Lecture 6 - Cities & Temples

Welcome to the sixth lecture!

This lecture is about the first cities.

Here we discuss the emergence of the first cities in Mesopotamia and contextualize this event in the context of an extreme landscape of marshes that needed to be managed and controlled in order for it to be productive. It required new and more powerful deities leading to the novel building type known as the ziggurat. The lecture also discusses Mari as one of the first great cities in the world, designed exclusively around trade.

To get started, download the Lecture Handout, which outlines important places, terms, and dates addressed in Lecture 6; the document can be used for note-taking and as a study guide.  

Download the Lecture 6 Handout here.

This lecture is divided into six units. Each unit has a lecture video, followed by a multiple choice question, or questions. These questions will test what you have just learned; you have one attempt to complete each, and can view the correct answer after submitting a responseYou must complete these questions before 14:00 (UTC) October 1, 2013 to receive credit.

At the end of each lecture is a directed discussion with other members of your course. Discussion of other topics can be addressed in the forum, accessible by clicking "Discussion" in the menu at the top of this page.  

The time to complete this lecture (watching all videos, answering the review questions, and participating in directed discussion) is approximately two hours.