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History of Ancient Civilizations HISTORY

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History of Ancient Civilizations HISTORY GHT S6 03(M) Exam Code : HTM 6C History of Ancient Civilizations SEMESTER VI HISTORY BLOCK 1 KRISHNA KANTA HANDIQUI STATE OPEN UNIVERSITY Subject Experts 1. Dr. Sunil Pravan Baruah, Retd. Principal, B.Barooah College, Guwahati 2. Dr. Gajendra Adhikari, Principal, D.K.Girls’ College, Mirza 3. Dr. Maushumi Dutta Pathak, HOD, History, Arya Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati Course Coordinator : Dr. Sukmaya Lama, Asst. Prof. (KKHSOU) SLM Preparation Team UNITS CONTRIBUTORS 1,2 Muktar Rahman Saikia, St. John College Dimapur, Nagaland 3,4,5 Dr. Mridutpal Goswami, Dudhnoi College 6 & 7 Sanghamitra Sarma, R/S GU & Mitali Kalita, D.K. College, Mirza Editorial Team Content (English Version) : Dr Gargee Sharmah, Pragjyotish College Language (English Version) : Dr. Sukmaya Lama, KKHSOU Structure, Format & Graphics : Dr. Sukmaya Lama, KKHSOU December, 2019 ISBN: 978-93-89559-91-0 © Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University This Self Learning Material (SLM) of the Krishna Kanta Handiqui State University is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 License (International) : http.//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 Printed and published by Registrar on behalf of the Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University. Head Office : Patgaon, Rani Gate, Guwahati-781017; Web : www.kkhsou.in City Office: Housefed Complex, Dispur, Guwahati-781006 The University acknowledges with thanks the financial support provided by the Distance Education Bureau, UGC for preparation of this study material. Housefed Complex, Dispur, Guwahati- 781006; Web: www.kkhsou.org BACHELOR OF ARTS HISTORY OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS DETAILED SYLLABUS BLOCK - 1 CONTENTS Pages UNIT 1 : Mesopotamian Civilization 5-15 The Sumerian Civilization- Origin; Sumerian Cities and Cultural Life, Sumerian Writing; The Old Babylonian Period: Babylonian Law, Code of Hammurabi, Babylonian Literature, Assyria UNIT 2 : Mesopotamian Society, Culture and Economy 16-28 Society: Kinship, Customs; Economy: Pottery Making, Metal Making, Mortuary Practices, Religion, Art and Architecture UNIT 3 : Greek Civilization 29-35 Origin and its Political Foundation, Hellenic Greece, City States, Democracy UNIT 4 : Society, Religion and Economy of Ancient Greece 36-42 Social, Sports Activities, Greek Gods and Goddesses, Economy and Trade UNIT 5 : Greek Art and Philosophy 43-52 Sculpture, Architecture and Painting, Ethics, Philosophy: Plato, Aristotle; Literature: Poetry, Tragedy UNIT 6 : Roman Civilization 53-63 Origin, Establishment of the Empire, Archaic Society and Economy UNIT 7 : Transitional Phase: From the Republic to an Empire 64-78 Rise of the Republic, Political Structure, Women and the Republic, Society, Art, Religion and Literature under the Republic, Sports and Culture during the Republic COURSE INTRODUCTION This Course is meant for the Sixth semester learners of History of BA programme under the revised semester system of Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University. The course is titled History of An- cient Civilizations. This course discusses the history of Ancient Civilizations in detail. There are fifteen units in this course. BLOCK INTRODUCTION This is the first block of the course and it consists of seven Units. The Block will highlight the history of ancient Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome in detail. The first Unit is the Mesopotamian Civilization. The unit discusses the origin of the Mesopotamian CIvilization and the development under the different cultures- Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian. The second Unit Mesopotamian Society, Culture and Economy discusses the society, culture and economy under Ancient Mesopotamia. The third Unit Greek Civilization discusses the origin of Hellenic Greece and the rise of city states and democracy. The fourth unit Society, Religion and Economy of Ancient Greece throws light on the society, religious condition and the economy under the Greek Civilization. The fifth unit Greek Art and Philosophy. The unit discusess the art and literary scenario in Ancient Greece and the development of philosophical concepts by Plato, Aristotle. The sixth unit titled Roman Civilization. The unit discusses the origin and the archaic socio- economic details of Ancient Rome. The seventh unit Transitional Phase: From the Republic to an Empire. The unit deals with the conditions in Ancient Rome during the time of transition of Rome from Republic to an Empire. While going through this paper, you will notice that some boxes are put in the left hand or right hand side of the text. These boxes are meant to serve the purpose of in-text glossary for you. Again, you may find some boxes marked with: “LET US KNOW”. These boxes will provide you with some additional interesting and relevant information. The boxes marked with “ACTIVITY” will help you in making your learning more active and efficient. And, at the end of each section, you will get “CHECK YOUR PROGRESS” questions. These have been designed to self-check your progress of study. It will be better if you solve the problems put in these boxes immediately after you go through the sections of the units and then match your answers with “ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS” given at the end of each unit. Mesopotamian Civilization Unit 1 UNIT 1 : MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION UNIT STRUCTURE 1.1 Learning Objectives 1.2 Introduction 1.3 The Sumerian Civilization– Origin Sumerian Cities and Cultural Life Sumerian Writing 1.4 The Old Babylonian Period Babylonian Law- Code of Hammurabi Babylonian Literature 1.5 Assyria 1.6 Let Us Sum Up 1.7 Further Reading 1.8 Answers to Check Your Progress 1.9 Model Questions 1.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After going through this Unit, you will be able to: explain the origin of the Sumerian civilization explain the socio-political life that prevailed in ancient Mesopotamia describe the society, culture, religion and literature that developed in ancient Mesopotamia 1.2 INTRODUCTION This is the first Unit of the Paper “History of Ancient Civilizations”. In this Unit we will be discussing about the Mesopotamian Civilization. Home to the earliest civilization, the Mesopotamian civilization has been the land where the first cities of the world were developed and early empires flourished. The people of Mesopotamia were among the first to record events on clay tablets. During the Hellenistic period, the Seleucids used the term Mesopotamia to indicate a wide geographical area. History of Ancient Civilizations 5 Unit 1 Mesopotamian Civilization 1.3 THE SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION-ORIGIN Being a riverine civilization, the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers forms the cradle of this civilization. Geographically, the valley was situated in between Syrian and Arabian Desert on one side and the other boundary was formed by the Zagros Mountains. The Valley was productive as the soil was alluvial and fertile. Due to its productivity and fertility, it was known as “Garden of Eden” or “The Fertile Crescent”. Unlike the early Egyptian civilization, which remained isolated for a long time, the history of Mesopotamia is a story of struggle from its earliest history. The river, Tigris Euphrates witnessed the influx of various nomadic tribes. The Zagros mountains were home to tough raids by these tribes and hence there were constant invasions. The civilization is known to have witnessed the rise of ancient states and cities like Uruk, Nippur, Nineveh and such others with complex social structures. The Mesopotamian civilization consisted of three main civilizations- the Sumerian civilization, the Babylonian civilization and Assyrian civilization. A few important historical rulers of Mesopotamia were as follows- Ur-Nammu (the king of Ur), Sargon (founder of Akkadian kingdom), Hammurabi (founder of the Old Babylonian state), Tiglath-Pileser I (founder of the Assyrian Empire) and Tigranes the Great, who established the Armenian Empire. It is believed that the ancient Mesopotamian civilization developed in about 4th millennium B.C. till the rise of the Achaemenids in the 6th century BC. The period can be divided into the following- Hassuna, Samarra and Halaf cultures (Late Neoloithic period) Ubaid Period (ca 5900-4000BC) Uruk Period (4000-3100 BC) Jemdet Nasr Period (3100-2900 BC) Early Dynastic city states (2900-2350 BC) Akkadian Empire (ca 2350-2193 BC) Neo-Sumerian Period (ca 2119-2204 BC) Early Assyrian kingdom (20th to 18th century) 6 History of Ancient Civilizations Mesopotamian Civilization Unit 1 First Babylonian dynasty (18th to 17th century) Kassite Dynasty, Middle Assyrian period (16th to 12th century) Dark Age (12th to 10th century) Neo Assyrian Empire ((10th to 7th century) Neo-Babylonian Empire (7th to 6th century) Sumer was the heartland of the Mesopotamian civilization. However, in later period the centre of power shifted from Sumer to Babylonia and farther north to Assyria. So we are going to discuss separately these three civilizations in our course of study. THE SUMERIANS The Sumerians were the earliest settlers in the Valley as referred to in several accounts. In fact, it is very difficult to say as to how and when these settlements started. The Summerians were neither Mediterranean nor Alpine in their physical features. They had an oval face, high straight nose and their stature was stocky. From the available materials, it can be said that small states developed and flourished in this civilization. The small states were ruled by several political dynasties of which a few are mentioned below. From the excavations, it is found that the Uruk dynasty, which ruled in
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