Transcript Chapter 2 Ancient Middle East and Egypt

Chapter 2
Ancient Middle East and Egypt
2.1 – City-States of Ancient Sumer
Focus:
What were the characteristics of the world’s first
civilization?

Fertile Crescent
–
Stretches from the Persian
Gulf to the Mediterranean
Sea (Tigris & Euphrates)
–
World’s first civilizations
C. 3200 BC
–
Fertile- Soil
Crescent- Shape
2.1
Ancient Sumer

Mesopotamia –
“between the rivers”
– Within the Fertile
Crescent
– Between the Tigris &
Euphrates Rivers
–
–
Location of first
civilization: Sumer*
Persian Gulf
2.1
Mesopotamia

Floods & Irrigation
– Floods occur frequently
– Controlled – canals,
irrigation ditches

Few Natural Resources
– Bricks – clay & water
– Trade
– Wheeled vehicles
2.1
Sumer

Sumerian Civilization
– 12 separate city-states
– Battle to control land &
water
– War leaders evolve
 Hereditary* rule
2.1
Sumerian Civilization

Government
– Ruler responsible
 City walls
 Irrigation system
 Led army
 Employed scribes
 Chief servant of
gods
 Led ceremonies

Society
–
Social Hierarchy:
system of ranking
groups
 Ruling family
officials, high
priests
 Lesser priests,
scribes, merchants,
artisans
 Peasant farmers
 Slaves
2.1
Sumerian Civilization

Women
– Goddesses highly
ordered
– Give women higher
social ranking than
later civilizations
– Rights not equal to
men
2.1
Sumerian Civilization

Religion
– Polytheistic*: worship many gods
– Ziggurat: large stepped platform topped by a temple
dedicated to the city’s chief god or goddess – rituals and
prayers
– After-life
 All live in a grim underworld with no release
2.1
Sumerian Civilization

Writing (3200 BC)
–
Cuneiform:
 system of writing
using wedge-shaped
marks on clay tablets
 Earliest known form
of writing (myths,
prayers, laws,
contracts)
2.1
Sumerian Civilization

Legacy
–
–
–
1900 BC – Sumerian civilization replaced by other
civilizations & empires
Conquerors adopt ideas
Developed astronomy

–
Movement of planets & stars
Mathematics

Number system based on 6
–
60 minute hour
– 360 degree circle
2.2

FIRST EMPIRES
2.2 – First Empires in Mesopotamia
Focus: How did various strong rulers unite the lands of
the Fertile Crescent into well-organized empires?

Sargon (2300 BC)
– Ruler of Akkad
– Conquers Sumer city-states
– First empire in history
– Collapses after his death
2.2
First Empires in Mesopotamia



Hammurabi (1700 BC)
King of Babylon
Hammurabi’s Code* – first written law code (~300)

Codify – arrange and set down in writing
–


“eye for an eye & a life for a life”
Civil Law – private rights – taxes, marriage, divorce,
property
Criminal Law – offenses against others – robbery,
assault, murder
2.2
First Empires in
Mesopotamia

Hittites (1400-1200 BC)
– From Asia Minor
– Skill

how to make
Iron*
– Sharper,
harder,
durable
2.2
First Empires in Mesopotamia

Assyrians (1350 BC)
–
–
–
–
–
Feared warriors
Ordered Society
Laws for royal household
First libraries
612 BC - defeated
Assyrians
Skinning Alive
2.2
First Empires in Mesopotamia

Babylon (625 BC) –
largest city
– King
Nebuchadnezzar
– Rebuilt canals,
temples, walls, &
palaces
– Hanging Gardens
2.2
First Empires in Mesopotamia

Persia
– 539 BC – Conquer
Babylon
– Cyrus the Great
 Largest empire –
Asia Minor to
India
 Policy of
tolerance to those
conquered**
2.2
Persia - Mesopotamia

Persians Conquer
Babylonians

Persians:

Barter Economy
– exchange a good or
service for another
Money Economy
– Good paid for through
exchange of token

2.2
Persia - Mesopotamia

Persian Religion
– Zoroaster (600 BC) –
Persian religious thinker
 Taught of a “single” wise
god (Monotheistic)
 Spoke of a heaven, hell
and judgment day.
2.2
First Empires in Mesopotamia

Phoenicians- (Sailors)
–
–
–
Occupied cities along eastern Mediterranean
coast
Colony – territory settled and ruled by people
from another land
“carriers of civilization”



Alphabet – each symbol represents a single basic sound
22 symbols
Greeks add vowels
Phoenician Colonies
Phoenician Alphabet
2.3

KINGDOM OF THE NILE
2.3 – Kingdom on the Nile
Focus: How did the Nile influence the rise of the powerful
civilization of Egypt?

Nile
– 4,100 miles; longest
river in the world
– “Backwards”

–
–
Northward flow
Black Land – fertile
land (10 miles wide)
Red Land – desert
2.3 - Egypt

Floods
–
–
–
Reservoirs (dry season)
Irrigation
Yearly Flood




Floods in July
Recedes in October
Flood – Plant – Harvest
Silt- fertilizer
2.3 - Egypt

Geography
– Upper Egypt (South)

–
From first cataracts*,
waterfall & rapids, to 100
miles from Med. Sea
Lower Egypt (North)

Delta region – triangular
marshlands; Nile empties
into the Med. Sea

Trade winds- blow in
reverse- Southward
2.3 – Egypt
Old Kingdom

Old Kingdom
–
Dynasty – ruling family; power passes from one
ruler to another

Pharaohs – Egyptian kings
– Human & divine
– Absolute Power – own & rule all land
– Bureaucracy* – system of government made up of
different jobs and authority levels
– Vizier* – chief minister who supervises goverment
 Various depts. – taxes, farming, etc.
2.3 - Egypt
Old Kingdom

Great Pyramids
–
Tombs where deceased
live for eternity
–
Originally reserved for
Royalty
2.3 - Egypt
Middle Kingdom


Turbulent period
– Nile doesn’t flood
regularly
– Corruption & rebellion
1700 BC
– Hyksos take over (100
year rule)
– Introduce horse-drawn
war chariot
– Adopted Egyptian
culture
2.3 – Egypt
New Kingdom


Hatshepsut (1472-1458
BC) – first female ruler;
encouraged trade
Thutmose III –
Hatshepsut’s stepson;
took over after
becoming an adult
– Warlike
– Stretched borders to
greatest extent
2.3 – Egypt
New Kingdom

Ramses II (1279-1213 BC)
– Battles – Hittites vs.
Egyptians
– First recorded peace
treaty
– 99 years old – 150
children
2.3 - Egypt

Nubia
–
–
–
–
South of Egypt
Trade & fight with Egypt
Provide ivory, cattle, &
slaves
Conquered by Egypt
during the New Kingdom
2.3 - Egypt

Decline
–
332 BC – last
Egyptian dynasty
ended; Greeks
control
2.4

Egyptian Life
2.4- Egypt
Focus: How did religion and learning play important
roles in ancient Egyptian civilization?


Religion
– most important
gods are associated
with the sun and the
Nile
Amon-Re* – lord of the
Gods; gave pharaohs
right to rule & judged
their actions
2.4 - Egypt


Osiris
– God of the dead;
judges the soul
– God of the Nile;
controls the flood
Isis
– Daily lives of women
2.4 - Egypt

Afterlife
– Anubis- weighed soul
– Osiris judges soul
 Aton- Eater of the
Dead
 Happy Field of Food
 Book of the Dead*
–
Spells, charms, and
formulas to survive the
underworld journey
2.4 - Egypt

Mummification
– Preservation of
body by embalming
and wrapping in
cloth
– Body was
preserved for the
soul- in the
afterlife
2.4 – Egypt
Social Hierarchy
Pharaoh & Royal Family
Government
Merchants, Scribes, & Artisans
Peasant Farmers*
*Slaves were considered
property not people and
were only outnumbered by
peasant farmers.
2.4 - Egypt

Social Class
– Peasants
 Off-season: build
palaces, temples, &
tombs
– Women
 Inherit property, buy
& sell goods,
divorce
 Excluded from
government jobs &
becoming scribes
2.4 – Egypt
Writing

Hieroglyphics*
– Using pictures of
symbols to
represent objects,
concepts, or sounds
– Record important
economic, royal, &
official historical
information
2.4 – Egypt
Writing

Papyrus
– Plant that grows along
the banks of the Nile
– Paperlike writing
material
– Some of the world’s
first paper
2.4 – Egypt
Writing

Rosetta Stone*
– Passage carved on flat,
black stone in
hieroglyphics, demotic
script, and Greek
–
Decipher meaning of
many hieroglyphs
–
Key to unlocking ancient
language
2.4 – Egypt
Science & Mathematics

Medicine
–
–
–

Astronomy
–

Human body –
mummification
Surgical operations
prosthetics
Calendar: 12 months of
30 days
Mathematics
–
Geometry


Survey land
Construction of
pyramids & temples
2.5- Roots of Judaism

Judaism (2,000 BC)- 4,000 years ago

Developed by the Israelites- Hebrews

Israel- Western End of Fertile Crescent
2.5- Roots of Judaism

The Israelites were monotheistic
– One god- opposite of polytheistic

Making Judaism the world’s first monotheistic religion

Believed in an omnipotent (powerful all knowing) god
2.5- Roots of Judaism

Events were connected through God and God’s will

The events and laws of Israel were written in the central text:
The Torah
–
–
First Five book of the Hebrew Bible
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
2.5- Roots of Judaism

The Torah:

Told of Abraham
– Lived near Ur (Mesopotamia)
– Family migrated to Canaan
– Considered the Father of the Israelites
–
Made a covenant with God Binding Agreement
2.5- Roots of Judaism

The Covenant had two declarations:
–
One- The Israelites would have a special
relationship with God- (God’s people)
–
Two- Canaan would be the land of the
Israelites or their “Promised Land”
2.5- Roots of Judaism

Moses-

Later renewed God’s covenant

Israelites were forced into Egypt (famine)

Saved the Israelites from bondage/ slavery (Egypt)
– Moved back to Canaan
2.5- Roots of Judaism

David:


2nd King of Israel
United the nation (12 Tribes)

Solomon


David’s Son
Made Jerusalem the capital (beautiful)
Projects were costly- high taxes- revolts
Israel began to fall apart- no longer untied

Israel conquered by Assyrians- Babylonians- Persians


2.5- Roots of Judaism

Over the course of being
captured many Israelites were
forced to move:

Many moved south of Israel to
Judah- The Tribe of Judah

This is where the term Jew
comes from.
2.5- Roots of Judaism

Judaism:

Torah sometimes called the “Book of the Law”
–
–

Some laws dealt with cleanliness and food preparation
“Kosher”
Society was male dominated – patriarchal
– Men made decision in the home
– In government
– Women did have some rights
2.5- Roots of Judaism

Prophet’s of Judaism warned to not break God’s
laws and have strong ethics
–
–


moral standards of behavior
Like “acting right” or Comet Code
At the heart of these laws are:
The Ten Commandments
–
Laws that include keeping the Sabbath holy
 Day of rest and worship
 Jewish people (Saturday)
2.5- Roots of Judaism

After returning from Babylonian captivity

Many Jews moved throughout the world

This dispersion of the Jewish people is known as:
– The Diaspora