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  1. Navigate Home
  3. Television

  4. Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization

TELEVISION

Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization

Series: Great Courses
4.5
(81)
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Episodes
24
Rating
TVPG
Year
2018
Language
English
Publisher
The Great Courses

About

Explore Mesopotamia, a civilization that flourished for more than 3,000 years. Mesopotamians built the first complex urban societies; developed writing, literature, and law; and united vast regions through warfare and diplomacy. However, much still remains to be discovered about this fascinating region.

Related Subjects

  • History
  • Educational

Episodes

1. Uncovering Near Eastern Civilization

30m

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Although Egypt, Greece, and Rome may be better known to the public, in fact more written evidence survives from Mesopotamia, home to many of the great powers of the ancient world. As you embark on a journey through over 3,000 years of history, you will understand the ways we uncover ancient historical knowledge, and learn why Mesopotamia's "rediscovery" is so valuable.

2. Natufian Villagers and Early Settlements

30m

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The spread of any technology tends to be slow. While today we may see the enormous value of plant and animal domestication, here you will discover the surprising theories about the transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture and the challenges that farming presented. Also, gain valuable perspective on the cultural sophistication of pre-agrarian peoples.

3. Neolithic Farming, Trading, and Pottery

30m

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Though travel was dangerous, people transported valuable goods, like obsidian for knife blades, across hundreds of miles, perhaps via chains of merchants. Plunge into everyday life in Neolithic Mesopotamia, where homes and villages reflect a simple, unstratified society, but evidence of intricate pottery shows that technology was advancing and people cared about aesthetics.

4. Eridu and Other Towns in the Ubaid Period

30m

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The Ubaid people constructed the earliest monumental buildings, standardized some measurements, and must have had some sort of formal leadership to care for and control their populations. See how the people of the Ubaid coordinated their efforts to develop irrigation systems, despite a lack of written language.

5. Uruk, the World's Biggest City

30m

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Witness the rise of urban civilization 5,500 years ago, a mere 200 generations before modern times. Discover how and why the first writing system developed and examine the earliest-known evidence of warfare.

6. Mesopotamia's First Kings and the Military

30m

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Why did people accept the rule of monarchs? This lecture reveals the fascinating world of the first kings, including their numerous important duties - from conducting diplomacy to levying taxes - and explores how they believed that the gods supported and chose them.

7. Early Dynastic Workers and Worshipers

30m

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In a period where the causes of disease and natural disasters were not widely known, gods were believed to be the cause of, and the solution to, instability in life. Learn how evidence found in tombs suggests a belief in the afterlife, and discover just how large a workforce was employed by the grand temples where the gods were believed to live.

8. Lugalzagesi of Umma and Sargon of Akkad

30m

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Meet King Lugalzagesi, who controlled several city-states in southern Mesopotamia. His much more powerful successor, Sargon, had a mysterious origin, but was able to build an empire and expand trade over a wider region than ever before.

9. Akkadian Empire Arts and Gods

30m

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The Akkadian Empire was a high point for artistic achievement in Mesopotamia. Depictions of humans were believed to possess some of the life force of the people they represented. Professor Podany shows how the many gods had differing roles and powers and were as much a part of everyday life as one's family. Examine an emotional hymn by a priestess, who is the world's first-known author.

10. The Fall of Akkad and Gudea of Lagash

30m

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Learn some of the theories behind the fall of the Akkadian Empire. Major kings during this time run the gamut from Naram-Sin, one of the few Mesopotamian kings who claimed to be a god, to Gudea, a pious and benevolent king who may have served as a model for later leaders.

Extended Details

  • SeriesGreat Courses
  • Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

Amanda H. PodanyWriter
Amanda H. PodanyActor