The Ancient Near East’s Earliest Empires
c. 2300 B.C. - c. 300 B.C.
How were empires of the ancient Near East governed? How do empires rise, how are they maintained, and what causes them to fall?
MAP OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE
Akkadian Empire• Sargon was the leader of the
Akkadians.
• first empire in world history (empire = a large political unit or state, usually under a single leader, that controls many peoples or territories)
• Sargon’s empire included all of Mesopotamia and lands westward to the Mediterranean.
• Sargon’s empire is known as having “no rival or equal”.
• Sargon used the former rulers of conquered city-states as governors.
• One of Sargon’s successors, Naram-Sin, declared himself a god.
Babylonian Empire• Hammurabi gained control of Sumer and
Akkad, creating a new Mesopotamian kingdom with Babylon as the capital.
• Hammurabi called himself “the sun of Babylon, … the king who caused the four quarters of the world to render obedience.”
• Hammurabi created The Code of Hammurabi which was the first set of written laws. The laws were based on a system of strict justice and contained harsh punishments for breaking the laws. A civilian’s social structure had an impact on the severity of the punishment. For example, a crime against a noble by a commoner was punished more severely than the same offense against a member of the lower class.
• Patriarchal society (men dominated) ex. a woman who’s husband died was expected to burn with her husband
The Hyksos• The Hyksos used horse-drawn
war chariots to overwhelm the Egyptian soldiers, who fought from donkey carts.
• The Hyksos taught the Egyptians how to use bronze in the making of their farming tools and their weapons and introduced them to horse-drawn war chariots.
• The pharaoh Ahmose I defeated and expelled the Hyksos from Egypt. He reunited Egypt and established the New Kingdom.
Akhenaten’s Attempt at Religious Changes
• The pharaoh Amenhotep IV introduced the worship of Aten, god of the sun disk, as the sole god.
• Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaten, “Servant of Aten,” and closed the temples of other gods.
• The people didn’t accept this monotheistic belief and were already accustomed to being a polytheistic civilization.
• After Akhenaten’s death Tutankhamen restored the old gods.
The Kingdom of Kush• The collapse of the New Kingdom
enabled Nubia to free itself and become the independent state of Kush.
• Kush conquered Egypt in 750 B.C.
• The Assyrians drove the Kushites out of Egypt and back to their original lands in the upper Nile Valley.
• Kush grew to be very involved in trading. The Kushites, having learned iron smelting from the Assyrians, made iron weapons and tools that were sent abroad. The major exports of Kush were ivory, gold, body, and slaves.
The Assyrian and Persian Empiresmore involved in fighting and
war
more peaceful
included Mesopotamia, Egypt, Asian Minor, and present day
Turkey
located in present day SW Iran and western India
mixture of different cultures
invaded Egyptfirst well organized government
primarily nomadicpolytheistic monotheistic
semitic languagecreated first library
Royal Road
efficient communication
systemsmonarchy
(absolute power)strong military
use of iron weapons
οι αρχαίοι Έλληνες
c. 1600 B.C. - c. 133 B.C.
How can geography influence political organization? How can cultural and political differences lead to conflict and change?
(The Ancient Greeks)
Greece’s Geography
• About 80% of Greece is mountainous.
• Greece consists of numerous islands.
• Because of the geography, civilizations located in different parts of Greece were isolated from each other, which resulted in different cultures.
Mycenaean Civilization• part of the Indo-European
family of peoples who spread into Europe and Asia
• made of powerful monarchies
• the royal family lived inside the walls of the civilization, while the civilian population lived outside the walls (shows superiority of royal family compared to the rest of society / social structure)
• prided themselves on their heroic deeds in battle
The Lion Gate (main entrance)
Iliad vs. the Odyssesy
epic poemsbased on
stories that had been passed down from
generation to generation
Homer used stories of the Trojan War to
compose these
the tale of the Greek hero Achilles and how his anger
led to disaster
contains the story of the Greek hero
Odysseus, after the fall of Troy, and his ultimate
return to his wife
considered masterpiecestaught the values of courage and honorwritten by Homer
Greek Expansion
• Between 750 B.C. and 550 B.C. an abundant amount of Greeks left their homeland to settle in distant lands.
• Each new Greek colony became a new Greek polis (the early Greek city state, consisting of a city or town and its surrounding countryside), independent of the polis that had founded it.
GREECEexports imports
• pottery • wine • olive oil • (fish)
• grains • metals • slaves • fish • wheat • timber
Athens Sparta• started new colonies • idea of advancing
politically and economically
• strong government • oligarchy (one or two
rulers / democracy) • arts • council of 500 • better navy • “rule of many” • planned to remain
behind city’s walls for defense
• conquered other towns • idea of isolation • military / war is most
important • oligarchy • valued stability • feared the growing
Athenian empire • council of 38 and 2 kings • stronger army • “rule of few” • “highly self-disciplined” • surrounded Athens’ walls
for offense
(calm)(artsy)
SOCIAL GROUP ROLES AND RIGHTS
adult male citizens
adult male foreigners
slaves
women citizens
men that were 18+ could vote and they were involved in all decision making, assembled, required to serve in the
military
received protection of the laws, served in military
no voting, practically no rights, job = work for rich / successful, public construction
no voting, responsible for having children (especially boys because they had to
serve in the military when they turned 18), expected to remain at home, had to have a guardian if they left the house, couldn’t own property, women weren’t allowed to
get an education, no formal job
Greek = Polytheistic• Zeus = god of all gods
• Olympus = where he lived
• Athena = wisdom
• Apollo = sun
• Artemis = moon and beauty
• Ares = war
• Aphrodite = love
• Poseidon = water and earthquakes
• Hades = underworld (not on quiz)
• Nike = goddess of victory
Socrates Plato Aristotle
Views on the Purpose of Philosophy
to improve oneself fascinated with reality / train the mind investigate
Views on human nature and nature
of the world
believed that all real knowledge is already
present within each person
a higher world of unchanging forms has
already existed
things were only physical and they did not exist in a
higher world / didn’t accept Plato’s theory of ideal
forms
Views on Government
questioned authority / soon got him in trouble
The Republic (upper class, middle class, lower class) /
people have different motivations
government that would rationally direct human
affairs
Discussion Notes
• How did marathon get its name? A man named Pheidippides ran 26.2 miles from Marathon to Athens to share the news that they beat the Persians.
• Democracy = theory = “rule by people”
• Direct Democracy = action of voting
Greek Culture
• their religion focused on the will of gods and goddesses
• Greek architecture focused on a standard of ideal beauty
• the study of history began with the Greeks
ancient Greece amphitheater
Alexander and the Hellenistic Era
• the Macedonians and Greeks attacked the Persians and established a large empire
• Alexander the Great is remembered for leaving a political, economical, and cultural legacy.
• Alexander the Great’s empire was succeeded by Hellenistic kingdoms.
• Hellenistic cities were known for being centers of culture.
Essential Questions
• What was discovered to be the center of the universe?
• Is the earth round or flat? Was this theory accepted? Why or why not?
• What advancements were made in math?
• Did the Hellenistic Era see religion worship?
• What was Alexander “Great”?
Picture Sources• https://www.pinterest.com/pin/14566398770228214/
• http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/hammurabi
• http://www.mummies2pyramids.info/history-civilization/hyksos.htm
• https://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/f0obp/til_akhenaten_a_pharaoh_who_eradicated_from/
• http://microcosomofenlightenment.weebly.com/ancient-nubian-kingdom-kush.html
• https://greeceprojectjadick.wikispaces.com/Physical+Geography
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycenaean_Greece
• https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/how-has-greek-influenced-english-language
• http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-greece/pictures/greek-architecture/ruins-of-the-theater-of-ephesus
• http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html
• https://www.pinterest.com/mfmennis/maps-of-ancient-empires/
• http://www.slideshare.net/srinaldipds/maps-ancient-and-medieval-history
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