History Lecture 8/19/16

Theocracy, the form of government in which religious and political governments are
combined
The Vatican, contemporary example
Theocracy has not necessarily disappeared
Ancient Egypt
Leader who is a combination of religious and political authority
Supposed to maintain balance between man and god
maat is the divinely authorized order of the universe
As soon as pharaoh gains power, starts thinking about how to die
He needs a tomb
Most were in caves and small holes
Tombs sealed, not meant for people to discover
Egyptians accumulate great wealth
Part of the helpfulness of the Nile
They were able to stay mostly undisturbed, environment helped them
Nile Valley was surrounded by desert (Sahara), had advantages
and disadvantages
But wont be protected forever, will be successfully invaded
someday
City-States
Self-governing urban center and the surrounding agricultural territories
it controlled
Hammurabis Code
Reflects social divisions (3 classes)
Free landowning class-royalty, high rank officials, warriors,
priests, merchants, and some artisans and shopkeepers
Dependent farmers and artisans, legal attachment to royal,
temple, or private estates made them the primary rural work
force
The class of slaves, primarily employed in domestic service
Usually prisoners of war and insolvent debtors

Penalties prescribed from the Law Code depends on the class of the
offender
The lower the class, the more severe the punishment
Gods, Priests, Temples
Usually multi-theistic
If you pissed them off you would suffer
They were believed to reside in temples specifically built for them
Ziggurats, built with elevation, trying to physically get closer to the
gods
Multistory mud brick pyramid shaped tower, with ramps and
stairs
In Mesopotamia (UR, now in Iraq)
united the population, gave them somethings to unite for, and
believe in a common cause

Amulets
Small charms meant to protect he bearer from evil
Suggests widespread belief in magic
Magic means the use of special words and rituals to manipulate
the forces of nature
Cuneiform
Writing with sharp reeds against a moist clay tablet
Sharp reeds made wedge shaped impressions
Early pictures were therefore evolved into stylized
combinations of strokes and wedges
Took years of practice to master
Involved several hundred signs
Was learned in the tablet-house, and students learned writing and
mathematics
Often endured bullying by older student tutors called big
brothers
Learned from stern headmasters

Prestige and good employment earned with the position of

scribe may have made scribes reluctant to simplify the
cuneiform system

Building
Agriculture
Mesopotamian agriculture required the construction and maintenance
of canals, weirs, and dikes
In the south, boats and barges were main
In the north, donkeys served as pack animals for overland
caravans
Tools
Bronze
Imported ores containing copper, tin, and arsenic
From these, bronze was made (a form of copper)
Molten bronze was poured into molds of weapons
or tools
The cooled metal had a sharper edge than stone,
lasted longer, was less liable to break, and was
more easily repaired
People who could not afford bronze continued to use stone
implements
Clay
Mesopotamias most abundant resource
Went to making mud bricks
Main building material
Dried in the sun or baked in an oven
Also made pottery the most common materials for dishes and storage
vessels