I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

A. SUMER (ca. 3500-2350 B.C.)

    1. Geography: Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

        a. modern Iraq and Syria

        b. city-states: Ur, Lagash, Uruk, Babylon, etc.

        a. developed from a pictographic system around 3500 B.C.

        b. decipherment by Grotefend (1775-1853): a gynnasium (high school) teacher; bet in local tavern

        c. inscriptions from Persepolis: reading the name of Darius the king whose father was not a king proved to be the key.

        d. syllabary not an alphabetic system: nine symbols correctly identified by Grotefend.  Semitic scholars then could decipher inscriptions written in Akkadian.  Sumerian/Akkadian lexicons enabled scholars to decipher Sumerian.

        e. examples of cuneiform writing and the development of the script.

        f.  excellent site to learn about cuneiform and the Akkadian language.

        g. a site dedicated to cuneiform but with many links to the civilization of the ancient Middle East.

    3. Mythology

        a. myths of Enuma Elish and Gilgamesh created in the Sumerian culture and handed down to succeeding Mesopotamian civilizations.

B. AKKAD (ca. 2350-2150 B.C.)

    1. Semites from the surrounding desert

        a. conquered the Sumerians but adopted their culture. Cf. the Romans and Greeks

        b.  Sargon of Agade.   This city gave the name to the Akkadian people

    2. Religion

        a. polytheism: Tiamat, Kingu, Ea, Marduk, Ishtar, Ereshkigal, Enki, Shamash

        b. ziggurats: solid construction; represent the mountain dwelling place of the gods

C. BABYLON (1800-1550 B.C.)

    1. Hammurabi and the law code.  Click for more information.

        a. set up in temple of Marduk at Babylon; Shamash, the sun god, gives the laws to Hammuraabi

        b. primitive elements: trial by fire; lex talionis; rigid class structure

        c. advanced features: no blood feud; no marriage by capture; marriage contracts; divorce; the dowry in marriage as a protection for the woman; cannot disown a son for trivial reasons

        d. Biblical parallels: Sarah and Hagar; wife of Abraham and the slave girl (Gen. 16)

    2.  The text of Hammurabi's Laws.

D. ASSYRIA (ca. 1000-612 B.C.)

    1. Imperialism and cruelty: conquered Egypt; their art depicting their treatment of enemies.

    2. Northern Kingdom (Israel) destroyed; see below in chapter 6.

    3. Southern Kingdom (Judea) threatened but escapes when the Assyrian army is afflicted by a plague; see below

    4. Conquered by the Neo-Babylonians (Chaldaeans in Bible) under Nebuchadnezzar

        a. reaction of the Hebrew prophet Nahum; general rejoicing.

E.  LATER HISTORY

    1.  Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar

        a.  conquest of Judaea and the Babylonian Captivity (587-537 BC)

        b.  destruction of Solomon's temple and the loss of the ark of the covenant

    2.  Persian Conquest

        a.  Jews return to Palestine and rebuilt the temple

II. ART AND ARCHITECTURE

A. ILLUSTRATIONS IN BOOK AND SLIDES

III. LITERATURE

A. ENUMA ELISH 'when above'

    1. Epic of creation

        a. Struggle among the gods to see who will rule; contrast Hebrew mythology in Genesis; see below

B. GILGAMESH

    1. Sumerian king of Uruk (c. 2700 B.C).

        a. His character as king; creation of Enkidu, the wild man; tamim of Enkidu by the harlot.

        b. killing of Humbaba, guardian of the Cedar Forest; Ishtar wants to marry Gilgamesh; rejection and the sending of the Bull of Heaven.

        c. killingof the Bull of Heaven, Gugalanna; Enkidu insults Ishtar; Enkidu's dream and death

    2. Search for eternal life

        a. the journey through the cave; Siduri; Urshababi, the ferryman

        b. Utnapishtim, the Babylonian Noah: the test of staying awake

        c. the plant of life and the serpent: Biblical parallels

    3.  Useful internet sites dealing with Gilgamesh.   These have many hyperlinks to other sites. 

            a.   site #1.

            a.   site #2.

            a.   site #3.

            a.   site #43.

C.  VISIT OF INANNA TO THE UNDERWORLD

    1.  Funeral of the Bull of Heaven

        a.  preparations in case she does not come back: Ninshurbur, the faithful servant; the gods especially Enki

    2.  In the Underworld

        a.  Neti, the gatekeeper; stripped naked; Ereshkigal, the queen of darkness and her sister kills her

    3.  Saved by the kurgarra and the galatur.

        a.  Ereshkigal's labor and the sympathy of the two creatures