Lesson Plans Provided by Andrea at Epic Homeschool Mentoring

An Index to the Lesson Plans is provided at the top of the page

Week 6: Assyria and Their Neighbors 2000 BC

Ancient History Resources for Homeschool and Personal Study. This weeks topics: Mesopotamia, Indo-European tribes, Semites and Government.

Ancient History is studied through the collection of archeological evidence, written records and oral stories or myths. Just because evidence shows a particular belief or custom was common at a particular time does not mean that everyone in that civilization shared that belief. When you study the topics for this week, you can either go deep on one topic for the week and skip the others or you can do a new topic each day. This outline is just a suggested pace, you can go slower or faster as needed. This outline is intended to provide you with a place to start. You will still need to do your own research.

Top of the Hammurabi Code Stele showing Hammurabi receiving his laws from the god of justice

Homeschool Topics for Week 6

Mesopotamia

Indo-European Tribes

Semites

Government

Discussion Questions

Mesopotamia

Kingdom of Kanesh
The City of Assur was located on the Western bank of the Tigris river in what is now Iraq. The city was occupied for 4000 years so this time we study the beginnings of it's dominance. Later we will study the city of Nineveh. We know that trade with Anatolia (modern day Turkey) was a big factor in Assur's success. The city lost it's independence to Hammurabi the Ammorite but regained it later in a defeat of the Mitanni Empire.

Women in Assur

Taram-Kubi was the wife of a merchant man of Assur. Because he was away on business most of the year, she managed the house, the weaving of heavy woolen rugs or bedding for trade and bartering with local businesses. From cuneiform tablets, we see women lending and borrowing silver in seemingly financial independence. It also attests to the idea that women were literate in Assur. How have women always contributed to their family finances? In what ways do women do business different then men?

British Museum Ancient Mesopotamian Exhibit

You can take a virtual tour of the exhibit via Google Arts and Culture (just don't expect to be able to read the informative text with each item.)

Indo-European Tribes

Hittites
The ancestors of the Hittites came into Anatolia from the North. The Indo-European tribes to the North had horses and knew how to ride them. They worshiped storm gods. They were traders of iron. Their tools were superior to those made in the "Bronze Age." The Hittites were a formidable foe militarily. The Hittites and the Egyptians made the first known treaty after the Battle of Kadesh.

Iron Trade
Iron smelting is done with a fire burning charcoal and bellows to increase the temperature. The iron ore requires hot-working the desired object. Iron is an impurity in copper so it's usefulness was discovered by people who were working with copper ore. It is believed by some scholars that the Hittites had a monopoly on iron production although there is no archeological evidence to prove it.

Semites

One painting, known as the Beni Hasan Tomb painting, has led to a lot of discussion about ancient Hebrews. Officially Joshua led the Hebrews into Canaan in 1230 BC, however they began much earlier. The Hebrews, the Moabites and the Amorites are all Semite nations. 

The Hebrews worshiped one God. His name means "Eternal." It is written with a letter that means "One" in an alphabet where every letter has a numerical significance. The idea of the Hebrew God is that He is the "Only One." The Hebrew God has lots of qualities that make up His indivisible nature. Rav Gedalia Schorr likened it to the ray of light which can be split by a prism to show different colors but is truly one beam. Source

The Moabites worship Chemosh. Al-Karak is the only modern day city of Moabite origin.

Hammurabi was a notable Amorite who took over Old Babylon. He is discussed in this lesson under "Government." King Og of the Amorites was defeated by the Hebrews. He was a "giant" who slept on a bed that was 13.5 feet long. Subsequently, the Amorites immigrated into Mesopotamia causing one Sumerian king to build a 270-kilometre (170 mi) wall from the Tigris to the Euphrates. The Amorites worshiped a storm-deity similar to the Hittites.

Government

Hammurabi invented a code of laws which he claimed to have received from the Babylonian god of justice. His laws prescribed specific punishments for specific crimes. All the laws were written on a black Stele now in the Louvre. While punishments were very harsh, the accused was presumed innocent until evidence was produces. In one law, Hammurabi forced everyone to worship Marduk the god of the Babylonians. His laws were great, but when Hammurabi died, the government fell apart. Why do you think only he could keep people civilized with his laws?

Resources:

Books (all links go to Goodreads)

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World ADULT

Emergence of Monotheism PBS 

Activities

1. Lead wheel weights can be found on the ground in parking lots. They are soft enough to be hammered by kids into metal objects and lashed to wooden handles. They do not make a very sharp edge.

2. What is a treaty? If you and your siblings have a disagreement, could it be settled with a written treaty? How might a treaty guarantee peace?

Image Credit: Anonymous / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain