The Legacy of the Ancient World

Remember this is where civilization and history began. The peoples of the ancient Near East were the first to do almost everything. Although we are separated by time and culture from the world of the ancient Near East, it has had a lasting effect on our world in several areas. In many areas the contributions or achivements of the Babylonians are mentioned more often than the Egytians (why?) Writing & Literature The alphabet! Near Eastern (Babylonian, Egyptian, Ugaritic) myths, legends and concepts (particularly the creation and flood) are used liberally in the Bible and thus make their way into the Quran. Wisdom literature, also in the Bible, is a widespread and popular form of literature. Assyrian historical annals (c. 1300 BCE) not only describe events but speculate on motivations, much as Herodotus would do almost 900 years later. The Assyrian annals were forgotten while Herodotus was preserved. At least one story in the Arabian Nights (Bin Bir Gece/ Alf Layla wa Layla) goes back to a Babylonian story called The Poor Man of Nippur. Some words sill in use today go back to the ancient Near East.

Science, Mathematics & Pseudo-science Babylonians very talented at mathematics and astronomical observation Performed division, multiplication, squares , cubes, square roots, algebraic and geometric calculations in practical situations. Developed place value system for numerical signs (in 65 and 56 the value of 6 or 5 depends on its place) Calendar originally lunar (354 days); added an extra month every 3 years to align it with the solar year. Later worked out the ratio of 7 etra months in every 19 years; still in use for the Jewish and Christian religious calendars. Babylonians first to divide the day into minutes; division into hours a combination of Babylonian and Egyptian developments. Babylonians divided day into 12 double hours made up of 60 double minutes

 Egytians divided the time from sunrise to sunset into 12 unequal parts (unequal due to seasonal variations) Later, to make accurate astronomical observations, Babylonian astronomers divide day and night into six equal and constant parts each. Only in Hellenistic times did astronomers divide this Babylonian system into 24 parts. Babylonians also developed the zodiac (12 bur) and horoscopic astrology. By 5th century BCE the 12 signs of the zodiac had been determined in a 30 zone for each sign along the zodiacal belt (what is the zodiacal belt?) Reflects a new calendar then in use consisting of twelv 30-day months (similar to the Egyptian calendar that also added 5 festival days at the end of the year that belonged to no month) The use of divisions based on 6 comes from astronomy but survives in measurements of time, geometry and latitude-longitude. Music & Art Music theory goes back to ancient Mesopotamia; seven 7-tone and 8-tone musical scales (including the standard modern major scale) in use as early as 1800 BCE in the Old Babylonian Period. This music theory spread throughout the Near East and Greece by the first millenium BCE. Pythagoras of Samos (6th century BCE) claimed to have learned his math and music in the Near East. Stringed instruments most highly developed; harps, lyres and later lutes (al-d) evolved and spread throughout the ancient world. Lonic column originated in Mesopotamia, based on reed columns used in southern Iraq to build reed halls. Spiral towers like the minaret at Samarra may be based on the ziggurat (circular rather than square). Rod with intertwined snakes was a symbol of Ningizidda, son of the god Ninazu (Lord Doctor); remains the symbol of medicine or pharmacy. Medicine & Technology Numerous medical texts; generally either descriptions of symptoms or lists of remedies. Some are lists of medicines; herbal medicine well developed in both Babylonia and Egypt. Surgery more highly developed in Egypt (why?)

 Technologies for making glass, perfume, pottery glazes, and metals highly developed, but rarely described in detail. Processes in the dying of cloth and the tanning of leather also appear to be well-developed. Technology used in buildng likewise not well known. Intellectual Adventure By the time of the Golden Age of classical Greece in the 5th century BCE, there was already over 2500 years of history in the ancient Near East. Provided Greece with a rich source of knowledge on which to expand. The exact extent of Greeces debt to Mesopotamia, Egypt and even Persia is still debated and being discovered. Beyond that, these people were the first to create civilization with all its advantages and disadvantages. The life-style that they created is the one that most people today live in. The religious outlook that first emerged in this time and place became one that the majority of people today now accept to some degree.