Early Civilizations

Chapter 2 and 3

City-states of Ancient Sumer

• Fertile Crescent – region of the middle east between and around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers– It has very rich soils and golden wheat fields

• Mesopotamia – “between the rivers”

Ancient Sumer

• World’s first civilization

• The Epic of Gilgamesh– Poem of a great flood that destroys the world

• Flooding control– Use of dikes and ditches

• Construction– Lacked stone and wood

• Use clay to make bricks• Ur and Uruk

Ancient Sumer cont.

• Rich from Trade

• Invented the wheel?

• Egyptian and Indian goods

Sumerian Civilization

• Multiple city-states and war = hereditary rule by war leaders

• Gov’t– Maintains city walls and irrigation system– Led armies– Enforced laws– Employed scribes– Led religious ceremonies

Sumerian Civilization

• Social Structure– Hierarchy – system of ranking groups

• Top Class: ruling family, leading officials, high priests– Small middle class: lesser priests, scribes, merchants, artisans

» Lower class: Peasants

» Slaves from warfare or sale

– Role of Women• Goddesses were highly honored• Never had legal rights• Some ruler’s wives had supervisory positions• Read, write, & play music

Sumerian Civilization

• Religion– Polytheistic ??

• Thought the gods acted like humans• Responsible for truth, justice, violence, & suffering

– Ziggurat – a large, stepped platform thought to have been topped by a temple dedicated to the city’s chief god or goddess

– Sumerian Afterlife: after dying, you live in a grim underworld with no escape and only dust to eat

Ziggurats

Sumerian Civilization

• Writing– Invented by Sumerians

• Cuneiform: wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets– Began as pictographs and later became complex

symbols– Used for econ., myths, prayers, laws, and business

contracts– Scribe school

» Not talking» Poor writing was not tolerated» Caned as a punishment» Could gain high positions

Cuneiform

Sumerian Legacy

• Cuneiform was used by Akkadians, Babylonians, & Assyrians

• Astronomy, mathematics, number system based on 6, 60 minutes, 360º

• Babylonians used Sumerian math to form algebra & geometry, accurate calendars, and prediction of eclipses

Mesopotamian Empires

• 2300 B.C. Sargon, ruler of Akkad– Invaded & conquered

Sumer– Builds first known empire– Appointed local rulers

Mesopotamian Empires• 1790 B.C. Hammurabi, king of Babylon

– Conquered ancient Sumer after the death of Sargon

– Hammurabi’s Code – publication of laws• 300 laws on stone pillars• Codify: arrange and set down in writing• Civil law: private rights and matters

– E.g. business contracts, property inheritance, taxes, marriage, divorce

• Criminal law: deals with offenses against other such as robbery, assault, or murder

– “eye for an eye”

Mesopotamian Empires

• Hammurabi’s improvements:– Better irrigation– Well-trained army– Repaired temples– Encouraged religion by promoting Marduk, the

patron god of Babylon

Mesopotamian Empires

• Hittites – 1400 B.C.– Introduced ironworking

• Assyrians– Known for their skill as warriors– Rich society– First to develop laws regulating royal families– Established one of the first libraries

Nebuchadnezzar

• King of Babylon

• Reforms the Babylon empire

• Rebuilds the city of Babylon

• Built a defensive moat and wall

• 9 gates to enter the city in honor of the main Gods and Goddesses

• Built the hanging gardens

Persians

• 539 B.C. Conquered Babylon– Largest empire EVER!!!!!

• Darius– Set up a bureaucracy– Divided empire into two satrapy– Governor for each– Each paid taxes based on what they had– Supervision of governors

Darius cont.

• Written laws

• Built roads

• Set up standards of weights and measures

• Encouraged the use of coins

• Barter economy : exchange one set of goods or services for another

• Money economy: goods and services are paid for through the exchange of a token

Zoroaster

• Persian intellectual

• Taught that a single god named Ahura Mazda was in control of the world

• Also taught that Ahriman, the prince of lies and evil was fighting for Ahura Mazda’s power

• Stressed a final judgement day

Phoenicians

• Sailors and traders in the Mediterranean– Made glass, “Tyrian purple”– Set up colonies– Colony: a territory settled & ruled by people

from another land– “carriers of civilization”

• Alphabet – symbols representative of certain sounds

• 22 Consonants• Greeks add vowels

Egyptian Empire about 1450 B.C

Geography of the Ancient Nile Valley

“Egypt is wholly the gift of the Nile.” – Herodotus

People settled and established farming villages along the Nile.

Egyptians depended on annual floods to soak the land and deposit a layer of silt, or rich soil.

Egyptians had to cooperate to control the Nile, building dikes, reservoirs, and irrigation ditches.

Rulers used the Nile to link and unite Upper and Lower Egypt.

The Nile served as a trade route connecting Egypt to Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean world.

Three Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt

OLD KINGDOM

MIDDLE KINGDOM

NEW KINGDOM

Pharaohs organized a strong central state, were absolute rulers, and were considered gods.

Egyptians built pyramids at Giza.

Large drainage project created arable farmland.

Traders had contacts with Middle East and Crete.

Powerful pharaohs created a large empire that reached the Euphrates River.

Hatshepsut- Queen of the New Kingdom who declared herself pharoah

Ramses II-Pharaoh who spread Egyptian rule northward to Syria, conquered Nubia, and wanted to be remembered above all others.

3 periods of Egypt

• Egypt is divided into 3 periods:– The Old, Middle, New Kingdoms

• During this time power was passed down through different dynasties or ruling families.

Pyramids

Ramses II

Hatshepsut

Egypt and Nubia

For centuries, Egypt traded or fought with Nubia.

During the New Kingdom, Egypt conquered Nubia.• Nubians served in Egyptian armies and

influenced Egyptian culture. • Egyptian art from this period shows Nubian

soldiers, musicians, or prisoners.

When Egypt declined, Nubia conquered Egypt. • Nubians did not see themselves as conquerors.

They respected Egyptian traditions.

Egyptian Religious Beliefs

• Belief that many gods and goddesses ruled the world and the afterlife. They were polytheistic. Amon-Re was the sun god. Osiris was the god of the underworld and of the Nile. The pharaoh was believed to be a god as well as a monarch.

• Belief in eternal life after death. Relied on the Book of the Dead to help them

through the afterworld. Practiced mummification, the preservation of the body for use in the next life.

Mummification

Mummification

Egyptian afterlife

• Heart gets weighed against the feather of truth. If heart is lighter than the feather go to Happy field of food.

• If heart weighs more than the feather. Get heart eaten by the crocodile eater of the dead

Tutankhamen

• Only tomb that we have found intact was the tomb of King Tutankhamen.

• It was found in 1922.

• This reveals to us how great the riches of these tombs must have been.

King Tut

King Tut

Ancient Egypt: A Center of Learning & Culture

Advances in Learning Advances in the Arts

Developed a form of picture writing called hieroglyphics.They were written on papyrus-plant used to make a paper like material.Know Hieroglyphics through the Rosetta Stone.

Doctors diagnosed and cured illnesses, performed surgery, and developed medicines still used today.

Developed 12-month calendar on which modern calendar is based.

Developed practical geometry.Skilled in design and engineering.

Statues, paintings, and writings tell us about ancient Egyptian values and attitudes.

Developed painting style that remained unchanged for thousands of years.

Wrote hymns and prayers to the gods, proverbs, love poems, stories of victory in battle, and folk tales.

Built pyramids and other great buildings, such as temple of Ramses II.

Rosetta Stone

Hieroglyphics

Class System in Ancient EgyptPHARAOHEarthly leader; considered a god

HIGH PRIESTS AND PRIESTESSESServed gods and goddesses

NOBLESFought pharaoh’s wars

MERCHANTS, SCRIBES, AND ARTISANSMade furniture, jewelry, and fabrics for pharaohs and nobles, and provided for other needs

PEASANT FARMERS AND SLAVESWorked in the fields and served the pharaoh