Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia

409 Pages·2004·6.91 MB·English

by  Stephen Bertman

HANDBOOK
TO LIFE
IN ANCIENT
MESOPOTAMIA
S B
ELECTED OOKS BY THE
S A
AME UTHOR
Art and the Romans: A Study of Roman Art Hyperculture: The Human Cost of Speed (West-
as a Dynamic Expression of Roman Character port, Conn.: Praeger, 1998)
(Lawrence, Kans.: Coronado Press, 1975)
Cultural Amnesia: America’s Future and the Crisis
The Conflict of Generations in Ancient Greece and of Memory(Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2000)
Rome(Amsterdam: Grüner, 1976)
Climbing Olympus: The Inspiring Power of Greek
Doorways Through Time: The Romance of Archae- Myth(Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks, 2003)
ology (Los Angeles and New York: Jeremy
Tarcher and St. Martin’s Press, 1986)
HANDBOOK
TO LIFE
IN ANCIENT
MESOPOTAMIA
STEPHEN BERTMAN
University of Windsor
Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
Copyright © 2003 by Stephen Bertman
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval
systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact:
Facts On File, Inc.
132 West 31st Street
New York NY 10001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bertman, Stephen.
Handbook to life in ancient Mesopotamia / Stephen Bertman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8160-4346-9
1. Iraq—Civilization—To 634. I. Title.
DS69.5 .B47 2002
935—dc21
2002003516
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Text design by Cathy Rincon
Cover design by Semadar Megged
Printed in the United States of America
VB Hermitage 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
C
ONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS viii Biographies of Political Leaders 72
Reading 111
INTRODUCTION x
4 RELIGION AND MYTH 113
LIST OF MAPS xi The Multiplicity of the Gods 114
The Governance of the World 115
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi The Names and Functions of the Gods 115
Myths 126
1 GEOGRAPHY OF MESOPOTAMIA 1 Places of Public Worship 127
The Land and Its Rivers 2 Priests and Priestesses 128
Natural Resources 4 Holy Days and Festivals 130
Surrounding Countries 5 Divination and Exorcism 132
Gazetteer 6 Personal Piety 133
Reading 37 The Concept of Immortality 134
Reading 135
2 ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY 39
The Discoverers 40 5 LANGUAGE, WRITING, AND
Dating the Past 49 LITERATURE 137
Digging for History 51 Language 138
Ancient Narratives 54 The Great Decipherments 138
Survey of History 54 Major Languages 142
Key Rulers of Mesopotamia 58 Writing 144
Reading 59 Literature 149
Reading 182
3 GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY 61
The Structure of Civilization 62 6 ARCHITECTURE
The Stratification of Society 62 AND ENGINEERING 185
The Beginnings 63 Building Materials and Houses 186
Kingship 63 Domestic Architecture 188
Taxation 67 Techniques of Construction 190
Justice and Law 68 From Village to City 191
Temples 191 Siege Warfare 267
Ziggurats 194 Psychological Warfare 267
Palaces 198 The Art of War 268
City Planning 201 Ancient Monuments and Modern Warfare 270
Walls 202 Reading 271
Canals and Aqueducts 203
Bridges 207 11 EVERYDAY LIFE 273
Roads 209 Work 274
Reading 210 Slavery 274
Marriage and Family 275
7 SCULPTURE AND OTHER ARTS 213 Birth, Death, and the Belief in an Afterlife 281
The Role of the Artist 214 Homes 285
Materials 214 Clothing 288
Sculpture 214 Cosmetics and Perfume 291
Pottery 223 Food and Drink 291
Painting 224 Music 294
Mosaic 226 Toys and Games 298
Glass 229 Sports 300
Cylinder Seals 231 Education 300
Carved Ivory 236 Health and Medicine 304
Jewelry 237 Reading 309
Reading 241
12 MESOPOTAMIA AND
8 ECONOMY 243 SACRED SCRIPTURE 311
Definition and Structure 244 The Old Testament 312
Significance 244 Mesopotamia and the Apocrypha 322
Farming and Animal Husbandry 244 Mesopotamia and the New Testament 322
Fishing and Hunting 247 Mesopotamia and the Koran 323
Crafts 248 Reading 323
Professions 248
Wages and Prices 248 13 THE LEGACY OF MESOPOTAMIA 325
Reading 250 Continuity and Change 326
Inspiration and Imagination 332
9 TRANSPORTATION AND TRADE 251 An Enduring Legacy 334
Transportation by Water 252 Detroit of the Chaldees 335
Transportation by Land 253 Twin Legacies 336
Trade 255 Reading 337
Weights and Measures 257
Reading 258 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 339
10 MILITARY AFFAIRS 261 LIST OF MUSEUMS WITH MAJOR
The Influence of Geography 262 MESOPOTAMIAN COLLECTIONS 342
Evidence 262
Fortifications 262 BIBLIOGRAPHY 343
Weapons and Equipment 263
The Organization of the Army 265 INDEX 377
“Y’
know—Babylon once had two million people
in it, and all we know about ’em is the names of
the kings and some copies of wheat contracts
and . . . the sales of slaves. Yes, every night all those
families sat down to supper, and the father came
home from his work, and the smoke went up
the chimney, —same as here.”
—Thornton Wilder, Our Town
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
For rescuing the ancient civilizations of W. Hallo, Angeline Sturam, and Dr. Fred
Mesopotamia from oblivion we are Wassermann, and to Diana Wu, Margie Prytu-
indebted to generations of travelers and lak, and Biljana Barisic for giving my manu-
explorers, archaeologists and philologists, script electronic form. I am also indebted to
whose love of the past gave that past new life the following individuals for assisting me in
and whose words and work inspired and shaped obtaining photographic illustrations: Carla
this book. I remain personally indebted to Hosein, Sylvia Inwood, Tory James, Ryan
Leonard Cottrell and others whose popular Jensen, Ulla Kasten, and Charles Kline.
books on archaeological discovery pointed the Ultimately, my greatest debt is to those who
way for me when I was young, and to the are now nameless but were human like our-
teachers—Jotham Johnson, Casper J. Kraemer selves, those whose long-ago hopes and dreams
Jr., Lionel Casson, and Cyrus Gordon—I was still swirl in the dust of Iraq. In writing this
later lucky to find as guides. book, it is with those ancient ghosts I seek to
For this project, special thanks for biblio- keep faith, for to be remembered is to be alive.
graphical help go to Elaine Bertman, William
HANDBOOK TO LIFE IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
viii
I
n Memory of
Cyrus H. Gordon
(1909–2001)
who looked across artificial borders
and bravely reported a wider truth