Древняя Месопотамия: жизнь в колыбели цивилизации / TTC - Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization

Древняя Месопотамия: жизнь в колыбели цивилизации / TTC - Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization

Автор: Professor Amanda H. Podany, Ph.D.
Страна: USA
Тематика: Цивилизация и культура
Тип раздаваемого материала: Лекция
Продолжительность: 11:20:35
Год выпуска: 2018
Язык: Английский
Перевод: Отсутствует
на видеокурс на е производителя: thegreatcourses/courses/ancient-mesopotamia-life-in-the-cradle-of-civilization.html
Описание: Добро пожаловать в Месопотамию, древнее название региона, который сейчас является Ираком и Сирией, удивительно развитой цивилизацией, которая процветала в течение двух третей того времени, когда цивилизация существовала на Земле. Месопотамии освоили орошаемое земледелие; построил первые сложные городские общества; развитая письменность, литература и право; и объединил обширные регионы посредством войны и дипломатии. В то время как цивилизации, такие как Греция и Рим, имеют непрекращающуюся традицию письменных историй, переданных учеными через поколения, богатая история Месопотамии недавно была вновь открыта благодаря расшифровке клинописи Месопотамии менее 200 лет назад. В этом курсе вы заполните пробелы своего исторического понимания, когда окунетесь в некоторые из новейших информационных историков, собравшихся из сотен тысяч древних клинописных табличек и других артефактов.
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.
Доп. информация: 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.
Experience the Exciting World of Kings and Queens
Kings and queens have existed ever since the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, and Professor Podany explores how they attempted to be considered legitimate and to control their subjects. They did this by trying to be loved or feared, or sometimes both. This was not just an early form of public relations campaigns; the kings had to maintain the respect of their subjects and truly lead if they hoped to keep the throne. Official documents and fascinating letters exchanged between royals, all preserved on clay tablets, reveal:
Major responsibilities undertaken by kings, such as building temples to the gods, leading armies, levying taxes, and more;
The kings’ belief that the gods supported them and their decisions;
The graceful diplomatic language with which kings and queens communicated with one another internationally;
How diplomacy (conducted by envoys, and including exchanges of gifts and dynastic marriages) was used to form alliances and prevent wars;
Royal outliers who rose from humble origins, including a king whose story shares features with that of Moses in the Hebrew Bible; and
A range of ruling styles from the tyrannical to the benevolent.
While no two rulers may have been alike, one thing was constant: the rise and fall of kingdoms. Daily life for Mesopotamians was often surprisingly peaceful compared to much of the world in the same era, but it was often punctuated by periods of warfare. Professor Podany will help you trace this journey from one of the earliest-known examples of organized warfare, when the ancient site of Hamoukar was conquered, to the conquest of the Neo-Babylonian Empire at the hands of the Persians.
As you explore the relationships and conflicts among the peoples of Mesopotamia, Professor Podany highlights the perceived link between religion and wartime successes (and failures); points out some influential theories as to why great empires fell; and reveals the ways that times of prosperity could often be marred by natural disasters, infighting, and foreign invasion. Despite the ever-present threat of war, in many cases, kingdoms managed to avoid bloodshed through diplomacy. Stories of how kings leveraged resources and built relationships offer valuable examples of a