A religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, this tribute was a force to be reckoned with. Moses led the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and is believed to have received the 10 commandments from God on Mt. Sinai.He is an important prophet in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as a number of other faiths.
King David
The second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and believed to be the an ancestor of Jesus. David is very important to Jewish, Christian and Islamic culture. A righteous king, as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician, and poet, his antics in the arena have been studied by historians for years.
Hammurabi
Hammurabi was the sixth king of Babylon, and is known for the set of laws called Hammurabi's Code, one of the first written codes of law in recorded history. He also fiercely extended Babylon's control over Mesopotamia by winning a series of wars against neighboring kingdoms. It's no wonder he has gone down in Hunger Games history for District 1.
Muhammad
Muhammad was the founder of the religion of Islam. He is considered by Muslims and to be a messenger and the last prophet of God, receiving his first revelation from God through the Angel Gabriel at the age of 40. Muhammad united the tribes of Medina, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, he conquered Mecca with a religious following of 10,000. He was charismatic, cunning, and harbored untold influence over others. As a result, he dominated in the arena.
Ancient Territory of District 1
In District 6 people lived in small villages and provided for themselves through farming. District 1, however, was made up of large, complex city-like villages.
These villages were located in a land of rolling hills and low plains called Mesopotamia. This land is now modern-day Iraq. Mesopotamia is Greek, meaning the “land between the rivers,” as it is sandwiched between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. The southern part of the land is where cities first appeared.
Mesopotamia
Out in the ruins of the Syrian Desert lies an ancient Sumerian walled city, not unlike the destroyed district 13. Like a small, independent country, each of these walled cities had their own ruler and their own farmland to feed their population.
The city consisted of a walled settlement built of sunbaked bricks and surrounded by moats (ditches filled with water) to help keep out enemies. Outside of the city walls lay farmland used to supply food for the city. During an attack, people living outside the city walls would flee inside for protection.
A Difficult Environment
As you might have critically analyzed above, it was not easy to live in Mesopotamia.
The northern part was hilly and received rain. It was perfect for farming and thus was named the Fertile Crescent.
But further south, the sun beat down fiercely on the plains between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. There was little rain.
Why is this important? Because the Mesopotamians were farmers, and their farms needed water and large areas of fertile land!
As a result, Mesopotamians faced four major problems as they tried to survive in this environment:
food shortages in the hills
an uncontrolled water supply on the plains
difficulties in building and maintaining systems that provided water across village boundaries
attacks by neighboring communities who also found themselves starving at times
But District 1 is a survivor and over time, Mesopotamians found solutions to these four problems!
Solution... Cities!
Over several thousand years, there were a number of geographical conditions that allowed the number of people in Mesopotamia to grow dramatically.
First, the rolling foothills of the Zagros Mountains in the north had potential for farming. Second, mild weather and plentiful rains made the foothills a good place to farm. Third, the wooded hills provided timber for building shelters. And fourth, there were plenty of stones in the hills for toolmaking.
Still, problems arose. Some historians believe that by 5000 B.C.E., farmers in the Zagros foothills did not have enough land to grow food for the increasing population.
As a result, villages began to suffer from food shortages.
Was Ancient Sumer a Civilization?
A civilization is characterized by:
a stable food supply
a social structure
government
religion
Artistic way of life
technological advancements
a highly developed written language
Stable Food Supply A stable food supply is necessary to ensure that the people of a society have the food they need to survive. The Sumerians invented two key things to help them create a stable food supply: complex irrigation systems and the plow. The Sumerians built networks of canals, dams, and reservoirs to provide their crops with a regular supply of water. Farmers pushed and pulled the plow along the ground, or they used domesticated animals, such as oxen to pull it, in an effort to till, or turn the soil in preparation for planting.
Social Structure The social structure of a society refers to the different social levels and jobs it organizes itself by. In Sumeria, the social structure was dominated by priests, landowners, and government officials. These people had the largest and most luxurious homes, and lived nearest the center of the city. Their houses were often two stories high!
At the middle level of the social structure was merchants and artisans. Among the artisans were skilled metalworkers who worked with gold, silver, tin, lead, copper, and bronze to make goods for the army, such as swords and arrowheads. They also made tools, like plows and hoes, for farmers.
At the bottom level of the social structure was slaves. They lived in their owners’ homes and had no property of their own.
Government To ensure that life in the society is orderly, civilization need a system of government. Sumerian city-states were ruled by kings. The Sumerians believed that their gods chose these kings. Believing that kings were ordained by God, helped to reinforce the social structure. If the king was hand selected by god, and obeying the will of the gods was one of the Sumerians’ strongest beliefs, obeying the king was akin to obeying the gods. This belief made Sumerian kings very powerful.
Sumerian kings enforced the laws and collected taxes. They also built temples and made sure irrigation systems were maintained. Kings appointed officials to help with certain duties: Governors ruled the outlying towns, whereas Scribes helped document laws in writing.
Religion Another characteristic of a civilization is a religious system, which involves both a set of beliefs and forms of worship. In Sumer, religious beliefs influenced every part of daily life. The Sumerians tried to please their gods in all things, from growing crops to settling disputes. Religion bound the people together in a common way of life. The ancient Sumerians expressed their religious beliefs by constructing temples and religious towers called ziggurats, believing that the gods were pleased when people showed these signs of devotion, love and obedience.
The Sumerians had many kinds of religious ceremonies. Often, musicians played at these ceremonies. Some ceremonies may have involved human sacrifice, the ritual killing of a person as an offering to the gods.
Artistic Way of Life A civilization also has a highly developed way of life that includes the arts, such as painting, architecture, music, and literature. There were many kinds of artists and artisans in ancient Sumer. Metalworkers made objects, like weapons and cups, and even decorative items, such as mirrors and jewelry, too. Architects designed temples and ziggurats. Sumerians believed that music brought joy to gods and people alike. Thus, music was deeply important in the Sumerian society. Musicians sang and played instruments during temple ceremonies, and even wrote love songs and entertained guests at feasts.
Technological Advancements Advances in the technology stimulate societies to adopt new ways of living and governance. The economy of Sumer was based on agriculture, which eventually led to major technological advances in Mesopotamian history. The most important Sumerian invention was the wheel, which was first made of solid wood. The earliest examples of the wheel dates back to 3500 B.C.E. Sumerian potters, or pottery makers, first used wheels as a surface for shaping clay into pots. The manufacturing of pottery and other products could have led to specialization and trading by barter.
Furthermore, early homes in Sumer were huts made from bundles of reeds. Due to the
shortage of stone, homes were eventually made of sun-baked mud bricks. Sumerians probably ploughed with stone and cut with clay sickles in the
beginning, but eventually they used metal plows to till their soil.
Another technological advance was the arch. Sumerian arches were inverted (upside-down) U-or V-shaped structures built above doorways. To build arches, the Sumerians stacked bricks, made of clay and straw, to rise from the walls in steps until they met in the center.
Highly Developed Written Language When ancient Mesopotamians started settling down onto farms surrounding the first cities, life became a bit more complicated. Agriculture required expertise and detailed recordkeeping, two elements that led directly to the invention of writing, historians say. Thus, the Sumerians created a written language called cuneiform. This name comes from the Latin word for “wedge.” The Sumerians used a wedge-shaped stylus (a sharp, pointed tool) to etch their writing in clay tablets. Cuneiform was based on an earlier, simpler form of writing that used pictographs. Pictographs are symbols that stand for real objects, such as a snake or water.
But daily life in Mesopotamia was time-consuming, and so writing became a specialized profession, usually for members of the elite class. Scribes used a sharpened reed to draw the symbols on wet clay. When the clay dried, the marks became a permanent record. The highly-regarded scribes of ancient Mesopotamia were even depicted in art wearing cuneiform writing implements, called a stylus (a bit like a set of chopsticks), in their belts as a mark of their importance. With a form of writing, Sumerians documented transactions and agreements of all kinds. The first people known to have developed a system of laws, Sumer influenced the law codes of Eshnunna and Hammurabi.
Now that you have been brought up to speed on the types of lives in District 1. Take a moment to look at the following PowerPoints before completing your Tribute Checkpoint: Sumerian Religion Slide Ancient Sumer PPT
Exploring Four Empires of Mesopotamia
The Akkadian Empire For 1,200 years, Sumer was a land of independent city-states.Then, around 2300 B.C.E., the Akkadians conquered the land. The Akkadians came from northern Mesopotamia. They were led by a great king named Sargon, who became the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire. Sargon was both a strong king and a skilled general. He built his empire through effective military strategies.
First, he assembled a large army. Then, he taught his soldiers to fight in tight formations. Sargon lived to be a very great age. His name soon passed into legend. He and the Akkadians had created the world’s first empire. This was their greatest achievement.
Hammurabi and the Babylonian Empire Hammurabi was the king of Babylon (BAH-buh-luhn), a small city-state in central Mesopotamia. After conquering the rest of Mesopotamia, Hammurabi made Babylon the capital of his empire. The region under his rule became known as the Babylonian Empire, or Babylonia. Hammurabi is best known for his code of laws, which he wrote from 1792 to 1750 B.C.E. Hammurabi used the code of laws to unify his empire and to preserve order. He based the laws not merely on his own authority, but on the word of the gods. Hammurabi claimed that the gods had told him to create laws that applied to everyone in the empire. Laws that were based on the gods’ will could never be changed. The code of laws was written on a stele and placed in a temple for everyone to see. Laws like this one seem harsh to us now. Yet Hammurabi’s code was an important achievement. Although the laws and punishments did not treat all people equally, the code was the first set of laws to apply to everyone.
The Assyrian Empire The next great empire in Mesopotamia was created by a warlike people called the Assyrians. The Assyrians were feared for their military might and their cruelty. Their greatest achievements were their new weapons and their war strategies. They perfected the use of horses and iron weapons in battle. They also became greatly skilled at siege warfare. In a siege, army soldiers camp outside a city and repeatedly attack it until the city falls.
The Neo-Babylonian Empire After the fall of Nineveh, the Babylonians once again took control of Mesopotamia. They established a new empire, the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Neo means “new.” The new empire’s most famous king was Nebuchadrezzar II (neh-byuh-kuh-DREH-zehr). A ruthless military leader, he reigned from 605 to 562 B.C.E. Nebuchadrezzar expanded his empire whenever he could.He drove the Egyptians out of Syria. He also conquered part of Canaan (present-day Israel), the home of the Israelites, or Jews. When the Israelites rebelled, he took most of them captive and brought them to Babylonia. Many of them were never able to return to their homeland.
What is Judaism?
What Movie am I from?....Watch me! Monotheism Most people in ancient times believed in many gods. This belief is called polytheism. The Israelites, later called Jews, were different. They believed that there is only one God, a belief called monotheism.
Judaism Judaism is the world’s oldest monotheistic religion. Judaism began about 3,500 years ago. Judaism teaches that God is the source of morality (standards of right and wrong). These ideas of right and wrong had not always been known in ancient civilizations.
According to Jewish tradition, in the ancient city of Ur, a boy named Abraham boldly hit clay statues with a hammer. They shattered. Bits of clay flew about the room. His father had made the clay idols, but Abraham didn't like them. He believed in one God. Abraham broke the statues when his father left him in charge of his store. He destroyed all the idols...except one.
Abraham did something mischievous next. He placed the hammer in the surviving idol's hands! Abraham's father was probably furious when he discovered what his son had done. Abraham blamed the last idol on the rampage, and his father said, "These idols can't do anything on their own, so you must have broken them!"
Abraham then had a good argument for his belief in one God since his father had finally admitted that the idols were useless. He survived his father's wrath and became one of the patriarchs, or founders, of Judaism. Judaism is an old religion and is based on the belief in one God. It is at the heart of both Christianity and Islam.
It began with Abraham about 3,500 years ago. Abraham lived in what is now Iraq. When he grew up, he tended flocks of sheep and wandered around the desert looking for water and pastures. Jews believe that God spoke to Abraham and made a covenant, or bargain, with him. In exchange for their obedience, Jews believe that God made them his chosen people.
Abraham's people were called Hebrews, and later, Israelites. Being Jewish can mean different things to different people. For some, it means being born into a Jewish family and growing up with Jewish culture. For others, it also means following a way of life based on the values of the Torah. These laws apply to all parts of life, even food. The food that strict Jews eat is called kosher, which means fit.
The Torah is "the Law" of the Jewish faith. It is comprised of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Jews believe it is God's instructions to them. It promotes the sanctity of life, justice, and equality. Hospitality and charity towards others is also important. A Jewish teacher named Hillel in around 700 B.C. summarized the meaning of the Torah. One day a non-Jew came to him intending to make fun of the Torah. The non-Jew told Hillel that if Hillel could explain the Torah while the non-Jew balanced on one foot, the man would convert to Judaism. Hillel said, "What you think is hateful, don't do to your neighbor. The rest of the Torah is commentary."
The man was so amazed that he became a Jew and a student of the Torah! Jews also follow the Ten Commandments, and the story about these laws became a popular movie by the same name. The Ten Commandments include things that people should do, like keeping the Sabbath holy and honoring your parents. It also includes things that you should not do, like kill, steal, commit adultery, or worship idols. Jews must pray to only one God.
King David established Jerusalem as a holy city and the capital of Israel. King Solomon built Jerusalem’s great First Temple. To the Israelites, and later the Jews, the city of Jerusalem and its Temple became powerful symbols of their faith in God.
Jewish History
The invasion of Judah in 597 B.C.E. and the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in 586 B.C.E. threatened the survival of Judaism. Thousands of Jews were exiled in Babylon. By this time, the Israelites had become known as Jews. Members of the Israelite tribe of Judah called themselves “Judaeans,” and their homeland, Judah. The name was later shortened to “Jews.” The Jewish Diaspora had begun.
In 722 B.C.E., the Assyrians conquered the kingdom of Israel and took its leaders to Mesopotamia. The people of Israel were sent to many lands.
In 597 B.C.E., another Mesopotamian power, Babylon, invaded Judah. Babylon’s king, Nebuchadrezzar (neh-byuh-kuh-DREH-zehr), laid siege to the city of Jerusalem. The Babylonian Exile was the start of the Jewish Diaspora. This was the first exile of most of the Jewish people from their homeland.
The Jews, as they came to be known, fought until their food supplies ran out. With the Jews weakened by starvation, the Babylonians broke through the walls and captured the city.
In 586 B.C.E., Nebuchadrezzar burned down Solomon’s great Temple of Jerusalem and all the houses in the city. Most of the people of Judah were exiled as captives to Babylon.
From this time on, the followers of Judaism were dispersed, or scattered, in many lands. Those who did return home found their land dominated by foreign rulers. It would not be easy to keep Judaism alive.
Now, take a look at this map. It looks just like the one featured above. Click the yellow arrow forward in the upper left corner and read the text bubbles. It explains the beginnings of the Jewish Diaspora showing movement on the map!
One rabbi who helped preserve Judaism was Yohanan ben Zaccai. When the revolt against Rome began in 66 C.E., ben Zaccai feared for the future of Judaism. He worried that if the rabbis died in the fighting and the Temple was destroyed, Judaism might not survive.
Ben Zaccai had himself smuggled out of Jerusalem in a coffin. He met with a Roman general named Vespasian (vuh-SPAYzhee-ehn), and gained permission to open a Jewish school, with the help of other rabbis, in the town of Yavneh (YAHV-neh). When Jerusalem fell, Yavneh became the center of Jewish learning. At their school, Ben Zaccai and the other rabbis taught new rabbis. Teachers came from many places to study at Yavneh. Then they returned to their communities to share what they had learned. In this way, the rabbis at Yavneh made sure that Jews still had leaders to guide them.
The synagogue is the place of worship for Jews. Their Sabbath, or holy day, goes from Friday at sunset to the following Saturday night. A rabbi conducts their services. The word synagogue means "place of assembly" in Greek. There is no set type of architecture for a synagogue, and the outer style of the building often depends on where it is. In Budapest, Hungary, the Dohany Synagogue looks almost Islamic with its globe-shaped towers, while in China, the Kaifeng Synagogue looks like a pagoda.
These new practices helped Jews preserve their religion in communities around the world. Over the centuries, rabbis studied and commented on Judaism’s sacred texts, and developed other new practices. Jews have faced prejudice and persecution, but they have kept their faith.
Prayer is an important part of worship in Judaism. Jews are supposed to pray three times a day. The Jewish prayer book is called a siddur, and the most famous prayer is the Shema. The first line of this prayer is, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one." Reading the Torah is an important part of Jewish worship. Jews have many prayers for different occasions. Some prayers are said alone, while others are said in their synagogue.
Take a look at this powerpoint on Jewish Beliefs, then check out the videos below.
Muhammad and the founding of Islam
Muhammad never expected to change the world. He was born in 570 A.D. in Saudi Arabia. He was kind, and his nickname was "the truthful one." The boy was orphaned, and his uncle raised him.
Muhammad tended sheep on the dry hills like many young Arabians. Later, he became a successful merchant and married a wealthy widow. However, he felt as though something was missing in his life, so he went on a retreat.
It began in 610 A.D. when it is believed that Archangel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad on Mount Hira. The angel revealed the words of Allah to Muhammad, and this later became the holy Qur'an. Muhammad was a quiet man, but three years after his vision, he boldly preached about Allah. His message would change the world!
Islam spread all over the world by military conquest, through peaceful nomads and Sufi mystics, and through merchants on their trade routes. Trying to summarize its history in a few words is like trying to pour a steaming vat of Arabian coffee for Ali Baba and the forty thieves into a single teacup!
Muslims began their vast military conquests during Muhammad's life. Their first battles were against locals who were angry with Muhammad because he spoke against their many gods. In 624 A.D., several hundred poorly armed Muslims defeated 1,000 well-equipped Meccan soldiers! The Meccans tried to get rid of Muhammad again in 625 A.D. with 3,000 soldiers, but the battle was a draw. A movie made in 1976 called The Message chronicles these dramatic episodes in Islamic history.
Islam faced other challenges after the death of Muhammad. Muslims had trouble deciding upon a leader when their founder died, and they split into two groups. One group elected one of Muhammad's closest friends, Abu Bakr, and gave him the title of caliph, which means "successor." This group became the Sunni Muslims. A second group thought that the Prophet's cousin should be the leader. This group became the Shi'i Muslims. These two groups still exist today.
The caliph had many responsibilities, including becoming the leader of the army. The first caliphs led their people with wisdom and strength, but later caliphs had an elaborate lifestyle that belied their spirituality. The first caliphs after Muhammad's death had been the Prophet's closest friends, so they were called the Rightly Guided Caliphs. They led military conquests to expand their territory into a large empire that stretched from the Arabian Peninsula to Spain.
The first three caliphs were great conquerors. Their empire expanded to include Arabia, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and much of modern-day Iran. They conquered Spain in 710 A.D., and ruled there until the 15th century. By 750 A.D., Islam had also spread across North Africa, and today, all countries of northern Africa are Muslim. The Muslim Mughal dynasty ruled India from 1526 to 1858. The well-disciplined, efficient Muslim soldiers were feared in many lands.
Many battles were fought to gain this much territory, but in other areas, the caliphs made peaceful alliances with local rulers. Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians who lived in the conquered territories became known as dhimmis, or protected people. They paid a tax in exchange for protection. As it spread, Islam also encountered other religions, and conflict ensued. Jerusalem is considered a sacred city to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Muslims ruled Jerusalem from the seventh century, but they lived peacefully with the Jews and Christians.
Then Christians, (who you will learn about more in District 8) wanted to take over through a series of battles called the Crusades led by Richard the Lionheart, who was an exceptionally brave fighter. A great Muslim leader named Saladin, who was known for his fearlessness and just treatment of his enemies, fought against the crusaders and recaptured Jerusalem in 1187. The city would remain under Muslim control for the next 800 years.
In spite of many battles, Islam also spread in quiet ways through nomads like the desert-dwelling Bedouins of Arabia and North Africa. Bedouins lived in tents and herded their cranky camels over hundreds of miles, spreading Islam along the way. Merchants who traveled across the arid deserts of Asia and Africa also felt a special affinity with Muhammad since the Prophet himself had been a merchant. These traders traveled along two important caravan routes out of Mecca. One route was the Winter Caravan, which went to Yemen. The Summerame Date Caravan extended to the edges of the Roman Empire. They spread the message of Muhammad on their travels.
By 800 A.D., another peaceful group also spread the message of Allah over the globe. Sufis were Muslim mystics, and they began to develop the deeper spiritual side of Islam. They traveled in Africa, Asia, and the Balkan part of southern Europe, and they converted people by telling stories and by their peaceful lifestyle. Sufis had unique poetry and music that they used for giving glory to Allah. Sometimes, they used sacred dance rituals that involved spinning around and around like a top. These dizzy dancers were nicknamed "whirling dervishes."
Sufis promoted the highest elements of Islamic culture and believed that peace and beauty were the highest expressions of devotion. One famous hadith, or Islamic saying, states, "Allah is beautiful and loves beauty." Beauty and learning were important to Muslims, and visual arts such as architecture, painting, calligraphy, metalwork, and ceramics were encouraged. Islamic scholars translated the works of the ancient Greeks and preserved knowledge of the past. Writing is one of the most important skills for a Muslim because it conveys Allah's words. Muhammad said, "Good writing makes the truth stand out," so beautiful script is a way of worshipping Allah. Sometimes calligraphers draw ingenious pictures out of the letters of the Arabic alphabet!
Calligraphy is still an important part of Islamic culture today.