More Textbook Notes

today's notes:

• earliest government was formed by temple priests
• priests acted as "go-betweens" with the gods
• priests managed the irrigation systems and demanded a portion of the farmer's crops as a tax
• military leaders that became rulers passed their reign through their sons, and so forth, which is called a dynasty
• cultural diffusion
• polytheism
• built ziggurats for sacrifices of animals, wine, and food
• women could work as priests, farmers. merchants, and artisans
• upper class women could read and write
• women could purchase property in their name
• arithmetic and geometry: created a number system, 60 second= 1 minute, and 360 degrees in a circle
• architectural innovations: ramps, columns, arches, and pyramid shapes
• cuneiform: writing system
• argon of Akkad defeated the city-states, his conquest helped spread the culture passed the Tigris and Euphrates (2350 BC)
• in 2000 BC, Amorites invaded Mesopotamia and it became the Babylonian empire, the most notable leader being Hammurabi from 1792 BC- 1750 BC
• Hammurabi created a uniform code of laws and had it engraved in stone and placed all over the empire
• laws sought to protect women and children
• set different punishments depending on gender and social class