mirrored file at http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== Emergence of Civilizations / Anthro 341: Class 11 _ Mesopotamia: Agade to Ur III, trends, and another viewpoint _ ã Copyright Bruce Owen 2003 * Agade Period (Akkadian State) 2373 - 2247 BC (126 years) * Sargon of Agade, the king and military leader of the city of Agade, located in northern Mesopotamia * Leader of a different ethnic group, with a different language from the Sumerians (a semitic language) succeeded in conquering all of northern and southern Mesopotamia, including the cities on the Sumerian plain forging the first regional state in Mesopotamia this was possible in part due to his well-equipped, professional army * such armies were already being established in the Early Dynastic III period * for example, a famous Early Dynastic III stela from Lagash (in Sumer) shows this kind of uniform, regimented army * ranks of men in identical helmets, with shields * other ranks with lighter shields and spears, etc. * indicating specialized regiments like the palaces of at least some Sumerian cities, the palace of Agade clearly provided standardized weapons and presumably supported professional soldiers this would have been based on arms production by specialists employed by the palace and working in shops there and, in turn, based on the extraction of surplus agricultural production from the people of the city its surrounding hinterland But unlike earlier victors in inter-city warfare, Sargon not only captured spoils when a city fell, but also established a system to control and collect tribute from the city from then on * Sargon awarded captured land to his supporters * He put local agents in charge of conquered cities, supported by a garrison of soldiers * this united the cities for the first time as tribute-paying subjects of his empire * unlike earlier "rulers", he actually controlled the conquered cities, which became parts of a larger organization with its capital at Agade Sargon boasted of feeding 5,400 men every day, apparently his administration * this clearly required a lot of tribute to maintain Sargon's grandson, Naram-Sin, took on aspects of divinity * he was depicted wearing a horned helmet previously shown only on gods * his name was accompanied by a "rosette" symbol previously used only with gods * Naram-Sin apparently united the institutions of the temple and palace under a single person but you will see that Sargon's unification of Sumer happened hundreds of years after the military unification of Egypt * Sumer was the first place to see the rise of city states * but it was _not_ the first place where they joined together into a large political entity or nation state most definitions of civilization do not require large-scale regional unity * presumably a city-state can be civilized, even if it is separate from other city-states nearby Civilization was clearly established by the Agade Period * but we will look very briefly at the next two periods Guti invasion 2247 - 2168 BC (79 years) * "tribes" from the Zagros mountains toppled the Akkadian state and held power in Sumer briefly Ur III 2168 - 2062 BC (96 years) * Ur-Nammu of Ur defeated the Guti invaders and founded a dynasty called Ur III * the last great Sumerian dynasty, it was a revitalization of the old traditions, sometimes called "Neo-sumerian" * apparently a more integrated, administered empire than Akkadian state * standardized units of silver, grain, etc., with standardized equivalencies (prices, but not money) * Built the ziggurat at Ur, still visible today you might think about when in this parade of periods you feel that civilization emerged, and what institutions and processes were involved. * what were the roles of economics, warfare, religion, population growth, the emerging elites themselves...? Review of long-term trends in social stratification * Late 'Ubaid * burial evidence * over 200 graves at Eridu * little differentiation * up to a few pottery or stone vessels, occasionally a figurine or beads concentration of wealth and presumably status at impressive temple complexes Some degree of craft specialization suggests probably varied social roles and statuses zoned housing, best near temple, workshops further out, farmers furthest away that is, the burial evidence and the other lines of evidence don't agree Uruk period * not much burial evidence * but many other indicators of social stratification, similar to those from the 'Ubaid but even more so: * wealth concentrated at the temple * suggests that people associated with the temple would have had access to more sumptuous goods temple organization would have required priests, administrators, etc. with special power and status * for example, some people had the role of "signing" or certifying written records of temple transactions, presumably indicating some power or status craft specialists presumably had a different, probably higher, status than ordinary farmers scribes would certainly have had a higher status, since they had a valuable and scarce skill * and would have to be honest, accurate, and discreet zoned housing, best nearest temple Jemdet Nasr period (or stylistic division of terminal Uruk/initial Early Dynastic) * Not much architectural or other evidence that is distinct from other periods * burials: somewhat more variation, suggesting some stratification * of 340 graves, 61 (about 20%) had one or two metal cups; 2 had numerous goods (the top less than 1%) Early Dynastic: clear evidence of huge status differences, especially by Early Dynastic III * royal burials at Ur (Early Dynastic III) * variations in housing, up to palaces * variations in occupations (farmers, craftspeople, priests, royal court, officials who "signed" records, etc.) imply probable status differences * this was not new, but probably was even more exaggerated than it had been before legal protections indicate that there were poor and slave classes, a ruling class, merchants standard professions list shows a clearly conceived hierarchy of status according to peoples' occupations Irrigation * necessary from the beginning of the 'Ubaid period * but most people argue that the projects were not really large enough to imply extensive power until the later Early Dynastic period, well after 'Ubaid and Uruk cities flourished Stone and Zimansky's alternative view * First: why is this an important example? * Consider the problems with our knowledge of Jericho and Çatal Hüyük, based on small excavated samples Mashkan-shapir, briefly a regional capital after the fall of Ur III * the empire of Ur-Nammu of Ur (Ur III, or the Neo-sumerian empire) collapsed after about 100 years, in 2062 BC * a period of several centuries followed in which no single city maintained dominance * Mashkan-shapir became briefly important in this time of disorganization, when there was no regional power center * about 2000 - 1700 BC * so Mashkan-shapir dates to over 1000 years after the end of the Uruk period (3900-3100 BC), and hundreds of years after the Early Dynastic (2900-2372), but it is still an interesting case Mashkan-shapir was abandoned around 1720 BC, never reoccupied, so its remains are not buried by later houses and garbage * the remains of the whole city are right on the surface * so is possible to map, photograph from the air, and surface collect the entire Old Babylonian city * unlike most sites, where we can only see a few small patches of the town at the bottom of deep excavations * project interrupted by Iran-Iraq war, no significant excavations done description of city: * surrounded by city wall with (at least) three gates * open space, possibly a large (food-producing) garden and/or market exchange areas, within the walls * canals used for commerce; harbors their argument: * temple and palace are far from presumed commerce areas, especially harbors * the location of administrative activities was inferred from architecture and from scatters of bronze model chariot parts * these are thought to have been used in ritualized oath-taking, comparable to our swearing on a bible to tell the truth in court * so they may indicate places where contracts were witnessed, disputes adjudicated, etc. so these administrative (government) functions might not have been directly involved in commerce stone bowls and metal artifacts are scattered, not concentrated * so they can't identify a clearly higher-status district manufacturing is dispersed, not centralized * although each craft IS concentrated in certain areas; just not all crafts in one area hence they claim there was NOT a highly centralized organization hence power NOT concentrated in a small elite at this time hence power probably was not held by an elite earlier, either. hence conquest and coercion were NOT key to emergence of civilization I am not convinced by their interpretations, but the evidence is intriguing.