What are the four river valley civilizations and the rivers each is associated with?

Why did early man settle in river valleys?

Outline the differences between Hammurabi’s code and the 10 commandments.

World History 1

Mr. Driskell

►Most important geographic feature in Egypt is the Nile River

Red SeaNile River

►When a river flows into a larger body of water, it creates a triangular area called a delta.

►When a river flows into a larger body of water, it creates a triangular area called a delta.

►The Nile River, the longest in the world, flows north and dumps into the Mediterranean Sea.

N

►Every spring, the Nile River overflowed its banks, and flooded the surrounding landscape.

►This annual flood deposited a layer of soil called silt

►Silt is soil deposited by floods and is usually rich and fertile, good for growing crops.

►Because the Nile flooded regularly and quite gently, Egyptians were able to channelthe floods to irrigate crops and store water.

To supply with water by artificial means

►Egyptian history is divided into three major time periods:Old KingdomMiddle KingdomNew Kingdom

►2700 BCE – 2200 BCE

►Divine right to ruleDivine Right – belief that the Gods give a ruler the right to lead!

►Absolute power of the pharaoh

►Built the Great Pyramids at Giza which were tombs for Pharaohs

►Great Sphinx

Great Sphinx of Giza

►Pyramids were expensiveto build

►Power struggles

►Crop failures

►2050 BCE to 1800 BCE

►Turbulent, transitionalperiod marked by corruption, rebellion and chaos.

►Drained large areas of land to be used for farming

►Wheat and barley were main crops.

►Expanded territory by occupying land held by the Kush (Nubian) people in the southNubia was located on the upper (southern) Nile River (Africa)

►Greater contact with peoples of the Middle East

►Invasion by the Hyksos, an Asiatic people, who had horses and chariots

►1550 BCE to 1100 BCE

►Pharaohs once again powerful

►Two pharaohs expanded Egyptian territory by conquering more land

►Queen who ruled as pharaoh for 20 years

►Her reign was one of the most peaceful in Egyptian history

►Ruled for 67 years

►Built huge monuments and temples to himself to recognize his military feats

►Signed the world’s first peace treaty with the Hittites

Hittites – Bronze Age people of Anatolia (current day Turkey)

►New Kingdom Achievements:Number system based on 10

Geometry

Calendar

Medicine

►Highly structured, rigid class system with Pharoah (and family) at the top and unskilled workers at the bottom.

Rigid = unbending, unyielding, inflexible

There was NO social mobility or moving between social classes in ancient societies. Wherever you were born in the Pyramid of Power, you were going to die there.

►Women had more rights than most early societies

►Rights of WomenCould inherit property

Conduct business

Buy and sell goods

Go to court

Right to decide whether she

wished to marry

Obtain a divorce

Work outside the home

►Barriers to WomenNo government job

Not become a scribeScribes - trained individuals who could read and write

►Hieroglyphics – Egyptian writing, one of the world’s first written languages

Began as a pictographic language and

developed greater and greater

complexity.

►Rosetta Stone was discovered in the early 1800s.

►It had the same message carved in three different written languages: hieroglyphics, demotic (a simpler form), and Greek

►Solved mystery of hieroglyphics

►Polytheistic –many gods and goddesses

►Chief god –Amon-ReThe sun god

►Pharaoh – Egyptian king who was viewed as a god and was closely linked to Amon-Re

►It was the Pharaoh alone who was permitted to do ceremonies to Amon-Re

►Isis and Osiris – goddess and god whom people were able to relate to

►Osiris God of the underworld and

afterlife Controlled the flooding of the

Nile God of fertility

►Isis Wife of Osiris Was said to have taught people

how to grind corn, spin and weave and care for children

Particularly popular with women

►At death, Osiris would weigh the heart of the dead against the feather of truth

Fail – fed to the Eater of the Dead

Pass – move on to the Happy Field of Food

►Book of the DeadContained spells, charms, and formulas to aid the dead in their journey through the underworld

►People would be buried with copies of the Book of the Dead written on papyrus, a paper-like material made of a grass that grows commonly along the Nile.

►The afterlife was thought to be just like life so Egyptians buried their dead with all their personal belongings and preserved (or mummified) the remains.

Fun Fact:

Originally

only used for

Pharaohs

►Invaded by several different peoples including the Assyrians (Mesopotamia) and Persians (current day Iran).

►Finally fell to the Nubians (Kush) after the rule of Ramses II

►Nubians did not see themselves as conquerors, but as restorers of Egyptian civilization