The Great Courses - Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization (Part 3)
90 بار بازدید -
2 ماه پیش
-
Lectures: 13-18 (each lecture approx.
Lectures: 13-18 (each lecture approx. 30 mins)
13. Royalty and Palace Intrigue at Mari
14. War and Society in Hammurabi's Time
15. Justice in the Old Babylonian Period
16. The Hana Kingdom and Clues to a Dark Age
17. Princess Tadu-Hepa, Diplomacy, and Marriage
18. Land Grants and Royal Favor in Mittani
Welcome to Mesopotamia, the ancient name for the region that is now Iraq and Syria, a remarkably advanced civilization that flourished for two-thirds of the time that civilization has existed on Earth. Mesopotamians mastered irrigation agriculture; built the first complex urban societies; developed writing, literature, and law; and united vast regions through warfare and diplomacy. While civilizations like Greece and Rome have an unbroken tradition of written histories, passed along by scholars through the generations, the rich history of Mesopotamia has only been recently rediscovered, thanks to the decipherment of Mesopotamia’s cuneiform writing less than 200 years ago. In this course, you’ll fill in the blanks of your historical understanding as you plunge into some of the newest information historians have gathered from hundreds of thousands of ancient cuneiform tablets and other artifacts.
When we imagine what life might have been like thousands of years in the past, the images we often conjure are primitive ones: reed and mud huts or plain brick dwellings, cooking pits, villagers, and simple farms. That was indeed what life was like in the earliest settlements, but by five thousand years ago, life in some places had become much more sophisticated than we might think. Impressive achievements—like stepped temples that towered like mountains, elaborate palaces (some with bathrooms and plumbing), and complex houses—were also a part of life for people who lived in cities that arose thousands of years ago, particularly in the fertile region that emerged along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization is taught by one of the leading authorities on the region, Professor Amanda H. Podany. These 24 revealing lectures uncover events and advances that have had a profound influence on the world at large. Riveting stories about kings and priestesses as well as ordinary people from all walks of life transport you back in time, giving you invaluable insights into the history of a landmark region that has long been known as the cradle of civilization.
Creating Order Out of Chaos
Professor Podany begins with the Neolithic era, when early settlers began domesticating animals, planting crops, and crafting complex stone tools, and continues all the way through to the Iron Age, when the Persians conquered the region and ended Mesopotamia’s long era of independence.
Along the way, you will see why our notion of progress is something of an illusion. Each era of Mesopotamian history experienced immense change, and sometimes what many may consider “progress” when looking back into the past—like the shift from hunting and gathering to farming—proves to have been more complicated. While hunters and gatherers lived a relatively relaxed existence, often with abundant resources for their needs, farming actually added new and unpredictable complications to their way of life, even as it helped shape the future of the region. You’ll discover how the Mesopotamians adjusted to this new lifestyle and thrived under new circumstances.
The advent of agriculture may have contributed to a more predictable way of life in some ways, but unpredictable forces still raged through the lives of early Mesopotamians, from disease and famine to foreign invasion and natural disasters. Professor Podany demonstrates how the Mesopotamians, to compensate for all the uncontrollable factors at play, focused on the things they could control, creating orderly societies, shared social norms, and effective judicial systems. With her guidance, you will discover, for example, an early example of this type of organization and coordination: the extraordinary construction of the stone monuments to the gods at Gobekli Tepe, 12,000 years ago.
From temples to irrigation canals, you’ll witness many complex construction projects that required extensive organization and cooperation to accomplish. Additionally, the Mesopotamians were masters of trade who transported fine textiles and other goods across thousands of miles, trading them for metals, timber, and semi-precious stones.
You’ll also learn how religion functioned as a major unifying force that was interwoven in all aspects of society. Kings were believed to be chosen by the gods; all good and bad luck came from the gods, and the gods oversaw all judicial proceedings, treaties, and oaths. Religion was so omnipresent that they didn’t even have a word for it; they couldn’t conceive of it as something separate from other aspects of life.
13. Royalty and Palace Intrigue at Mari
14. War and Society in Hammurabi's Time
15. Justice in the Old Babylonian Period
16. The Hana Kingdom and Clues to a Dark Age
17. Princess Tadu-Hepa, Diplomacy, and Marriage
18. Land Grants and Royal Favor in Mittani
Welcome to Mesopotamia, the ancient name for the region that is now Iraq and Syria, a remarkably advanced civilization that flourished for two-thirds of the time that civilization has existed on Earth. Mesopotamians mastered irrigation agriculture; built the first complex urban societies; developed writing, literature, and law; and united vast regions through warfare and diplomacy. While civilizations like Greece and Rome have an unbroken tradition of written histories, passed along by scholars through the generations, the rich history of Mesopotamia has only been recently rediscovered, thanks to the decipherment of Mesopotamia’s cuneiform writing less than 200 years ago. In this course, you’ll fill in the blanks of your historical understanding as you plunge into some of the newest information historians have gathered from hundreds of thousands of ancient cuneiform tablets and other artifacts.
When we imagine what life might have been like thousands of years in the past, the images we often conjure are primitive ones: reed and mud huts or plain brick dwellings, cooking pits, villagers, and simple farms. That was indeed what life was like in the earliest settlements, but by five thousand years ago, life in some places had become much more sophisticated than we might think. Impressive achievements—like stepped temples that towered like mountains, elaborate palaces (some with bathrooms and plumbing), and complex houses—were also a part of life for people who lived in cities that arose thousands of years ago, particularly in the fertile region that emerged along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization is taught by one of the leading authorities on the region, Professor Amanda H. Podany. These 24 revealing lectures uncover events and advances that have had a profound influence on the world at large. Riveting stories about kings and priestesses as well as ordinary people from all walks of life transport you back in time, giving you invaluable insights into the history of a landmark region that has long been known as the cradle of civilization.
Creating Order Out of Chaos
Professor Podany begins with the Neolithic era, when early settlers began domesticating animals, planting crops, and crafting complex stone tools, and continues all the way through to the Iron Age, when the Persians conquered the region and ended Mesopotamia’s long era of independence.
Along the way, you will see why our notion of progress is something of an illusion. Each era of Mesopotamian history experienced immense change, and sometimes what many may consider “progress” when looking back into the past—like the shift from hunting and gathering to farming—proves to have been more complicated. While hunters and gatherers lived a relatively relaxed existence, often with abundant resources for their needs, farming actually added new and unpredictable complications to their way of life, even as it helped shape the future of the region. You’ll discover how the Mesopotamians adjusted to this new lifestyle and thrived under new circumstances.
The advent of agriculture may have contributed to a more predictable way of life in some ways, but unpredictable forces still raged through the lives of early Mesopotamians, from disease and famine to foreign invasion and natural disasters. Professor Podany demonstrates how the Mesopotamians, to compensate for all the uncontrollable factors at play, focused on the things they could control, creating orderly societies, shared social norms, and effective judicial systems. With her guidance, you will discover, for example, an early example of this type of organization and coordination: the extraordinary construction of the stone monuments to the gods at Gobekli Tepe, 12,000 years ago.
From temples to irrigation canals, you’ll witness many complex construction projects that required extensive organization and cooperation to accomplish. Additionally, the Mesopotamians were masters of trade who transported fine textiles and other goods across thousands of miles, trading them for metals, timber, and semi-precious stones.
You’ll also learn how religion functioned as a major unifying force that was interwoven in all aspects of society. Kings were believed to be chosen by the gods; all good and bad luck came from the gods, and the gods oversaw all judicial proceedings, treaties, and oaths. Religion was so omnipresent that they didn’t even have a word for it; they couldn’t conceive of it as something separate from other aspects of life.
2 ماه پیش
در تاریخ 1403/02/30 منتشر شده
است.
90
بـار بازدید شده