public, and do most of the things men were allowed
to do. 

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The class lower than the upper class was middle class, which included rich merchants,
traders, skilled artisans and professional people such as teachers, artists, doctors, and
scribes. There was an important place of scribes in the ancient Egypt society, because
there were only a few who could read and write. 

The Lower class in ancient Egypt included slaves—usually war captives— and free laborers
who worked on farms, irrigation systems, roads, and building projects. 

The free laborers, heavily burdened by taxes imposed on them by the pharaohs, had
hardly any more political rights than the slaves. They lived poorly in small, mudbrick
homes with few furnishings. From this class of free laborers, however, it was possible for
bright and ambitious young Egyptians to rise to higher rank. 

Such persons might become merchants, priests, or even government officials. Sometimes
loyal and able slaves were given their freedom. On a few occasions, a talented slave was
known to rise to a position of authority in society. 

Economy of the Egypt Civilization 

The fertility of the Nile Valley and extensive irrigation systems enabled the Egyptians to
reap large harvests. Because farmers produced more food than they needed for
themselves, many of them became craftsmen or traders as well as farmers. 

Egyptian traders relied mainly on ships to transport their goods. Trade reached its height
during the New Kingdom, when Egypt controlled the trade routes of the Near East.
Egyptian ships carried products such as wheat and linens across the Mediterranean to
Europe and Asia, returning with lumber and metal weapons, which Egypt did not
produce. 

Religion in Egypt Civilization 

Egyptian Religion was based on belief in life after death and the worship of many gods.
Above is the pyramid built about 2600 BC to hold the body of Pharaoh Khafre. It was once
connected by a covered passageway to the Great Sphinx, which has the body of a lion and
the head of a man, possibly Khafre. The papyrus scroll below was buried with a female
mummy. Osiris, lord of the afterlife, sits in judgment while his son, dog-headed Anubis,
weighs the heart of the woman against the feather of truth. 

Mummification 

Egyptians believed that just as plants decline in autumn and reappear in the spring, so
also must man have life after death. They also believed that the body in which the soul
had lived in life must be preserved in death in order for the soul to live on. 

The process of preserving the body, called mummification, developed into a highly skilled
art. Beliefs about the afterlife led the Egyptians to build large tombs in which to keep the
bodies of their dead rulers. Good conduct, as well as preservation of the body, was
thought necessary for immortality, or life after death. 

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Gods in Ancient Egypt Civilization 

Polytheism, or the worship of many gods, was characteristic of Egyptian religion during
the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom. The most important gods were Amon-Re (Sun
god)  and Osiris (God of the underworld and lord of the afterlife). During the reign of
Pharaoh Akhenaton in the New Kingdom, who ruled from 1375 to 1358 BC, a new faith
was born. 

Akhenaton believed in one supreme god, rather than in many gods. The supreme god,
Akhenaton thought, was Aton, the sun. Akhenaton forbade the worship of all gods but
Aton, and withdrew the government support previously given to the priests of other gods.
However, the priests were numerous and influential. 

They succeeded in terrifying the already fearful people into believing that if they obeyed
Akhenaton they would suffer the wrath of the gods. While Akhenaton lived, his orders
were not openly disobeyed, but after his death the priests persuaded Egyptians to return
to the worship of many gods. The concept of one god, or monotheism, disappeared in
Egypt for a time, but it was born again later in the Hebrew religion. 

Development of Hieroglyphic writing 

Between 4000 and 3000 BC, Egyptians developed a kind of picture writing known as
hieroglyphics. The first writings consisted of pictures of objects, such as a house.
Gradually, they started using ideas as well as objects. For example, a picture of an eye
could mean sight or eye. In time, the writers also used picture signs to indicate sound. 

Although these developments were the beginnings of an alphabet, the Egyptians did not
create an alphabetical system of writing. The first Egyptian books were written as early as
4000 B.C. on a material made from the papyrus plant, a kind of reed. Craftsmen sliced the
pith of this plant into strips, overlapped them, and pasted them together. 

Papyrus (the origin of the word paper) was sold wherever Egyptian traders traveled.
Egyptian books consisted of long rolls of papyrus. (One such roll, now in the British
Museum, is 17 inches wide and 135 feet long.) Egyptian writings survived the passage of
centuries because they were preserved in the dry climate of Egypt. 

The early Egyptian writings were about religion, such as the Book of the Dead already
mentioned. During the Middle Kingdom, some adventure stories were written. These
works were probably the first storybooks ever published. 

Development of Mathematics and medicine 

Because Nile floods washed away markers for land boundaries, the Egyptians surveyed
the land frequently and used practical geometry in measuring the boundaries. Their
engineers also used mathematics to work out the precise measurements necessary in the
construction of their pyramids and temples. 

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Thus, the science of mathematics advanced in ancient Egypt. Egyptian doctors were
familiar with the anatomy of the human body and the healing properties of certain herbs.
They also knew how to set broken bones and how to cure wounds. However, their writings
on medicine, which describe different illnesses and the treatments for them, show that the
Egyptians put much faith in the healing properties of magic. 

Development of Architecture 

The Egyptians were good builders in stone, and both sculptors and engineers delighted in
great size. The Great Pyramids and the Sphinx are examples of the Egyptian fondness for
huge structures. Religion inspired the building of Egyptian tombs and temples. 

The most famous temple was that of the god Amon, at Karnak, which occupies part of the
site of ancient Thebes. Part of this great temple still stands. Its hall is 400 feet long, 175
feet wide—larger than a football field— and 80 feet high. The roof was supported by rows
of giant columns. The Egyptians were the first to support roofs with columns rather than
with walls. 

Q2. Discuss the scientific achievements of Sumerian Civilization. 

In what the Greeks later called Mesopotamia, Sumer, which flourished between c. 4,500-
c. 1,900 BC, was a civilisation responsible for inventing new technologies and developing
the large-scale use of existing ones. Sumerians, who lived in an area situated between the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is known today as southern Iraq, developed
technologies that fundamentally affected how humans cultivated food, built dwellings,
kept track of time and communicated. 

Much of their activity was due to their lack of natural resources: the area had few trees
and almost no stone or metal, meaning they had to make ingenious use of materials such
as clay for everything from bricks to writing tablets. Their real genius, however, was likely
organisational, since they had the ability to adapt technologies that had been invented
elsewhere and apply them on a vast scale, which allowed them to trade with neighbouring
civilisations. 

From the wheel to writing, here are 6 Sumerian inventions that changed the world. 

1. Writing 

Though not entirely certain, it’s likely that the Sumerians were the first to develop
a writing system. By 2,800 BC, they were using written communication to keep record of
the goods they were making and trading – the earliest records of their texts are simply
numbers and commodities, rather than great works of prose. 

Initially, pictographs were used, which were essentially drawings of different objects.
Pictographs then evolved into symbols that stood for words and sounds. Scribes used
sharpened reeds to scratch the symbols into wet clay, which then dried to form tablets.

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This writing system became known as cuneiform, which was then borrowed by other
civilisations and used across the Middle East for some 2,000 years and was only replaced
during the Roman era when alphabetical forms were introduced. 

2. Fabrication of copper 

Sumerians were the first to use copper, one of the earliest non-precious metals, as early as
5,000 to 6,000 years ago. In fabricating copper they were able to make arrow heads,
razors and harpoons, and later chisels, vessels and jugs. These expertly-crafted objects
helped aid the significant growth of Mesopotamian cities such as Uruk, Sumer, Ur and
al’Ubaid. 

It was also the Sumerian people who used copper weapons for the first time, since they
invented swords, spears, maces, slings and clubs for the purpose. Along with their
invention of the wheel, these technologies radicalised the military world. 

3. The wheel 

The Sumerians were the first to use circular sections of logs as wheels to carry heavy
objects by joining them together and rolling them, with the oldest existing wheel from
Mesopotamia dating to around 3,500 BC. 

A depiction of an onager-drawn cart on the Sumerian “War” panel of the Standard of Ur

(c. 2500 BCE) 

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They didn’t invent wheeled vehicles, but did likely develop the first two-wheeled chariot
by drilling a hole through the frame of the cart to create an axle, which then connected the
wheels to form a chariot. These chariots were most likely used in ceremonies or by the
military, or as a means to get around the rough terrain of the countryside. 

4. A counting system 

The earliest humans counted using simple methods, such as carving notches into bones.
However, the Sumerians developed a formal number system based upon units of 60
known as the sexagesimal system, which evolved out of a need to create a trade and
taxation policy. A small clay cone was used to denote 1, a ball for 10 and a large clay cone
for 60. An early version of the abacus was invented by the Sumerians between 2,700 and
2,300 BC. With the development of cuneiform, vertical marks were used on the clay
tablets. 

Assigning symbols to large numbers was further necessitated by the night sky, which the
Sumerians tracked in order to prepare the lunar calendar. 

5. Monarchy 

Sumerians called their land the ‘land of black-headed people’. These people were
responsible for developing the first ruling system of monarchy, since the earliest states
required a ruler to govern the many people who lived across a broad area. Before the
monarchical system, priests ruled as judges of disputes, organisers of religious rituals,
administrators of trade and military leaders. 

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Votive relief of Ur-Nanshe, king of Lagash, with his sons and dignitaries. Limestone, Early
Dynastic III (2550–2500 BC) 

However, there was a need for legitimate authority, so followed a theory that the monarch
was divinely selected, and later, a divine power themselves. The first confirmed monarch
was Etana of Kish who ruled in around 2,600 BC. 

6. Astrology and the lunar calendar 

The Sumerians were the first astronomers to map the stars into separate constellations,
such as those which were later observed by the ancient Greeks. They were also responsible
for identifying the five planets visible to the naked eye. They documented the movements
of stars and planets for a variety of reasons. Firstly, they used astrological symbols to
predict future battles and the fortunes of city-states, and also charted their month from
the beginning of the sunset and first crescent of the new moon. 

Phases of the moon were also used to create a lunar calendar. Their year consisted of two
seasons, the first of which was the summer which started with the vernal equinox, and the
other was winter which began with the autumn equinox. 

Q3. Throw light on the economy of Egypt during Pyramidic age. 

The Egyptian economy in the time of the pyramids was powered the by the construction
of the pyramids. Pyramids building required labor. An economy was necessary to pay
them. 

Ben Haring of Universiteit Leiden wrote: “The economy of ancient Egypt is a difficult area
of study due to the lack of preservation of much data (especially quantitative data); it is
also a controversial subject on which widely divergent views have been expressed. It is
certain, however, that the principal production and revenues of Egyptian society as a
whole and of its individual members was agrarian, and as such, dependent on the yearly
rising and receding of the Nile. Most agricultural producers were probably self- sufficient
tenant farmers who worked the fields owned by wealthy individuals or state and temple
estates. In addition to these, there were institutional and corvée workforces, and slaves,
but the relative importance of these groups for society as a whole is difficult to assess.
According to textual evidence, crafts were in the hands of institutional workforces, but
indications also exist of craftsmen working for private contractors. Trade was essentially
barter with reference to fixed units of textile, grain, copper, silver, and gold as measures of
value. Coins were imported and produced in the Late Period, but a system close to a
monetary economy is attested only from the Ptolemaic Period onward. Marketplaces were
frequented by private individuals (including women) as well as professional traders, both
native and foreign. Imports were secured by conquests and military control in the Levant,
from which silver, oil, and wine reached Egypt, and in Nubia, rich in its deposits of gold.  

“Economy in its broadest sense can be defined as the system, or the different ways, in
which material goods are produced, distributed, and consumed. In everyday language,
“economy” stands for the efficient use of scarce resources, and for the process of buying

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and selling that appears to be at the center of much modern economic activity. Such a
popular use of the term is likely to neglect aspects of human society that are no less
“economic,” such as taxation (an aspect of government economic policy), or subsistence
(the self-sufficient mode of production and consumption in traditional agrarian societies).
To put it differently, “economy” is not necessarily the same as “commerce.” In fact, trade
seems to be just one aspect of an economic system, the relative importance of which is
thought to be subject to historical change (see Trade). There is actually no single aspect of
human society that is irrelevant to its economy . 

“Whereas modes of production and distribution can be reconstructed on the basis of

textual, archaeological, and geological research, quantification remains the central
problem in the study of an ancient economy, such as the Egyptian, due to the lack of
preservation of many sources of information. Moreover, Egyptological discussions tend to
concentrate on textual sources, the social and chronological distribution of which is
unbalanced (institutional records of the New Kingdom and Greco-Roman Period being
relatively well-represented). More integrative approaches that include archaeological data
may well add significantly to our present state of knowledge.” 

Economic Activity In Ancient Egypt 

Juan Carlos Moreno Garcia of the CNRS

in France wrote: Specialized, large-scale
workshops aiming to supply the army,
temples, and the palace coexisted with a
more modest but widespread artisan
production, in the hands of craftsmen
(potters, leather workers, weavers, brick
makers, etc.) who were often the object
of mockery i n the satire-of-trades texts.
Finally, the supplying of cities with
charcoal, fresh vegetables, meat, and
fish is occasionally referred to in
administrative documents and private
letters, thus giving an idea of the impact
of urban markets on the economic
activities, trades, and lifestyles of people living far away from cities.  

“That fishermen, for instance, were paid in silver and, in turn, paid their taxes in silver
during the reign of Ramesses II, suggests t hat markets (and traders) played an important
role in the commercialization of fish, harvests, and goods, in the use of precious metals as
a means of exchange, and in the circulation of commodities. Credit is also evoked in the
textual record and it can be posited that, at least in some cases, it stimulated the output of
various crafts, particularly in domains such as textile production in the domestic sphere.
While in some instances women delivered pieces of cloth on a compulsory basis, it is
possible that, in other instances, they produced textiles for markets through the

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mediation of traders. Individuals also provided loans and credit to their neighbors, thus
creating a network of personal bonds and dependence that reinforced their local
preeminence as well as the accumulation of wealth in their hands. 

Markets and Merchants in Ancient Egypt 

Ben Haring of Universiteit Leiden wrote: “Private exchange could probably take place
everywhere and at any time. Sales or rentals of expensive items, however, would be
effected with witnesses present, and might involve the taking of an oath on the part of the
seller or renter promising that there were no claims by third parties on the item
transferred. These were oral conventions (reflected in the unique textual documentation
from Ramesside Deir el-Medina) until after the New Kingdom, when they became fixed
parts of written contracts.  
 

“Texts and tomb scenes testify to

the existence of marketplaces
where movables changed hands.
The Egyptian word for river bank
(mryt) is often used with the
meaning “marketplace,” and tomb
scenes confirm that such places
were indeed located at the river.
The booths depicted in the scenes
accommodate men as well as
women. The latter could engage in
local trade, probably as sellers of
surplus produce of the household,
especially textiles. (Linen) textiles were actually a common means of payment, very much
like grain, copper, and silver, and are documented as such in the exchange of movables
and real estate from the Old Kingdom onward. 

“Trade in an institutional context seems to have been limited to men. The Egyptian word
Swtj means “trader,” but not necessarily “merchant”. Bearers of this title worked for
temples and for the households of wealthy individuals, their task being to exchange the
surplus production of these households (e.g., textiles) for other items, such as oil and
metals. Such trade ventures are recorded in ship’s logs from the Ramesside Period.
Although attested in institutional contexts only, traders may well have used their position
and skills to engage in transactions for their own profit, as did institutional craftsmen (see
Labor). 

There were no coins or paper money in ancient Egypt. Workers tended to be paid in food,
drink, oil, dried and other goods and services rather than money. Egyptians used animals,
particularly sheep, for money. Gold pieces have been found that are shaped like sheep.
These are believed to have been early money. 

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Silver rings were used in Mesopotamia and Egypt as currency hundreds of years before
the first coins were struck. A wall painting from Thebes from 1,300 B.C. shows a man
weighing donut-size gold rings on a balance. The use of money made trade easier between
Mesopotamia, Egypt and Palestine. Archaeologists have also found a crock with bits of
gold and silver, including several rod-shaped ingots of gold and silver. Egyptians also paid
for things with pieces of gold and silver carried in sacks and jars and measured in deben
(a traditional Egyptian measurement equal to three ounces). One deben was equal to a
sack of wheat. Four or five could buy a tunic, 50, a cow. 

Money: Units of Value and Payment in Ancient Egypt 

Ancient Egyptian seals  20120217-Ancient_Egyptian_seals.jpg

Ben Haring of Universiteit Leiden wrote: “The exchange of commodities in Pharaonic

Egypt can best be characterized as money-barter—that is, barter with reference to fixed
units of value. Prices, whether formed by tradition or by demand and supply, seem to
have been more stable than those in modern markets. They could be expressed, basically,
in any commodity, but by far the most common were units of grain, copper, and silver
(also popular was linen: see number 3 below). The price of any given object, piece of real
estate, animal, and slave could be expressed in these commodities. Although “money” in
the modern sense of the word did not exist in ancient Egypt, some of its definitive
characteristics—such as standard of value and means of payment— were present.  

“An Egyptian word closely approaching our word “money” (and indeed often translated as
such) is “silver” (HD). In the New Kingdom and later, the word was used to refer to
payment, even if the payment was not actually in silver. This practice may have been a
consequence of the increasing amounts of silver circulating in Egypt after foreign
conquests. Until the Third Intermediate Period, however, there are no indications of a
bank or government guaranteeing the value of the means of payment, or a fixed shape of
that means (such as coins or bills), let alone fiduciary (as opposed to intrinsic) value. In
documents from the 21st Dynasty onward, the silver used in payments is said to have
come from “the Treasury of Harsaphes” (presumably in Heracleopolis); in the Saite
Period a Theban treasury is referred to; and after the Persian conquest, the “treasury of
Ptah” in Memphis. Müller-Wollermann has suggested that these temple treasuries acted
as guarantors. Egyptian coins or other fixed forms of silver objects used for payment are
not attested in these periods. However, hoards of Greek silver coins of the Late Period
have been found in Egypt and there are indications of the circulation and even imitation
of Greek coins at this time. Coins inspired by the Greek ones but with Egyptian
inscriptions date from the 30th Dynasty and the Second Persian Period. The Ptolemies
conducted their own massive production of coins and the Ptolemaic Egyptian economy
came to resemble a monetary system (including banks), although payment in kind
remained common practice. 

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“The value of grain fluctuated in the course of the agrarian year from low (when the
harvests were brought in) to high (in the period preceding the harvests). Long-term
fluctuations (such as the dramatic rise in grain prices from the reign of Ramesses III
onward) may be due to failures in the government’s economic policy, or to repeated
ecological stress (low Nile floods). Loans of grain between individuals could take
advantage of short- and long-term fluctuations, besides requiring the payment of
considerable interest (often 100 percent or more). The basic units of grain were the “sack”
(XAr) and its subdivisions, the hekat (HoAt) and the oipe (ipt). In the New Kingdom, the
sack was a unit of almost 80 liters, subdivided into four oipe, each of which in its turn was
made up of four hekat. A further subdivision, the hin (hnw) (1/10 of the hekat,
approximately 1/2 of a ter), was used for fluids, but not for grain. From the Late Period
onward, grain was measured in artabe (rtb), a smaller unit than the sack, and often of
uncertain capacity (estimates range between 32 and 40 liters). 

“The ratio of silver to copper was stable during much of the New Kingdom (1 unit of silver
against 100 units of copper), but changed towards the end of the 20th Dynasty (1 unit of
silver against 60 of copper). One unit of gold equaled two of silver. It is assumed that
before the late Middle Kingdom silver was more valuable than gold, because whenever
earlier texts mention both metals, silver is mentioned first (it having been the custom in
economic texts to start with the most expensive commodities). The reduction in the value
of silver is explained by its influx from the north, which increased through Egypt’s
domination in the Levant, especially after the conquests of the early New Kingdom. Egypt
itself has few natural deposits of silver, as opposed to gold, a major Egyptian mineral
resource. 

“Gold mining areas were located in the Eastern Desert, but it was the incorporation of
Nubia into the Egyptian empire that gave the pharaohs access to vast gold resources. It is
even possible that the value of gold decreased slightly in the middle of the 18th Dynasty
due to its massive influx. Gold was especially important to Egypt’s foreign policy as a
means of financing wars and of gift- giving among the political powers of the time. Copper
was abundantly available in Egypt (mainly in the Eastern Desert and Sinai) and was the
prime material for tools before iron became common in the first millennium B.C.. 

“The units of weight used for metals were the deben (dbn: approximately 90 grams in the
Ramesside Period and later; considerably less in earlier periods; cf. Graefe 1999) and its
tenth part, the kite (odt). A special unit for silver was the seniu or sh(en)ati (Snatj),
possibly 7.5 grams. Otherwise the kite was the unit preferred for precious metals,
although gold rarely made its appearance in everyday economic traffic. 

Money and the Development of Proto Money in Mesopotamia 

20120208-Clay_accounting_tokens_Susa_Louvre_n1.jpg

Clay accounting tokens from Mesopotamia  

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Some archaeologists suggest that money was used by wealthy citizens of Mesopotamia as
early as 2,500 B.C., or perhaps a few hundred years earlier. Historian Marvin Powell of
Northern Illinois in De Kalb told Discover, “Silver in Mesopotamia functions like our
money today. It’s a means of exchange. People use it for storage of wealth, and the use it
for defining value.” [Source: Heather Pringle, Discover, October 1998] 

The difference between the silver rings used in Mesopotamia and earliest coins first
produced in Lydia in Anatolia in the 7th century B.C. was that the Lydian coins had the
stamp of the Lydian king and thus were guaranteed by an authoritative source to have a
fixed value. Without the stamp of the king, people were reluctant to take the money at
face value from a stranger. 

Archaeologists have had a difficult time sorting out information on ancient money
because, unlike pottery or utensils, found in abundant supply at archeological sites, they
didn’t thrown them out. 

The earliest form of trade was barter. The earliest known proto-money are clay token
excavated from the floors of villages houses and city temples in the Near East. The tokens
served as counters and perhaps as promissory notes used before writing was developed.
The tokens came in different sizes and shapes. 

Early Mesopotamians who lived in the Fertile Crescent before the rise of the first cities
employed five token types that represented different amounts of the three main traded
goods: grain, human labor and livestock such as goats and sheep. 

Clay tokens, described by some scholars as the world’s first money, found in Susa, Iran
have been dated to 3300 B.C. One was equivalent to one sheep. Others represented a jar
of oil, a measure of metal, a measure of honey, and different garments. 

In the Mesopotamian cities, there were 16 main types of tokens and dozens of sub
categories for things like honey, trussed duck, sheep’s milk, rope, garments, bread,
textiles, furniture, mats, beds, perfume and metals. 

Q4. Discuss the art of Sumerian Civilization. 

About 4000 BCE, Sumeria sprang up seemingly out of nowhere on part of the land known
as the Fertile Crescent in the southern part of Mesopotamia, now called Iraq and Kuwait,
countries that have been torn asunder by war in the past decades. 

Mesopotamia, as the area was called in ancient times, means “land between the rivers”
because it was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Mesopotamia was
important to historians and archaeologists, and to the development of human civilization,
long before it became known as Iraq and America became involved in the Persian Gulf
War, for it is recognized as the Cradle of Civilization due to the many “fundamental firsts”
of civilized societies that occurred there, inventions with which we still live. 

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The society of Sumeria was one of the first known advanced civilizations in the world and
the first to thrive in southern Mesopotamia, lasting from about 3500 BCE to 2334 BCE
when the Sumerians were conquered by the Akkadians from central Mesopotamia. 

The Sumerians were inventive and skilled technologically. Sumer had highly advanced
and well-developed arts, sciences, government, religion, social structure, infrastructure,
and written language. The Sumerians were the first known civilization to use writing to
record their thoughts and literature. Some of the other inventions of Sumeria included the
wheel, a cornerstone of human civilization; widespread use of technology and
infrastructure, including canals and irrigation; agriculture and mills; shipbuilding for
travel into the Persian Gulf and the trade of textiles, leather goods, and jewelry for semi-
precious stones and other things; astrology and cosmology; religion; ethics and
philosophy; library catalogues; law codes; writing and literature; schools; medicine; beer;
the measurement of time: 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute; brick
technology; and major developments in art, architecture, city planning, and music. 

Because the land of the fertile crescent was agriculturally productive, people did not have
to devote themselves full-time to farming in order to survive, so they were able to have a
variety of different vocations, including among them artists and craftsmen. 

Sumeria was by no means ideal, though. It was the first to create a privileged ruling class,
and there was great income disparity, greed and ambition, and enslavement. It was a
patrilineal society in which women were second-class citizens. 

Sumeria was made up of independent city-states, not all of whom got along all the time.
These city-states had canals and walled settlements, varying in size, to provide irrigation
and defense from their neighbors if necessary. They were governed as theocracies, each
with its own priest and king, and patron god or goddess. 

The existence of this ancient Sumerian culture was not known until archaeologists started
to discover and unearth some of the treasures from this civilization in the 1800s. Many of
the discoveries came from the city of Uruk, which is thought to be the first, and largest
city. Others came from the Royal Tombs of Ur, one of the other largest and oldest of the
cities. 

CUNEIFORM WRITING 

Sumerians created one of the first written scripts around 3000 BCE, called cuneiform,
meaning wedge-shaped, for the wedge-shaped marks made from a single reed pressed
into a soft clay tablet. The marks were arranged in wedge shapes numbering from two to
up to 10 shapes per cuneiform character. Characters were generally horizontally arranged,
although both horizontal and vertical were used. Cuneiform signs, similar to pictographs,
most often represented a syllable, but could also represent a word, idea, or number, could
be multiple combinations of vowels and consonants and could represent every oral sound
made by humans. 

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Cuneiform script lasted for 2000 years, and across a range of languages in the Ancient
Near East, until Phoenician script, from which our current alphabet stems, became
dominant in the first millennium BCE The flexibility of cuneiform writing contributed to
its longevity and enabled the passing down of recorded stories and techniques from
generation to generation. 

At first, cuneiform was used just for counting and accounting, motivated by the need for
accuracy in long-distance trading between the merchants of Sumer and their agents
abroad, as well as within the city-states themselves, but it evolved as grammar was added,
to be used for letter writing and storytelling. In fact, one of the world’s first great works of
literature, an epic poem called “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” was written in cuneiform. 

Sumerians were polytheistic, meaning they worshipped many gods and goddesses, with
the gods being anthropomorphic. Since the Sumerians believed that gods and human
beings were co-partners, much of the writing was about the relationship of the rulers and
the gods rather than about human accomplishments themselves. Therefore much of the
early history of Sumer has been deduced from archaeological and geological record rather
than from cuneiform writings themselves. 

Sumerian Art and Architecture 

Cities dotted the plains of Sumeria, each one dominated by a temple built for one of their
human-like gods, on top of what were called ziggurats—large rectangular stepped towers
in the centers of the cities that would have taken many years to build—similar to the
pyramids of Egypt. However, the ziggurats were built of mud-brick made from the soil of
Mesopotamia since stone was not readily available there. This made them much more
impermanent and susceptible to the ravages of weather and time than the great Pyramids
made of stone. Whereas not much remains of the ziggurats today, the Pyramids are still
standing.  They also differed greatly in design and purpose, with ziggurats being built to
house the gods, and pyramids built as the final resting place for pharaohs. The Ziggurat at
Ur is one of the most well-known, being the largest and best-preserved. It has been
restored twice, but sustained further damage during the Iraq war. 

Although the fertile crescent was hospitable to human habitation, the early humans faced
many hardships including extremes in weather, and invasion by enemies and wild
animals. Their abundant art depicts their relationship with nature as well as military
battles and conquests, along with religious and mythological themes.  

The artists and artisans were very skilled. Artifacts show great detail and ornamentation,
with fine semi-precious stones imported from other countries, such as lapis lazuli, marble,
and diorite, and precious metals such as hammered gold, incorporated into the design.
Since stone  was rare it was reserved for sculpture. Metals such as gold, silver, copper, and
bronze, along with shells and gemstones, were used for the finest sculpture and inlays. 
Small stones of all kinds, including more precious stones such as lapis lazuli, alabaster,
and serpentine, were used for cylinder seals. 

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Clay was the most abundant material and the clay soil provided the Sumerians with much
of the material for their art including their pottery, terra-cotta sculpture, cuneiform
tablets, and clay cylinder seals, used to securely mark documents or property. There was
very little wood in the region, so they did not use much, and few wooden artifacts have
been preserved. 

Most of the art made was for religious purposes, with sculpture, pottery, and painting
being the primary mediums of expression. Many portrait sculptures were produced
during this time, such as the twenty-seven statues of the Sumerian king, Gudea, created
during the Neo-Sumerian period after the two-century rule by the Akkadians. 

Famous Works 

Most of Sumerian art was excavated from graves, since Sumerians often buried their dead
with their most coveted objects. There are many famous works from Ur and Uruk, two of
the largest cities of Sumeria. Many of these works can be seen on the website Sumerian
Shakespeare. 

The Great Lyre from the Royal Tombs of Ur is one of the greatest treasures. It is a wooden
lyre, invented by the Sumerians around 3200 BCE, with the head of a bull protruding
from the front of the sound box, and is an example of the Sumerian’s love of music and
sculpture. The bull’s head is made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, bitumen, and wood,
while the sound box depicts mythological and religious scenes in gold and mosaic inlay. 
The bull lyre is one of three that was excavated from the royal cemetery of Ur and is about
13 inches high. Each lyre had a different animal head protruding from the front of the
sound box to denote its pitch. The use of lapis lazuli and other rare semi-precious stones
indicates that this was a luxury item. 

The Golden Lyre of Ur, also called Bull’s Lyre, is the finest lyre, the whole head made
completely of gold. Unfortunately, this lyre was vandalized when the National Museum in
Baghdad was looted in April 2003 during the Iraq War. However, the gold head was kept
safe in a bank vault and an amazing replica of the lyre has been constructed over a
number of years and is now part of a touring orchestra. 

The Standard of Ur is one of the most significant works from the Royal Cemetery. It is
made of wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, and is approximately 8.5
inches high by 19.5 inches long. This small trapezoidal box has two sides, one panel
known as the “war side,” the other the “peace side.” Each panel is in three registers. The
bottom register of the “war side” shows different stages of the same story, showing the
progression of a single war chariot defeating its enemy. The “peace side” represents the
city in times of peace and prosperity, depicting the bounty of the land and a royal
banquet. 

What happened to sumeria? 

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What happened to this great civilization? What caused its demise? There is speculation
that a 200-year drought 4,200 years ago may have caused its decline and the loss of the
Sumerian language. There are no written accounts that specifically mention this, but
according to findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical
Union several years ago, there is archaeological and geological evidence that point to this,
suggesting that human societies may be vulnerable to climate change. There is also an
ancient Sumerian poem, Laments for Ur I and II, that tell the story of the destruction of
the city, in which a storm is described “that annihilates the land…And lit on either flank of
furious winds the searing heat of the desert.” 

Unfortunately, destruction of these ancient archaeological sites of Mesopotamia has been

occurring since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and ancient artifacts consisting of “thousands
of  cuneiform-inscribed tablets, cylinder seals and stone statues have illegally made their
way to the lucrative antiquities markets of London, Geneva, and New York. Irreplaceable
artifacts have been purchased for less than $100 on Ebay,” wrote Diane Tucker in
HuffPost. 

It is a sad end to a civilization to which the world owes much. Perhaps we can benefit from
the lessons of its mistakes, flaws, and demise, as well as from those of its amazing rise and
many accomplishments. 

Q5. Throw light on the Shang Age. 

The first dynasty 

The very earliest period in traditional Chinese history is called the Mythical Period,
when—according to legend—the Xia dynasty ruled China. The Shang dynasty, the first
historically confirmed dynasty, supposedly began when the Shang overthrew the Xia
sometime around 1760 BCE. 

Did this overthrow actually happen? We’re not sure. The Shang dynasty is the oldest
Chinese dynasty whose existence is supported by archaeological finds, but more evidence
for the existence of the Xia dynasty may yet emerge.11start superscript, 1, end
superscript It’s estimated that the Shang ruled the Yellow River Valley of China for most
of the second millennium BCE—so about 1766 to 1046 BCE. 

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Map showing the region controlled by the Shang dynasty in China. Map of China is in
beige, with rivers in blue and the outline of the Shang-controlled area in green. Shang
dynasty is located in the North China Plain in western China. 

For centuries, people found what they called dragon bones—bones and shells with
mysterious inscriptions—in many parts of China. Excavations of the ancient city of
Anyang in the early twentieth century revealed tens of thousands of these bone fragments
and bronze vessels, many of which had inscriptions in proto-Chinese
characters.22squared These artifacts contained records dating back to the Shang dynasty,
allowing scholars to learn much about Shang life, such as their agricultural methods,
medical treatments, legal system, and craft making styles.33cubed 

The Shang built huge cities with strong social class divisions, expanded earlier irrigation
systems, excelled in the use of bronze, and developed a writing system. Shang kings
fulfilled a sacred, not political, role, while a council of chosen advisers and bureaucrats—
official administrators—organized and ran the government. 

Both banks of the Yellow River had massive amounts of loess‚ pronounced like the
English word less—a fertile sediment that allowed Shang-era farmers to grow a large
surplus of food. This supported specialization and allowed a class of Shang artisans and

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craftspeople to develop sophisticated technology and culture.44start superscript, 4, end
superscript 

Ultimately, the Shang dynasty was overthrown in 1046 BCE by the Zhou, a subject
people—a people who lived under imperial rule—living in the western part of the
kingdom, but their cultural contributions carried on through future dynasties. 

Writing and culture 

The oldest surviving form of Chinese writing is found as inscriptions of divination records
on the bones or shells of animals, called oracle bones; oracle, from a similar Latin root
as the English word orator, means holy messenger or speaker. The writing found on
oracle bones shows complexity, indicating that this language had existed for a long time.
In fact, modern scholars are able to read it because the language is very similar to the
modern Chinese writing system. 

Oracle bones are pieces of bone or turtle shell that were used by the ancient Chinese,
especially Chinese kings, in attempts to predict the future. The ancient kings would
inscribe their name and the date on the bone along with a question. They would then heat
the bone until it cracked and then interpret the shape of the crack, which was believed to
provide an answer to their question. 

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Piece of ox bone with Shang-era writing. Writing is written vertically, like modern-day
Chinese writing, in a red color. 

Different questions have been found carved into oracle bones, such as, “Will we win the
upcoming battle?” or “How many soldiers should we commit to the battle?” The bones
reveal a great deal about what was important to Shang society and often asked questions
about war, harvests, and childbirth. 

Toward the end of the dynasty, this practice of divination—predicting the future—was
reserved for the king alone. As a result, oracle bones from this period give historians
comparatively less insight into the lives and concerns of people in other classes. 

Writing allowed science in the Shang dynasty to advance, as observations could be

recorded more accurately. The Oracle Scripts are accounts of eclipses and other celestial
events written by astronomers of the Shang period. Shang astronomers’ works also

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showed advances in mathematics, the development of odd and even numbers, and
principles of accounting. The I-Ching—also known as The Book of Changes—was either
written or compiled at this same time, around 1250 to 1150 BCE. The I-Ching is a book of
divination with roots going back to the fortune tellers of the rural areas and their oracle
bones.55start superscript, 5, end superscript 

Musical instruments were also developed by the Shang. At Yin Xu, near Angyang,
excavations have revealed instruments from the Shang period such as the ocarina—a wind
instrument—drums, and cymbals. Bells, chimes, and bone flutes have been discovered
elsewhere.66start superscript, 6, end superscript 

The Shang created a lunar calendar, based on the cycles of the moon, that was used to
predict and record important events, especially planting and harvesting of crops. Because
lunar years are shorter than solar years, which are based on the Earth’s orbit of the sun,
Shang kings employed specially-trained astronomers who made adjustments and
maintained the precision of the calendar. 

Technological innovation and exchange 

Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was a hugely important metal during the Shang period.
Shang metal workers developed a highly sophisticated method for casting bronze and
used it to make ceremonial objects and weapons. Bronze swords and spearheads were
stronger than other available metals, giving Shang soldiers an advantage in battle. 

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Bronze vessel with three legs, two handles, and intricate carvings of symbols. 

Mastery of bronze was an important advancement for the Shang militarily, but the
combination of horse, chariot, and composite bow were also integral to its success. The
chariot, a two-wheeled war cart pulled by horses, allowed Shang soldiers to move vast
distances at great speeds and also acted as a mobile archery platform. Shang archers also
had composite bows, made by combining animal sinew and horn or bone with wood.
These materials gave the bow more power than a wooden bow of the same size. Archers
were able to keep their bows small enough to shoot easily while standing in a chariot
without losing power. 

These military technologies were important because the Shang were constantly at war. A
significant number of oracle bone inscriptions show that the Shang used chariots as
mobile command vehicles and in royal hunts. Members of the royal household were often
buried with a chariot, horses, and a charioteer. Shang armies expanded the borders of the

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kingdom and captured precious resources and prisoners of war, who could be enslaved or
used as human sacrifices. The oracle bones also show deep concern over the “barbarians”
living outside the empire, who were a constant threat to the safety and stability of the
kingdom; the military had to be constantly ready to fight them. 

Bronze battle axe carved with an image of a grinning, possibly menacing face. 

The influence of the Early Shang extended hundreds of kilometers away from the capital,
and many of the Shang bronze techniques diffused over large areas.77start superscript, 7,
end superscript The Shang in turn adopted skills, ideas, and even crops from some
neighboring societies, such as wheat and axes, which may have come from Western
Asia.88start superscript, 8, end superscript However—because natural barriers like the
ocean, mountain ranges, deserts, and steppes kept the Shang in relative isolation—the
Shang dynasty as well as later dynasties evolved in unique and insular ways.99start
superscript, 9, end superscript 

Power and social hierarchy 

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The Shang dynasty’s power was concentrated in many ancient cities, some of which have
been unearthed by archaeologists. The first Shang ruler supposedly founded a new capital
for his dynasty at a town called Shang, near modern-day Zhengzhou, a city of 2.6 million
people in eastern China’s Henan Province. Archaeological remains of this town may have
been found, and it seems to have functioned as a sacred capital, where the most sacred
temples and religious objects were housed. This city also had palaces, workshops, and city
walls. 

Shang, along with other ancient Chinese cities, had two city walls—one inner and one
outer wall. The common residents could live within the outer wall, but could not go past
the inner wall, which enclosed a temple area, cemetery sites, bronze foundries, bronze
casting areas, and bone workshops. The inner walls thus encircled an area of political elite
and craft specialists, who together were the engineers of the important ritual
performances. In this way, the architecture of these cities was designed to separate
different social classes.1010start superscript, 10, end superscript 

However, it seems that there were many capitals aside from this one, and rulers may have
moved from one to the other because of religious rituals, military strategy, or food
requirements. That suggests that the power of the dynasty was concentrated in the king,
whose political authority was reinforced by the Shang religion.1111start superscript, 11,
end superscript To consolidate their authority further, kings often went on excursions and
military expeditions to walled towns outside the capitals where aristocrats had a lot of
influence. Consolidating power in these areas was crucial, as control of peasant-farmed
agricultural territories ensured sufficient resources for the inhabitants of the walled
towns.1212start superscript, 12, end superscript 

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Map of north and central China showing major archaeological sites: Anyang, Erlitou,
Erligang, Sanxingdui, Panlongcheng, and Wucheng. Land is brown and green with rivers
in blue. 

Anyang, another Shang capital, also in modern-day Henan Province, is another

important—but slightly later—Shang city that has been excavated. It was located at the
intersection between lowland agricultural areas of the North China Plain and mountains
which acted as a defensive border.1313start superscript, 13, end superscript This site
yielded large numbers of oracle bones that describe the travels of eleven named kings. The
names and timeframes of these kings match traditional lists of Shang kings. Anyang was a
huge city, with an extensive cemetery of thousands of graves and 11 large tombs—evidence
of the city’s labor force, which may have belonged to the 11 Shang kings. 

Generally, Shang cities were not very well preserved in the archaeological record because
of how they were built and the climate in northern China. Stone material was scarce, so
the security of cities was reinforced by large walls made of compacted earth. Buildings
were often constructed with dried mud over a framework of wooden posts. Cities were
crucial to political and religious affairs, and they were the seats of administrative affairs,
royal tombs, palaces, and shrines. Common people were concentrated in the agricultural
areas outside the cities.1414start superscript, 14, end superscript 

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The border territories of Shang rule were led by chieftains who gained the right to govern
through connections with royalty. Shang relied heavily on neighboring fiefs for raw
materials, much of which was devoted to ceremonial performances. Fiefs were lands
given to social elites to govern on behalf of a more powerful ruler. The holder of a fief was
expected to provide resources political and military support to the ruler. Fiefs also had
important economic roles; they often organized irrigation and flood control systems and
supervised their construction.1515start superscript, 15, end superscript 

The Shang enacted a feudal system, a system in which duties are tied to land
ownership, with sharp class divisions based on clan birthright. The aristocracy were
centered around Anyang, which was the seat of governmental affairs for the surrounding
areas. Regional territories farther from the capital were also controlled by the wealthy. 

After the kings and the aristocrats, the Shang military were next in social status and were
respected and honored for their skill. There were two subdivisions of the military: the
infantry, or foot soldiers, and the chariot warriors. The latter were noted for their great
skill in warfare and hunting. 

There were many local rulers who held hereditary titles. In this imperial system, elite
classes benefitted from the production of peasants and large-scale projects under elite
control, usually operated using various forms of unfree labor.1616start superscript, 16,
end superscript 

There is also evidence of a class of proto-bureaucrats, many of whom were titled officials,
who had managerial roles and kept extensive records. Their duties likely involved keeping
an inventory of ritual materials, orchestrating ritual performances, managing large
construction projects and bronze foundries, and tracking incoming tributes.1717start
superscript, 17, end superscript 

Artisans and craftspeople comprised the middle class of Shang society. The rulers and
aristocrats patronized these artisans in order to gain luxury goods for both personal
consumption and ceremonial purposes.1818start superscript, 18, end superscript Their
largest contribution was their work with bronze, particularly ritual vessels and treasures,
many of which were discovered via archaeological findings in the 1920s and 1930s. Shang
aristocrats and the royalty were likely buried with large numbers of bronze valuables,
particularly wine vessels and other ornate structures. 

At the bottom of the social ladder were the peasants, the poorest of Chinese citizens. They
comprised the majority of the population and were limited to farming and selling crops
for profit in a constraining feudal system. Archaeological findings have shown that masses
of peasants were buried with aristocrats, leading some scholars to believe that they were
the equivalent of slaves. However, other scholars have countered that they may have been
similar to serfs, who were tied to aristocrat-held land and gave aristocrats part of their
harvest. Peasants were governed directly by local aristocrats. One of the ways that

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historians know about these social hierarchies is by examining cemeteries, which were
often grouped in different neighborhoods and varied in quality according to the status of
the people buried there.1919start superscript, 19, end superscript 

Shang religion 

Shang religion was incredibly important, and it extended into the political and economic
spheres. The Shang religion and state power were closely connected; state power was
consolidated through a sense of reverence for royal Shang ancestors. Further, by the end
of the Shang dynasty, the king was the only one who could interpret the oracle bones,
thereby making him the head shaman.2020start superscript, 20, end superscript 

The Shang religion was characterized by a combination of animism, the idea that
everything has a soul; shamanism, the belief in shamans who have the ability to
communicate with the spiritual world; ancestor worship; and divination. Different gods
represented natural and mythological symbols, such as the moon, the sun, the wind, the
rain, the dragon, and the phoenix. Peasants prayed to these gods for bountiful harvests.
Festivals to celebrate gods were also common. 

In particular, the Shang kings, who considered themselves divine rulers, consulted the
great god Shangdi—the Supreme Being who ruled over humanity and nature—for advice
and wisdom. The Shang believed that the ancestors could also confer good fortune; the
Shang would consult ancestors through oracle bones in order to seek approval for any
major decision, and to learn about future success in harvesting, hunting, or battle. 

It appears that there was belief in the afterlife during the Shang dynasty. Archaeologists
have found Shang tombs surrounded by the skulls and bodies of human sacrifices. Some
of these contain jade, which was thought to protect against decay and grant immortality.
Archaeologists believe that Shang tombs were very similar to those found in the Egyptian
pyramids in that they buried servants with them. Chinese archaeologists theorize that the
Shang, like the ancient Egyptians, believed their servants would continue to serve them in
the afterlife. Because of this belief, aristocrats’ servants would be killed and buried with
them when they died. Another interpretation is that these were enemy warriors captured
in battle. 

One elaborate tomb which has been unearthed was that of Lady Hao, a consort of a Shang
king who reigned around 1200 BCE. The artifacts found in her tomb indicate that she had
a high social status and a great deal of power in Shang society, which makes historians
speculate about the role of women in the Shang dynasty. Based on the artifacts found in
Lady Hao’s tomb, it seems that she had her own wealth and political influence, and it is
possible that she also had a prominent role in the military, as many bronze weapons were
found buried with her.2121start superscript, 21, end superscript 

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Brick-lined tomb holding skeletons on the side and dark-colored pottery in the center. 

Q6. Write a note on Babylonian society. 

Babylonia was the name by which southern Mesopotamia had become known after the
time of Hammurabi, the great king who had reigned in the eighteenth century BCE. It was
he who had made ancient Babylon one of the greatest cities of Antiquity. The late
Babylonian period, the subject of this article, falls in the sixth century BCE, more than a
thousand years after Hammurabi’s time. 

The Babylonian empire of the mid-1st millennium is often labelled the “Neo-Babylonian”
empire. This is to distinguish it from the earlier Babylonian empire of the early-middle
2nd millennium, of king Hammurabi’s time. However, the preferred term here is Late
Babylonian, as it reflects the fact that the Mesopotamians of this period were true heirs to
the great Mesopotamian civilization which had emerged some three thousand years
before. In particular, the society and culture of the late Babylonians and
the Assyrians share a common heritage and show marked similarities. 

Indeed, one of the most notable features of Babylonian civilization of this period was that
it consciously looked back to the earlier period of ancient Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar,
the king with whom this period is most associated, and his contemporaries cherished
their cultural past and saw it as their duty to protect it, to restore it and to keep faith with
it in their own art and architecture. 

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There were, however, significant differences between those times and this – how could
there not be, when the world had changed so much. In this article we will acknowledge
that many aspects of life and society were similar to those which had been operating at the
time of Hammurabi, and indeed even under the Sumerians; but we will focus on the
differences which affected the Mesopotamian civilization in the first millennium. 

Government and politics 

The Babylonian empire covered all of Mesopotamia and Syria, including Judaea, and
stretched to the borders of Egypt, on the one had, and into Asia Minor, on the other. It
covered what had been the heartlands of the Assyrian empire, and owed a huge debt to
Assyria; the Babylonians adopted the governing machinery that had run that empire,
with its provincial governors, native vassals and strategically placed garrisons, merely
changing the personnel. How else could they have taken over such a huge territory so
quickly? They even adopted the same imperialist policies, for example deporting
conquered peoples to places far from their home (the most famous case being
Nebuchadnezzar’s deportation of thousands of Jews from Jerusalem to exile in
Babylon and other cities in Mesopotamia, but the city of Ascelon also suffered the same
fate). 

The King 

As with all previous Mesopotamian states, the Babylonian empire was a monarchy. The
king was central to the governing system; an inadequate king soon led to weaknesses
within the state. this was partly because the king’s role was not simply political, in the
modern sense of the word; it was religious as well. He was believed to be critical to the
wellbeing of his subjects in that he alone could perform certain religious rites which
ensured divine blessings on the people. Under the Assyrians, whose roots lay in a
northern Mesopotamian tradition, the king entered into a compact with the gods at the
beginning of his reign, and this compact would endure until his death. In southern
Mesopotamia, the compact had to be renewed each year, at the time of the New Year
festival (this may reflect the greater anxiety which the climate of the south imposed on the
people, with the fierce but life-giving waters of the Euphrates sometimes overflowing their
banks in devastating floods). If the king did not perform this rite properly (one that
involved some humiliation, even pain, for himself) then the year ahead would not go well
for the people as a whole. 

In the days when Mesopotamia had been divided into a multitude of city-states, or even
when a realm was confined mostly to Mesopotamia, this was not a problem. Kings lived in
their cities except during the campaigning season, and so would have found it easy to
fulfill their religious obligations. When however the kings ruled a large empire, issues
would have arisen which called them away from their capital (where the spring festival
must take place). This became a major issue under the last king, Nabonidus, who spent
ten years away from Babylon. During this time the New Year festival could not be

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performed properly, and this led to a widespread feeling of desertion, not just by the king
but by the gods as well (and especially by the chief god, Marduk, the patron-god of
Babylon). This would be a material cause for the downfall the state. 

What made this situation worse was that the kings were not native Babylonians. Their
ancestors had been chiefs of a nomadic tribe called the Kaldu (known to us as
the Chaldeans). The Chaldeans had been the principle enemies of the Babylonians for
generations before seizing Babylon and other cities in Mesopotamia, an even that had
only come about very recently, as Assyria collapsed. 

The first two Chaldean kings of Babylon, Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar, had been

very careful to fulfill all the duties of a traditional Babylonian monarch – restoring
temples, ensuring the canals and dykes on which the irrigation systems depended were
working properly, and above all performing their religious duties faithfully. Indeed, under
them the temples, religious avenues and ceremonial became more impressive than ever
before. This, plus the undoubted fact of their success, and the great inflow of wealth into
Babylon and southern Mesopotamia that this brought, made them acceptable to the
people. Nabonidus (and perhaps his two short-reigned predecessors), on the other hand,
were not so punctilious, as we have seen. This made it all the easier for the people of
Babylonia to turn to another foreigner, the Persian, Cyrus, as an alternative ruler who
would treat their traditions with greater respect. 

Over-mighty temples 

One of the notable features of the late Babylonian state and society was the increased
prominence of the temples. Thousands of years before this time, temples had dominated
Sumerian society, and had stood at the very heart of the early Mesopotamian city-states.
As time went by, however, their importance had diminished, and their privileges
curtailed. Their power had become overshadowed by that of kings such as Sargon of
Akkad and Hammurabi of Babylon, and their economic power had been undermined by
the growth of large estates in the hands of kings and nobles, and by the rise of private
property and a private business sector. 

The renewed importance of the major temples may well date to the period of anarchy
which afflicted Babylonia (and many other parts of the Middle East) in the 11th and
10th centuries BCE. During that troubled period, Mesopotamian people, especially the
farmers, probably turned to the temples for refuge, putting themselves at the service of
the only remaining authority, the local priests. The temples then became the centers of
social, economic and cultural life of southern Mesopotamia. This position was confirmed
under the Assyrian domination, who relied on the temples to maintain stability in the
area. They treated them with great respect, and bestowed favors on them by exempting
them for most taxes. 

The Assyrians kept all their subjects under tight control and, favored though they were,
the temple priesthoods were no exception. On occasion the Assyrians levied forced loans
on them. The collapse of their empire, however, freed the temples from this political

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control. The new Chaldean kings of Babylonia found themselves dependent upon the
goodwill of the temple priesthoods to help them maintain power over their subjects. It is
hardly surprising that Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt and adorned the great
sanctuaries, and abstained from interfering with their organization, contenting
themselves with a 20% share in their revenues. 

Nabonidus, on the other hand, tried to bring the temples under closer control by
appointing royal officials to supervise their financial and economic activities. This new
policy was no doubt dictated by the difficulties he had in financing the powerful army he
needed to face the new Persian threat: he needed to get control of the temples’ great
wealth. The expenditure of his predecessors had been prodigious – their rebuilding
projects in Babylon and elsewhere must have drained the royal treasury, and though
tribute flowed in from Syria, the need to deal with repeated rebellions may well have
made the costs of empire outweigh the revenues. 

Nabonidus’ temple policies, probably more than anything, aroused the hostility of the
priests, who turned the people against him. 

The law 

One of the features which shows clearly that the late Babylonians were heirs and
continuators of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization is that the laws of Hammurabi,
embodied in his famous code but probably dating to much earlier, were still in force in
Nebuchadnezzar’s time. Although no law code survives from the sixth century BCE, and
indeed may well not have been written, the ancient laws being deemed sufficient, the legal
cases of which we have records show exactly the same principles in the way they are
handled, with the same logic and judgements. 

Economy and Society 

The society and economy of Babylonia was recognizably similar to that of a thousand or
two years previously. The land was still tilled by peasants, many of whom worked as
tenants or laborers on temple estates; agriculture, as in all pre-modern societies, was by
far the predominant economic activity. Craftsmen were still (or more accurately, again)
largely employed by the temple priesthoods, who again had control of a huge part of
Babylonia’s economy. However, it is likely that, under the late Babylonian kings, the
economy of ancient Mesopotamia reached hitherto unmatched heights. Much new land
was opened up to cultivation and irrigation systems were expanded and upgraded. 

The countryside was covered by large estates, owned by kings, nobles, officials and, above
all, temples. These were partly let out to tenants, free and, more often, unfree; serfdom
seems to have been more widespread at this time than previously, probably a result of the
age of chaos of the 11th and 10th centuries BCE when farmers put themselves under the
protection of priests and other powerful figures to escape marauding raiders. Partly the
estates were farmed directly, with the aid of slaves and hired labour, under the
management of land stewards. 

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The temples 

The temples of the late Babylonian period formed social and economic units almost
independent of the royal government. They owned large estates, carried out extensive
trade, both within and outside Mesopotamia, and controlled many production units,
ranging from numerous small craft workshops to major industrial workplaces such as
shipyards and warehouses. Their economic activities were directed by senior temple
employees who commanded the labour of thousands of workers, including officials,
overseers, scribes, accountants, business agents, ship crews, artisans, builders, peasants,
hired laborers and slaves. The major temples were enormously wealthy, enjoying the
produce of their estates, the profits from their trade, the temple taxes levied on the wider
community, and their share in the sacrifices offered in the sanctuaries. 

Slaves were an important class within late Babylonian society, many of them working
alongside free or semi-free labour in the fields. There was also a distinct class of temple
slaves, people of both sexes who had been devoted to lifelong service to the temples by
their parents (often for financial reasons). Their status was passed on from one generation
to another, and they had a privileged status within temple society. they undertook all
kinds of work, from menial to highly skilled. They had no independent wealth – they
usually owned no property – but they were fed and housed by the temple in conditions
much superior to those of other slaves. 

Commerce 

Alongside the temple economy, there flourished what we today would call a “private
sector”. How large this was it is impossible to say, but it was certainly significant. There
are records of temples hiring ships from private merchants; and some business people
grew very rich. The Eglibi family, for instance, made fortunes in property, commerce
(including the slave trade) and banking. These were just the most successful of a
prominent class of merchants, shippers, bankers and business agents; it is likely that
many of them worked sometimes on their own account, and sometimes for temples
(though the distinction was probably fairly blurred). 

The late Babylonian period saw banking become a major feature of economic life. A
minted metal coinage was not yet in circulation, but the Babylonians used pieces of silver
of various standardized shapes and weights. These were based on a unit of silver – three-
tenths of an ounce -called a shekel. Though the practice of using bits of metal
to facilitate trade in Mesopotamia dated back at least to the 2nd millennium BCE, the
adoption of a silver standard was new, and had a number of benefits: it made accounting
much simpler, facilitated transactions, and was easy to store and handle. This encouraged
the development of credit, which oiled the wheels of commerce. The late Babylonian
period saw commerce flourish as never before in Mesopotamia. 

Money lending and other banking operations, such as holding clients’ money on deposit,
arose; also, as well as businesses using debt to finance their activities, many farmers fell
into chronic debt. 

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The bulk of trade within Mesopotamia was carried by ships. The records of the
transactions of the temple of Uruk reveal this very clearly. This great temple had estates
scattered throughout Mesopotamia, from which it drew different products.  It was
constantly transporting goods between its different centers, and also conducting trade,
both short and long-distance. Within Mesopotamia itself, all the cities were located on the
rivers Euphrates and Tigris or their branches, and all had quays for the loading of river
craft. Long-distance trade could be conducted up the river Euphrates to jumping-off
points (the city of Harran being the most important) into Syria – and thence to Egypt –
and Asia Minor; and down the Euphrates to the ports on the Gulf (Ur, being the best
known), where goods from or to southern Arabia and India could be bought and sold. 

The case of the temple of Uruk shows how integrated southern Mesopotamia was at this
time. Gone were the economically self-sufficient city-states of earlier periods; the busy
river traffic now knit the region together into a single economic area. Most the great
historic cities of ancient Mesopotamia, such as Uruk, Sippar, Nippur and Ur, still thrived,
and all received lavish embellishment from the kings; but the economic unification of the
region, and the royal munificence, benefitted Babylon most of all. 

Babylon, the great city 

Resources on a vast scale were devoted to rebuilding and beautifying what was already
one of the greatest cities of Antiquity. By the end of the late Babylonian period it was
probably the most magnificent city on earth. It had over 100,000 inhabitants living in it
(at a time when 20,000 was a substantial city), and its great ziggurat, temples, palaces,
ceremonial way and city gates caused Herodotus, the widely-travelled Greek geographer
and historian, to exclaim, “it surpasses any city in the known world”. 

The city was roughly square shaped, bisected by the river Euphrates. It was surrounded by
two sets of walls, an inner wall and an outer wall. Each of these was in fact a double wall,
the first with the gap between filled with earth and rubble and a road built on top, on
which chariots could ride; the second with a military road between the walls, along which
troops could be quickly deployed. The inner wall was punctuated by eight great gates, one
of which, the Ishtar gate, functioned as the ceremonial entrance to the city and led on to
the wide royal avenue down which the great processions of the city were held. 

At the center of the city stood a colossal ziggurat, 90-meter high. A little distance from
this was the temple of Marduk, the chief of the gods and patron-deity of Babylon, a
massive complex of imposing buildings and spacious courtyards. Adjacent to this was the
royal palace. In contrast to Assyrian palaces, the buildings here, though very large, aimed
for beauty, not fear; the walls decorated with floral patterns and bright colors were
designed to please the eye not to inspire awe. 

The kings’ summer palace was located on the outskirts of the city, just inside the outer
walls. Of the fabled “Hanging Gardens of Babylon’” there are as yet no signs in the
archaeological record. Nevertheless, given that the Assyrians developed beautiful parks

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and gardens, it is likely that the Babylonian kings also paid considerable attention to
creating beautiful artificial landscapes for their pleasure. 

Culture and Religion 

The culture of the late Babylonian era was marked by a pervasive reverence for
the ancient Mesopotamian traditions, giving an almost antiquarian flavor to the
period. The kings devoted huge resources to rebuilding historic temples and promoting
age-old religious rituals. All the historic cities of southern Mesopotamia – by this time
regarded as holy cities, and the land of Babylonia as a sacred land – witnessed works of
temple reconstruction, sometimes on a huge scale. 

Languages and scripts 

The regime revived aspects of antiquity which had long been in disuse. Whereas the
Assyrians had adopted Aramaic as the language of government, because it was in wide use
for everyday purposes throughout their empire, the Babylonian monarchs
reintroduced Akkadian, which was by their time known only to a few officials and
priests, and which required the mastery of thousands of cuneiform symbols to write. The
royal chronicles indeed used an ancient version of the Akkadian script which had not been
used for over a thousand years. They even reintroduced words from the long dead
Sumerian tongue. Ancient names for regions were used – Babylonia, for example, was
called “Sumer and Akkad”, a label which had gone out of use a thousand years before –
and archaic expressions were revived. 

Museums 

The late Babylonians had a passion for collecting statues and other works of art from
previous ages. This confused the archaeologists who were first to uncover ancient
Mesopotamian sites, as they found pieces which had clearly been made hundreds, even
thousands of years, apart, which were located in the same place and on the same level (i.e.
of the same time). They eventually realized that they had uncovered what can only be
described as museums, where pieces from throughout Mesopotamia’s history had been
collected, stored, and no doubt displayed. 

Like the Assyrians before them, they also collected ancient texts, with a particular
emphasis on ancient chronicles and king lists. 

The tide of change 

However, the wider world had experienced great transformations since the time of Sargon
of Akkad and Hammurabi, and Mesopotamia was not immune from these changes. As we
have seen above, the Akkadian tongue (or “Old Babylonian” as it is also known) had been
replaced by Aramaic in popular use, and the cuneiform script had been replaced by
alphabetic writing. These developments were echoed in the religious sphere. The worship

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of the ancient Mesopotamian pantheon was becoming more narrowly confined to the
Babylonian urban elite, and that of the Aramaic moon god Sin was spreading through
their empire. 

Passing on a legacy 

It is important to note, however, that the late Babylonian period was not exclusively one
of defending the past against encroachments from more recent developments. The late
Babylonians preserved ancient Mesopotamian knowledge, but they also advanced it.
This can be seen most clearly in the sciences, notably astronomy. Astronomical
observations continued to be made, (even though recorded in a by-now archaic cuneiform
script), a process which did not stop with the loss of independence under the Persians. In
fact, Babylonian astronomical knowledge continued being refined under the Persians and
then the Seleucids. It then merged with Greek scientific knowledge to provide the basis of
the works of such great scholars as Ptolemy (c. 100-170 CE). 

Q7. Write a note on the teachings of Confucisus. 

Teachings of Confucius 

Confucius expounded a system of social and political philosophy which he conveyed to a

group of disciples. His teachings and sayings were later collected by the disciples of
Confucius in a book known in the West as the Analects. 

Confucianism teaches 5 virtues 

Ren (Jen), that refers to altruism and humanity. 

Yi, that refers to righteousness. 
Li, that refers to good conduct.  
Zhi, that refers to knowledge.  
Xin, which means loyalty.  

Confucius said that he was not an innovator and that all of his teachings were merely
rediscoveries of what had been true in the past.  

Society was said to have deviated from an earlier Golden Age, and it was his task to guide
it back to its proper condition. Appeals to ancient authority were probably customary at
the time, and it is not true that Confucius was merely relating ideas which had existed
before. In fact, there is reason to believe that much of what Confucius taught was
revolutionary at the time, as witnessed by the fact that after his death Chinese emperors
attempted to suppress the spread of Confucianism by burning his books and executing
Confucian scholars. However Confucianism and the teachings of Confucius eventually
prevailed, and Confucianism eventually received Imperial sanction and came to be
adopted as the state “religion” (the word religion is in quotes because there is debate
whether Confucianism is actually a religion or is simply a system of philosophy.) The

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privileged position of Confucianism within Chinese society lasted for many centuries,
until the Communist takeover, and had a profound influence on the development of
China. 

The teachings of Confucius are focused on two interrelated areas: Social Teachings, which
deal with the proper behaviour of the individual in society and to his fellow men, and
Political Teachings, which deal with the art of governance and the proper relationship of
the Ruler to the ruled. He viewed education as central to achieving proper conduct both
within Society and in Government 

Social Teachings of Confucius 

Confucius taught that people should have compassion for one an other, and to avoid
treating others in ways that they themselves would not wish to be treated: �What you do
not wish for yourself, do not do to others. 

In order to be compassionate, people should avoid self-aggrandizement and be �simple in

manner and slow of speech.�They should practice altruism and self restraint. 

Confucius taught that the key to achieving proper self-mastery was adherence to correct
ritual. In Counfucius’ teachings, ritual encompassed both quasi religious practices as
veneration of dead ancestors, as well as the broader concept of etiquette and correct social
interaction. Confucius taught that there were mutual obligations arising between
members of social relationships, for example as between Husband and Wife, Parents and
Children, Older Brother and Younger Brother, and so on. Adherence to the proper
conduct expected between members of these groupings would guarantee an harmonious
relationship between them and also serve as the foundation of a just a stable society. 

Although the subordinate members of a relationship (children to their parents, wives to

their husbands) were required to be obedient, their obedience was not absolute and
depended upon the superior member of the relationship (parent, husband for example)
acting in accordance with his own obligations. 

Confucius’s teachings strongly emphasized the importance of following ritual. He said:

“Look at nothing in defiance of ritual, listen to nothing in defiance of ritual, speak of
nothing in defiance or ritual, never stir hand or foot in defiance of ritual.” 

Within society, Confucius prescribed the following main ceremonies or rituals: Capping (
a joyous occasion when a son achieved manhood on his twentieth birthday – analogous to
a Bar Mitzvah), marriage, mourning rites, sacrifices, feasts, and interviews. These
ceremonies were quite complex and highly ritualized. 

While to Westerners the emphasis on ritual may seem stultifying and oppressive, it must
be remembered that the guiding principal in Confucius’s social teachings is that people
should follow the Five Virtues and love one another and treat each other with kindness,
which is a concept shared by all great religions and humanistic philosophies. 

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Political Teachings 

Much of Confucius’s teachings focused on the art of governance and how a ruler should
act. Unlike Machiavelli, who expounded a concept of amoral statecraft in which he
counseled the ruler on how to appear just in order to gain the trust of the people, while at
the same time engaging in oppression and stratagems, Confucius advocated for true
justice and compassion on the part of the ruler and the ruled. Only by being a just ruler
would the ruler enjoy the Mandate of Heaven and continue to have the right to rule. 

As with his social teachings, Confucius believed that the key to good governance lay in
each man carrying out his duties as prescribed by his position within the hierarchy. He
stated: �Good government consists in the ruler being a ruler, the minister being a minister,
the father being a father, and the son being a son. 

It was essential that the ruler possess virtue. Virtue would enable the ruler to retain the
supreme position. �He who governs by means of his virtue is, to use an analogy, like the
pole-star: it remains in its place while all the lesser stars do homage to it.�(Analects 2.1)
Remarkably, given the violent nature of his times, Confucius believed that rulers should
not have to resort to force or the threat of punishment to maintain power. He stated:
“Your job is to govern, not to kill”. 

As in the case of social relationships such as those between parents and children,
husbands and wives, Confucius believed that the rulers should observe proper ritual in
order to maintain their position and right to rule. These rituals included giving proper
sacrifices to the ancestors at the ancestral temples, the exchange of gifts between
members of the nobility which bound them together in a web of obligation and
indebtedness, and acts of etiquette and decorum such as bowing. 

Confucius Teachings on Education 

Confucius taught that one the key to self mastery was through scholarship and study. He
stated “He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in
great danger.” (Analects 2.15) In his own teachings, Confucius did not expound, but rather
used asked questions of his pupils and used analogies to classic texts. According to
Confucius �I only instruct the eager and enlighten the fervent. If I hold up one corner and a
student cannot come back to me with the other three, I do not go on with the lesson. 

In exhorting men to become gentlemen or Superior Men, Confucius recommended

diligent study under a master familiar with the rules of correct behaviour. He
recommended learning from the classics. In time, Confucius’s emphasis on education and
his belief that position and rank should be based on merit, led to the establishment of an
imperial bureaucracy in which admission was based not on birth but on how well the
applicant did on the imperial examinations. This was an admirable system which in
theory at least rewarded merit and therefore recruited the best candidates; however in
practice, the school curriculum, which was based on meeting the requirements of the state
examinations became stultified. Too great an emphasis was placed on knowing and being
able to quote classical authors while science and economics were neglected. Although this

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had not been Confucius’s intent, the result was that China’s education system produced a
traditionalist bureaucracy which was ill equipped to deal with military and economic
problems. 

China was eventually conquered by neighboring barbarians, who established their own
dynasties, though they maintained the educational and examination system. When the
rapidly rising European powers came to China, China was slow to adopt Western
technological innovations and as a result China suffered further humiliations as it was
partitioned among spheres of influence by Germany, England and other European powers
from the 1800s to World War 2. 

Confucianism became a major system of thought in Ancient China, developed from the
teachings of Confucius and his disciples, and concerned with the principles of good
conduct, practical wisdom, and proper social relationships. Throughout the feudal
societies, it almost became dominant thinking. Confucianism has to some extent
influenced the Chinese attitude toward life, set the patterns of living and standards of
social value. Its legacy and beliefs spread from China to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and other
Asian nations. 

While some Western scholars take it for a Chinese religious thinking, it is actually only a
philosophy. 

Its founder, Confucius, or K’ung-tze, or K’ung-Qiu, was born in 551 B.C., in what was then
the feudal state of Lu, now included in the modern province of Shandong. Confucius was
only three when his father died. From childhood he showed a great aptitude for study and
became very learned. In the past, education was the privilege of the rich and the nobles,
but Confucius broke this rule by opening his own school. 

His 3000 disciples came from various social classes. Confucius taught them his own
political thoughts, moral thinking, as well as code of conduct. Many of his disciples had
also become important philosophers who continued or expanded upon Confucius
thinking. 

The reason Confucianism was favored and even taken as an orthodox system of thought
during the feudal society was mainly because of it emphasis on class distinctions and
obedience to one’s superior, meeting the need and desires of the ruling class. He
emphasized that every person should a role in society: the emperor should well manage
the state, officials should be loyal to the emperor, a son should obey his father, and a wife
should obey her husband, and so on and so forth. On different occasions, one might have
different roles to play, so he should act accordingly and properly. This way, the whole
society would be kept very stable. The Emperor exercised an absolute authority over his
subjects, as the father over his children. 

Q8. Throw light on the civilization of economy of Sumerian Civilization. 

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The ancient Sumerian economy refers to the systems of trade in ancient
Mesopotamia. Sumerian city-states relied on trade due to a lack of certain materials,
which had to be brought in from other regions. Their trade networks extended to places
such as Oman, Arabia, Anatolia, the Indus River Valley, and the Iranian Plateau.
Sumerians also bought and sold property, but land tied to the temples could not be
traded. There were three types of land — Nigenna, Kurra, and Urulal — and only Urulal
land could be traded; Nigenna land belonged to the temple, while Kurra land belonged to
the people working in the temple. Within Sumer, the Sumerians could use silver, barley,
or cattle as currency. 

Trade and resources 

Trade was important in Sumerian society as Mesopotamia lacked essential materials such
as stone, metals, and wood. Wool, lapiz lazuli, gold, copper and iron were all very
important resources in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia also traded with Arabia for incense
and exotic products. Sumer may have had copper and stone sourced from places as far as
Oman. Resins from Frankincense and Myrrh trees were likely imported to Sumerian
Cities from cities in southern Oman, most notably Ubar, was a trade center for
these resins and many of the trade routes from the Dhofar region run through Magan-
Sumer Territories. The Sumerians would have prized these resins as they could be used
for many purposes, from ritual to medical reasons, resin was highly prized. Iran was the
primary source of most wood, stone, and metal for Mesopotamia. Although the most
prized wood, cedar, came from Lebanon. Dilmun provided copper, carnelian, beads,
and lapis lazuli to Sumer. Carnelian was also supplied by the Indus River Valley
Civilization, who also had a large textile trade with Sumer. Gudea supposedly imported
translucent Carnelian from the Indus River Valley Civilization. In Ur, Kish,
and Babylon seals from the Indus River Valley have been found. Aratta supplied gold and
lapis lazuli. Failaka Island, Tarout Island, and Uzbekistan supplied chlorite to
Mesopotamia. Sogdia supplied lapis lazuli. Su-land and Mardaman supplied gold to
Sumer. Su-land was most likely in Iran while Mardaman was in Turkey. Areas around
the Kokcha river supplied lapis lazuli and Tin came from places east of the Iranian
plateau. Many Sumerian resources came from mountains. Carnelian came from the
Alborz mountain and Mt Meluhha. Lapis Lazuli came from Mt. Dapara, Badakhshan,
and Alvand. Hahhum, Mt. Bahtar, and Meluḫḫa could have supplied gold to
Mesopotamia. Agriculture was another very important part of the Mesopotamian
economy. The agricultural trade extended to Anatolia and Iran. Sheep, pig, cattle
herding as well as cereal were important parts of Sumerian agriculture. It also depended
on maintenance of irrigation canals. A centralized organization was established to manage
agriculture. 

Property 

Most tablets from Sumer dating back to before Sargon are records of temple logistics.
However, many tablets show citizens buying and selling land and property. One tablet
found in Lagash documents the sale of land to the king. Implying that the king could not
confiscate property. Other tablets indicate that even poorer citizens owned

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fish ponds, gardens, and houses. Most of the land was owned by the nobility. Nobles
owned large estates where most of the land was purchased from poorer citizens. It is
possible the temple dominated the land and the economy. The temples did own land that
could not be bought, sold, or alienated. There were three types of temple property.
Nigenna property was property reserved for the maintenance of the temple. Kurra land
was land dedicated to the people working for the temple. Urulal land was land given to
others in exchange for other land. 

Currency and debt 

Barley and silver were the materials used by institutions to keep track of their goods.

Usually, they did this with a fixed rate between them. Silver was also used as a means of
payment. Silver would be imported from silver mines in Keban, Dilmun,
Aratta, Marḫashi, Meluḫḫa, Azerbaijan, and Kerman. Anatolia was likely the largest
supplier of silver for Sumer. Cattle may have also been the standard currency in Sumeria.
If cattle were the standard currency interest would be paid through the cattle giving
birth. Debt was also an important aspect of Sumerian trade. Many transactions involved
debt, such as the goods consigned to temples. Debt could be paid back in barley or silver.
Loans also existed in the Sumerian economy. Rural loans would emerge as a result of
unpaid obligations to an institution. Occasionally leaders would cancel all rural debt in
order to ensure peasants never became so poor, they would take up arms against the
government. Interest in the Sumerian language is mash, which also is the word calves.
Implying that interest rates were derived from cattle reproduction. It also might mean
that the cattle giving birth is what paid off interest 

Q9. Throw light on the religion of the Babylonian Civilization. 

Babylonian religion is the religious practice of Babylonia. Babylonian mythology was

greatly influenced by their Sumerian counterparts and was written on clay tablets
inscribed with the cuneiform script derived from Sumerian cuneiform. The myths were
usually either written in Sumerian or Akkadian. Some Babylonian texts were translations
into Akkadian from the Sumerian language of earlier texts, although the names of some
deities were changed. 

Mythology and cosmology 

Babylonian myths were greatly influenced by the Sumerian religion, and were written on
clay tablets inscribed with the cuneiform script derived from Sumerian cuneiform. The
myths were usually either written in Sumerian or Akkadian. Some Babylonian texts were
even translations into Akkadian from the Sumerian language of earlier texts, although the
names of some deities were changed in Babylonian texts. 

Many Babylonian deities, myths, and religious writings are singular to that culture; for
example, the uniquely Babylonian deity, Marduk, replaced Enlil as the head of the
mythological pantheon. The Enûma Eliš, a creation myth epic was an original Babylonian
work. 

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Religious festivals 

Tablet fragments from the Neo-Babylonian period describe a series of festival days

celebrating the New Year. The Festival began on the first day of the first Babylonian
month, Nisannu, roughly corresponding to April/May in the Gregorian calendar. This
festival celebrated the re-creation of the Earth, drawing from the Marduk-centered
creation story described in the Enûma Eliš. 

Importance of idols 

In Babylonian religion, the ritual care and worship of the statues of deities were

considered sacred; the gods lived simultaneously in their statues in temples and in the
natural forces they embodied. 

The pillaging or destruction of idols was considered to be a loss of divine patronage;

during the Neo-Babylonian period, the Chaldean prince Marduk-apla-iddina II fled into
the southern marshes of Mesopotamia with the statues of Babylon’s gods to save them
from the armies of Sennacherib of Assyria. 

Q10. Give an account of the achievement of Hammurabi. 

Hammurabi, also known as Khammurabi, was the greatest emperor of Babylon and one of
the greatest rulers in the world. 

He was the sixth emperor of the Amorites, and he inherited the throne from his father,
Sin-Muballit. 

He was born in the city of Babylon in 1810 BC, now present-day Iraq. His contributions to
the development of Babylon were outstanding. 

Hammurabi’s greatest achievement was to bring together his kingdom’s previously

unstable states which had no system of government or law. 

He introduced a certain set of laws known as the Code of Hammurabi which was applied
throughout Mesopotamian society. This was a simple but effective change. Hammurabi
combined all these states and cities into a powerful empire in which every citizen lived by
the same rules. 

Here are the top eight contributions of Hammurabi which made him one of the greatest
rulers in the world: 

1. The Great Empire of Babylon 

Hammurabi expanded his empire from the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates and
ruled the entire empire with strength and determination. Hammurabi was honored in the
second millennium BC above all other kings and was declared to be a living god, giving
rise to his common name Hammurabi-ili, meaning “Hammurabi is my god.” 

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Hammurabi is remembered for three outstanding contributions which endured long after
his death: He brought victory in war, he developed justice, and he established peace
throughout the empire. 

2. Mesopotamia Conquered 

With his innate ability and vision, Hammurabi began to expand his empire. He did this by
making allegiances with adjacent states or occupying them by force. His first conquest
was of Elam, which he defeated by forming an alliance with the city-state of Larsa. After
conquering Elam, he broke the alliance with Larsa to invade other city-states such as
Uruk and Isin, which belonged to Larsa. 

In order to conquer Uruk, he allied with Nippur and Lagash, then he broke the alliance
with them as well, confusing everyone in the process. Finally, he took Larsa and achieved
his original goal. After conquering the southern regions of Mesopotamia, he then turned
his attention to the northern and western regions. In 1761 BC, he attacked and destroyed
the whole of Mavi instead of simply occupying it. After that, he took the region of Ayira
and defeated the other remaining states. In this way, Hammurabi was able to conquer the
whole of Mesopotamia by 1750 BC. 

3. Code of Hammurabi 

While Hammurabi spent a lot of time building his empire, he also turned his attention to
the Mesopotamian constitution, creating a judicial system like never before. His set of
rules, known as the Code of Hammurabi, were the most comprehensive set of laws in the
ancient world. These laws were written on 12 stones and displayed in public so that
everyone could see them. 

The code contained 282 rules, written in the format: “If … then …” These principles were
classified into domestic, social and commercial laws and included everything from
property, marriage, and family relations to technical procedures, and crime and
punishment. 

There were laws for the protection of women, children, slaves, and property, and
provision was made for those affected by famine, flood, and drought. Hammurabi
introduced the idea of crime and punishment. Punishments were not fixed, and they
varied according to the severity of the crime. Some details of the code are as follows: 

There were some cases where the punishment was a thousand times more severe
than the crime. 
The terms and conditions were changed according to gender and class. 
The law ensured a minimum wage for workers. 
If someone provided a false testimony, then he was sentenced to death. 

The code survived long after Hammurabi’s death. 

4. Internal Developments and Architecture 

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After creating his huge empire from a relatively small state, Hammurabi turned his
attention to the internal development of the kingdom. He developed a large infrastructure
including public buildings and temples and was one of the greatest administrators,
supervising many of the works himself. 

The city of Babylon benefited from roads, gardens, and lakes which were often built
purely for aesthetic reasons, and in this way, Hammurabi ensured that Babylon would be
remembered long after his death. 

5. Protector of the Realm 

Hammurabi was the emperor for several decades, and during this time, he not only built
and developed the empire, but he also protected it by allying himself with or attacking
adjacent states. 

To repel enemy attack, Hammurabi constructed canals within the city of Babylon as they
provided another line of defense. He also raised the city walls to protect it from attack. In
this way, he was able to maintain peace in the city during his reign. 

6. Urbanization 

Most of the development of the city of Babylon was done during Hammurabi’s reign.
Babylon was the first city to have 200,000 people living together at the same time, and
while other emperors helped to build this population, Hammurabi’s contribution was
undoubtedly the greatest of them all. With his extensive building work, he gave Babylon a
new look which attracted many people to settle there and enjoy a standard of living they
had not previously known. 

Much of what we know about the daily life of Babylonian citizens comes from 55 letters
probably written by Hammurabi himself. In them, he talks about the challenges he faced
in ruling the empire such as how to deal with floods and what precautions needed to be
taken with regards to the Babylonian calendar. 

7. Agricultural Development 

Hammurabi knew that an empire needed a strong agricultural base on which to develop.
Babylon was situated in the Tigris and Euphrates river valley, and Hammurabi harnessed
the water from these rivers and constructed canals to supply water to all parts of the
kingdom, thus enabling farmers to develop better methods of agriculture. Babylonians
learned how to successfully cultivate fruit, vegetables, and crops in the fertile soils. 

8. Classification of Society 

Hammurabi thought a proper division of society was important to establish peace within
the empire. With this in mind, he divided Babylonian society into three parts: 

Patricians who were free men and women. 

Plebeians who were common people in the city. 

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 Slaves who were the lowest class of people. 

There were different laws for these different classes. As the patricians were the highest
class, they were always protected by the law and enjoyed greater power and freedom,
whereas the slaves only received compensation in relation to money matters. 

Conclusion 

Hammurabi was a ruthless king known for his ambition and vision, but it seems that he
did balance his mistakes with developments aimed at improving the lives of his citizens.
In this way, while he can neither be classified as a good nor a bad ruler, he was
undoubtedly one of the greatest. 

During his reign, Babylon was known as “one of the most holy cities in Mesopotamia,”
and within the first few years of Hammurabi’s reign, he had established peace throughout
the realm. After his death in 1750 BC, the empire was passed to his son Samsu-iluna, and
it was during Samsu-iluna’s rule that it began its slow decline. 

Q11. What is modern name of ‘Hapi’? 

Nile god 

Hapi was the god of the annual flooding of the Nile in ancient Egyptian religion. The
flood deposited rich silt (fertile soil) on the river’s banks, allowing the Egyptians to grow
crops. Hapi was greatly celebrated among the Egyptians. Some of the titles of Hapi were
“Lord of the Fish and Birds of the Marshes” and “Lord of the River Bringing Vegetation”.
Hapi is typically depicted as an androgynous figure with a prominent belly and large
drooping breasts, wearing a loincloth and ceremonial false beard, depicted in
hieroglyphics as an intersex person. 

Q12. Who was Sargon? 

Sargon of Akkad, also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian
Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries
BC. He is sometimes identified as the first person in recorded history to rule over an
empire. 

Q13. Who was Tutankhamon? 

Tutankhamun (or Tutankhamen c. 1341 BC – c. 1323 BC) was the
antepenultimate pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. He ascended to the
throne around the age of nine and reigned until his death around the age of nineteen.
Historically, Tutankhamun is primarily known for restoring the traditional
polytheistic ancient Egyptian religion, after its suppression by Akhenaten in favor of
the Atenist religion. Also, Tutankhamun was one of few kings worshipped as a deity
during his lifetime; this was usually done posthumously for most pharaohs. In popular
culture, he is known for his vastly opulent wealth found during the 1922 discovery of his

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tomb, KV62, the only such tomb to date to have been found in near-intact condition. The
discovery of his tomb is widely considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries
of all time. 

Q14. What is Ziggurat? 

Ziggurat, pyramidal stepped temple tower that is an architectural and religious structure
characteristic of the major cities of Mesopotamia (now mainly in Iraq) from
approximately 2200 until 500 bce. The ziggurat was always built with a core of mud brick
and an exterior covered with baked brick. 

Q15. Define ‘Kur’. 

A mountain or mountains, usually identified as the Zagros mountains to the east of

Sumer. In Sumerian mythology, a dark shadowy underworld, located deep below the
surface of the earth. 

Q16. Who was Gilgamesh? 

Gilgamesh was a hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology and the protagonist of

the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem written in Akkadian during the late 2nd millennium
BC. He was possibly a historical king of the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, who was
posthumously deified. His rule probably would have taken place sometime in the
beginning of the Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia) (henceforth ED), c. 2900 – 2350
BC, though he became a major figure in Sumerian legend during the Third Dynasty of
Ur (c. 2112 – c. 2004 BC). 

Q17. What is ‘Sphinx’? 

A sphinx is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the
wings of an eagle. In Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with
the head of a woman, the haunches of a lion, and the wings of a bird. 

Q18. What do you understand by ‘Patesi’? 

A ruler of some of the Sumerian city-states who combined the religious and the secular
chieftaincies: priest-king. 

Q19. Who was Ammon? 

Any member of an ancient Semitic people whose principal city was Rabbath Ammon, in

Palestine. The “sons of Ammon” were in perennial, though sporadic, conflict with the
Israelites. After a long period of seminomadic existence, the Ammonites established a
kingdom north of Moab in the 13th century bc. 

Q20.Who was ‘Marduk’? 

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Marduk, in Mesopotamian religion, the chief god of the city of Babylon and the national
god of Babylonia; as such, he was eventually called simply Bel, or Lord. 

Q21. Describe the life of Confucius. 

Confucius, the great Chinese sage, was born June 19th, 551 B.C. at Shang- ping, in
the country of Lu.  
His own name was Kong, but his disciples called him Kong-fu-tse, (i.e. Kong the
Master, or Teacher,) which the Jesuit missionaries Latinized into Confucius.  
His father died when Confucius was only three years of age, but he was very
carefully brought up by his mother, Yan-she, and from his earliest years, displayed
an extraordinary love of learning, and veneration for the ancient laws of his country.
 
When only 19 Confucius married, but divorced his wife four years after marriage
that he might have more lime for study and the performance of his public duties.  
The death of his mother, which occurred in his 23rd year, gave occasion to the first
solemn and important act of Confucius as a moral reformer.  
He shut himself up in his house to pass in solitude the three years of mourning for
his mother, the whole of which time he dedicated to philosophical study.  
We are told that he reflected deeply on the eternal laws of morality, traced them to
their source, imbued his mind with a sense of the duties they impose
indiscriminately on all men, and determined to make them the immutable rule of all
his actions. 
Henceforth his career is only an illustration of his ethical system.  
He commenced to instruct his countrymen in the precepts of morality, exhibiting in
his own person all the virtues he inculcated in others.  
Gradually his disciples increased, as the practical character of his philosophy
became more apparent.  
His disciples generally were not the young and enthusiastic, but men of middle age,
sober, grave, respectable, and occupying important public situations.  
It was moral, not religious, and aimed exclusively at fitting men for conducting
themselves honorably and prudently in this life.  
Confucius travelled through various states, in some of which he was well received,
while in others he was not much appreciated.  
His later wanderings were very unpropitious: state after state refused to be
improved.  
Finally seeing no hope of securing the favourable attention of the mass of his
countrymen while alive, he returned in extreme poverty to his native state, and
spent his last years in the composition of literary works, by which posterity at least
might be instructed. He died 479 B.C., in the 70th year of his age. 

Immediately after his death, Confucius began to be venerated and his family was
distinguished by various honors and privileges. 

Q22. Analyze the Social condition of Babylonian Civilization. 

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Class: Babylonian society was divided into three classes.   

The main classes were the following :  

(i) High class: These members were known as ‘Avilam’. High officials, landlords,
businessman were involved in this. This class was affluent and enjoyed luxury and
comfort.   

(ii) Middle class: The members of this class were known as ‘Maskeum’. They were free
like the upper class. In this class traders, crafstmen, intellectuals, state employees,
farmers and workers were included. This group was comparatively better than slaves.  

(iii) Lower class: This class was known as ‘Aardu’. They were considered to be property
of their master. They were branded and they had to wear a special type of costume. Yet,
they got some protection of the law.  

Family life : Babylonia’s family life was patriarchal. In the society, the mutual life of the
family members was ordered by the law. Parents had equal rights in the family. Father
was head of the family and he had strict control over all the members of the family. Boys
and girls had equal right in family property.  

Status of women: The status of women in the Babylonian society was respectful and
they enjoyed great freedom. Thier family and other rights were preserved. It was
considered necessary to give legal form to marriage. A contract letter was written before
marriage. Decision was taken after considering the situation of women in relation to
divorce, remarriage etc. In case of divorce, every woman had right to alimony. Women
were also allowed to do business and service in government departments. Simultaneously,
control over women was also exercised. They had to remain under control of men. Men
could have more than one woman.  

Food and lifestyle : The main food for the Babylonian people were foodgrains, fruit,
milk, meat and fish. The date palm was drunk like a wine. Men wore large clothes under
the waist. Women also covered upper limbs. The elite used to wear Zari work cloth. The
men kept the hair on their heads and the beards were kept. Women used to have many
types of hairstyles. Women liked ornaments. People used to play musical instruments like
flute, trumpet, harp, drum, etc. 

Q23. Describe the economic condition of Sumerian Civilization. 

Laid in one of the most fertile regions in the ancient world and using this to their
advantage to the fullest, the Sumerians established an organized, bountiful, and directed
economy. 

The area that became Sumer began to be settled between 4,500 to 4,000 BCE. Situated in
the region known as Mesopotamia, which meant land between rivers in Greek, a group of
people known as the Ubaidians first occupied the region. They developed agriculture
before being joined by new groups of migrants from Anatolia around 3,000 BCE.

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Eventually, these settlements grew to become powerful and independent city-states, 12 of
which rose like Sumer, Uruk, and Ur. These cities flourished such as Uruk growing to a
huge population ranging from 40,000 and 80,000 during its peak around 2,800 BCE. 

The cities, however, failed to establish a unified kingdom or state continuing the tradition
of independence and later rivalry between themselves. Nonetheless, the turbulent fighting
between the Sumeria city-states did not hinder them from establishing an organized
economy. 

Primary Sector 

Agriculture maintained the backbone of the Sumerian economy. Besides providing the

food needs of the city-state, it also generates a surplus that could be traded with other
city-states or countries for other needed materials. Wheat and barley filled most of the
Sumerian fields, but vegetables such as lettuces and onion also grew alongside. Sumerian
farmers also cultivated beans and grapes as well as orchards for dates and plum. Fishing
and grazing of cattle, sheep, and goats provided meat and dairy for Sumerians. 

The sector employed the majority of the population of Sumer as laborers as well as clerks.
Fields required additional laborers to maintain and build canal and dikes. They
also assisted in plowing and harvesting the field. In the process of developing the sector,
the Sumers invented the wheel and their most celebrated writing – the cuneiform. Wheels
allowed laborers to work faster, while the cuneiform allowed the recording of inventory
and later other business transactions as well. 

Secondary Sector 

Sumerian city-states also offered opportunities for craftsmen and breweries, creameries,

and metallurgy flourished alongside the vibrant agricultural industry. For
instance, breweries either in mass production or for household consumption operated in
Sumer. Archaeological evidence dated back from the 4th millennium BCE attested to the
existence of beer in Sumerian civilization and even showed that they preferred ale as their
favorite alcohol. The existence of the goddess Ninkasi showed the reverence of the
Sumerians to their beer. 

Cheese also found an association with the Sumerian pantheon. Becoming part of the
Sumerian diet from the late 3rd millennium BCE, milk from cattle, goat, and sheep turned
into various cheeses – either as “white cheese,” rich cheese,” or even a sharp cheese.” The
dairy product has been widely associated with the love goddess Inanna and the shepherd
god Dumuzi as the temples dedicated to these gods dedicate cheese to their community. 

Leather tanners and metallurgists as well as different smiths found employment within
the city-states. Tanner sourced their leather from the hind of cattle while metallurgist
provided their expertise to produce tools such as the plow or weapons for the army. 

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On the other hand shipbuilding, pottery-making, brick making, weaving, and jewelry
making provided jobs for many Sumerians. As Sumer traded with ease by river and sea,
shipbuilding boomed to provide transports as well as repair for damaged ships. Sumer
also left vast quantities of jewelry that exemplified their skills in using gems and famous
ancient world stone lapuz lapilli. 
 

Tertiary Sector 

Parts of the Sumerian economy provided their services instead of a product and this
included scribes and masons. With the development of cuneiform, business, temples, and
the government had the means to record their transactions, prayers, and decrees. Sumer’s
cuneiform systems found employment in various sectors of Sumer society. Thus, their
skills left pieces of evidence of their civilization’s advancements for archaeologists and
historians today to see and analyze. 

On the other hand, masons and builders found a roaring trade in Sumer cities. Masons led
the construction of massive walls and temples called ziggurats of Sumeria. They
also assisted in other infrastructures such as canals, granaries, and warehouses. 

Slavery existed in Sumeria with temples owning hundreds for domestic labor. Slaves
worked to maintain temples, but also to deal with pottery making and weaving of textiles
for the clergy. 

Role of the Temple 

Ziggurat temples dominated the skyline and the laid in the center of Sumer cities. It
symbolized a place of religion or at least a priest to the society of Sumerians. During the
early millennium of the existence of Sumer city-states, priests ruled with them owing all
the lands and resources including manpower. 

Sumer temples held the position of a landlord in a Sumer city. They then rented out their
farmlands called nig-en-na to farmers who called their piece of land as apin-lal. They then
paid their rent in kind and store their produce to granaries and warehouses or processed
in mills owned by the temple. 

The temple also controlled other aspects of the economy setting quotas after which the
crafts could sell the surplus. Thus, weavers, pottery makers, smith, etc. produced their
products to meet the specified amount needed to be paid to the temple before being able
to sell their goods. People obeyed the quotas in fear of being divinely punished, hence, the
fear of the divine led the temples to be the power in the land. Besides the fear of the
divine, failure to comply also meant the withholding of their ration of necessities – food,
clothing, beer, etc. 
 

Trade 

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Because of agriculture and industry surpluses, Sumer city-states trade with other
countries for needed materials such as timber. This led to new developments that created
a mark in world history. 

Other than cuneiform, Sumerians developed other aspects of modern society through
trade. As stated before cuneiform led to the recording of business transactions, moreover
it also led to the recording and promulgation of law – laws that regulated trade and
safeguard trust and security. Sumerian trade led also to the development of
measurements based on sixty, a basis that remained in computing time in the modern
age. Mathematics also saw its advancement through Sumerian trade. 

Trade relied on rivers as paved roads did not exist then. Land routes through the
treacherous and sultry heat of the deserts relied on camels. Also, land routes placed
merchants in danger of attacks from bandits or a rival city-state. Nonetheless, the journey
did not prevent merchants to access the markets of Anatolia, the Levant, and modern-day
Afghanistan. Most Sumer traders then relied on rivers and ships to ferry their goods.
Some city-states developed a water route that led to Anatolia or a place called Dilmun in
modern-day Bahrain, Oman, and India. 

The export of agricultural produce bought the Sumerians timber, in

particular cedar wood, especially from Lebanon, precious stones such as gold and gems
from Oman and India, copper from Dilmun, and lapis lazuli from lands of modern-day
Afghanistan. 

Summing Up 

The Sumerian city-states managed to survived and even flourish through the development
of its agriculture and crafts as well as trade. The progress of their economy led to
advancement in human civilization with the development of the wheel, cuneiform,
measurement, mathematics, as well as law. It also displayed the early versions of a direct
economy led by cities’ religious community and later its kings and queens. Sumer’s
prosperity traveled far and wide making it a ripe target for conquest which led the earliest
empire builder Sargon to annex Sumeria to its growing and fledgling Akkadian Empire. 

Q24. What is Pyramid? 

A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single

step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a
pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or of any polygon shape. As such, a pyramid has
at least three outer triangular surfaces (at least four faces including the base). The square
pyramid, with a square base and four triangular outer surfaces, is a common version. 

A pyramid’s design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground and with
the pyramidion at the apex, means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be
pushing down from above. This distribution of weight allowed early civilizations to create
stable monumental structures. 

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Civilizations in many parts of the world have built pyramids. The largest pyramid by
volume is the Mesoamerican Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla.
For thousands of years, the largest structures on Earth were pyramids—first the Red
Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, both in Egypt—
the latter is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still remaining. 

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth

Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27
years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only
one to remain largely intact. It is the most famous monument of the Giza pyramid
complex, in the Pyramid Fields of the Memphis and its Necropolis UNESCO World
Heritage Site, in Giza, Egypt. It is at the most Northern end of the line of the 3 Pyramids
of Giza. 

Q25. What is Shadoof? 

Shaduf, also spelled Shadoof, hand-operated device for lifting water, invented in

ancient times and still used in India, Egypt, and some other countries to irrigate land.
Typically it consists of a long, tapering, nearly horizontal pole mounted like a seesaw. A
skin or bucket is hung on a rope from the long end, and a counterweight is hung on the
short end. The operator pulls down on a rope attached to the long end to fill the bucket
and allows the counterweight to raise the bucket. To raise water to higher levels, a series
of shadufs are sometimes mounted one above the other. In India the device is called
a denkli, or paecottah. 

Q26. What is the old name of Iraq? 

Mesopotamia 

During ancient times, lands that now constitute Iraq were known as Mesopotamia (“Land
Between the Rivers”), a region whose extensive alluvial plains gave rise to some of the
world’s earliest civilizations, including those of Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria. 

Q27. Who was Ikhnaton? 

Akhenaten, also spelled Akhenaton, Akhnaton, or Ikhnaton, also

called Amenhotep IV, Greek Amenophis, king (1353–36 BCE) of ancient Egypt of
the 18th dynasty, who established a new cult dedicated to the Aton, the sun’s disk (hence
his assumed name, Akhenaten, meaning “beneficial to Aton”). 

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