Transcript Early Civilizations Chapter 2

The Civilizations of the River
Valleys
Early inhabitants called their
land kemet, or “black land”.
The soil was dark from the river
overflow. People still marvel at
the remains of modern Egypt

Understand why
Egypt was called
the “gift of the
Nile”








Monarchy
Dynasty
Theocracy
Bureaucracy
Pharaoh
Empire
Polytheism
Hieroglyphics





Narmer
Hatshepsut
Thutmose III
Akhenaton
Ramses II



Nile River Valley
Memphis
Thebes



Egypt receives little rainfall, but the Nile
overflows, flooding the land with rich top
soil--silt
Nile is world’s longest river: 4,160 miles
Niles flows north and empties into
Mediterranean Sea


Besides silt as a top soil, the Nile
provided people as early as 5000 B.C.
with fish, ducks, geese, etc
The papyrus growing along the river
produced rope, matting, sandals, and
paper-like writing material



Villages united into kingdom or
monarchies
Monarchies led to larger monarchies
Ultimately, there were two kingdoms
◦ Upper Egypt: North
◦ Lower Egypt: South




Narmer, known as Menses, united the
two kingdoms in 3000 B.C.
United kingdoms created a dynasty
From 3000 B.C. to 332 B.C., there were
30 dynasties
Three periods of dynasties
 Old Kingdom
 Middle Kingdom
 New Kingdom

2700 B.C. to 2200 B.C.
◦ Egyptian Monarchy
Regarded as a god
Both religious and political leader
Theocracy
Delegated many official duties to a bureaucracy,
group of government officials
 Monarch controlled taxes and trade





The Pyramids
◦ To honor their god-kings and provide lasting
resting place
◦ The Step Pyramid: first large, all stone building
in the world—overlooks Memphis
◦ Three pyramids of Giza: testament to
engineering skills
 The Great Pyramid stands 481 feet tall

Egyptians believed the king continued to
guide the kingdom after death
◦ Body was embalmed
◦ Body wrapped in linen and placed in coffin
◦ King’s clothing, weapons, furniture, and
jewelry were placed inside for enjoyment after
death

The Middle Kingdom: 2050 B.C. to 1800
B.C.
◦ Kings in Memphis lost power
◦ New united dynasty formed in the South at
Thebes
◦ Became stronger, capturing Nubia (part of
current Sudan)
◦ Canal constructed between Nile and Red Sea,
improving trade


During 1700s, local leaders challenged
the dynasties authority
Also, the Hyksos (HIHK*sahs), from west
Asia, conquered the Egyptians
◦ Had bronze weapons
◦ Ruled for 110 years

Ahmose (ah*MOH*sa), Egyptian prince,
drove the Hyksos out of Egypt
◦ Learned to use bronze weapons
◦ Fought using Hyksos tactics

Ahmose founded the term pharaoh,
“great house of the king”
◦ Ahmose devoted himself to construction
projects
◦ Later pharaohs conquered more territory


Around 1480 B.C., Queen Hatshesut
(hat*SHEHP*soot)
Ruled with her husband then herself
◦ Stepson too young to rule
◦ She was crowned pharaoh
◦ Wore false beard, traditional for pharaohs

Thutmose III (thoot*MOH*suh) her son,
conquered and empire for Egypt


Pushed the
empire into now
Syria and Iraq
Benefitted by the
diffusion of
different cultures

Akhenaton (AHK*NAH*tuhn) (“spirit of
Aton”) assumed power in 1370 (formerly,
Amenhotep (AH*muhn*HOH)
 Wife was Nefertiti
 Broke with tradition and worshipped only on
god, Aton, the sun god
 Claimed to be Aton’s equal
 Moved the capital from Thebes
 People didn’t like the changes



After his death, priests restore old
religion of many gods
Tutankhamen—successor—moved capital
to Thebes
Army overthrew dynasty and created new
one.

Ramses II reigned for 67 years and
brought wealth and prosperity to Egypt
◦ Has 62 sons
◦ Erected large statues to himself and vast
underground tomb


Ramses III: costly war with Syria
Egypt declined, split into two kingdoms
and controlled by Libyans and Kushites



Royalties, nobles, and priests formed top
of social order
Wealthy lived along the Nile in opulence
Middle class
◦ Artisans, scribes, merchants, and tax collectors
◦ Mostly in cities

Majority of Egyptians were poor farmers




In the cities, husband, wife and children
were family
Outside city, they added grandparents
and other relatives who helped farm
Children taught great respect for
parents—son was to maintain father’s
tomb
Old Kingdom literature protrayed women
as husband’s property



Women were respected as child bearers
Children respected mothers for bearing
them and nourishing them
More rights came to women later: testify
on court, divorce, could attain
prominence, etc.

Polytheism, the worship of many gods
◦ Often represented as part animal, part human
◦ Priests fostered the worship of specific gods
 Ra, the sun god
 Amon, depicted as a man holding a scepter
(sometimes had the head of a cobra)
 Joined the two: Amon-Ra

Osiris: life, death and rebirth of all living
things
◦ His wife was Isis, both ruled over life and death

Egyptians devoted much time to the next
world
◦ By the time of the New Kingdom, both rich and
poor could achieve eternal life

Hieroglyphics was their earliest writing
system
◦ Carved pictures and symbols on pieces of slate
◦ Stood for objects, ideas, and sounds
◦ Few people could read or write

Heiroglyphs fell from use and scientists
didn’t know meanings
◦ French soldiers in 1799 found the Rosetta
Stone, slab of stone near town of Rosetta
◦ Both Greek and Egyptian lettering
◦ Greek and Egyptian text matched


Many more religious works discovered
Egyptians also wrote secular works



Pyramids, temples, and other monuments
prove architecture and artistic
achievement
Developed number system for area and
volume
Geometry principles for measuring
flooded areas


Worked out accurate 365-day calendar
Developed medical procedures from
embalming
◦ Treating fractures, wounds, disease
◦ Wrote on papyrus scrolls
Chapter 2, Section 2



Terms to define: city-state, cuneiform
People to Meet: the Sumerians, Sargon I, the
Akkadians, Hammurabi
Places to Locate: Fertile Crescent,
Mesopotamia, Tigris and Euphrates Rivers


Around 5000 B.C., groups of people from
different regions began to migrate
People moved to Fertile Crescent, land
between Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf
◦ Parts of modern nations of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon,
Turkey, Syria, and Iraq

Some ended up in Mesopotamia, eastern part
of Fertile Crescent

Mesopotamia—
between the Tigris
and Euphrates
Rivers
◦ Mesopotamia—”land
between the rivers”



Tigris and Euphrates Rivers similar to Nile;
overflow with silt
Unlike the Nile, overflows were not
predictable
But by 4000 B.C., the rivers were producing
abundance of crops

The Sumerians
arrive in Sumer,
lower part of Tigris
–Euphrates in 3500
B.C.
◦ From central Asia or
Asia Minor
◦ Created world’s first
cities



By 3000 B.C., the
Sumerians had
formed 12 citystates
City-states were
cities with
surrounding lands
Sumerians built a
ziggurat (temple)
for each city-state





Each city-state
governed separately
First, civilians
governed, then
military
City-states merged,
then kings evolved
Kingships became
hereditary
Temple of Ur (right)


Sumerian king
served as both
military leader and
high priest
Monarchies and
theocracies


Men had authority
over wives and
children
Could sell them
into slavery if he
needed to get out
of debt


Commerce and
trade dominated
Sumerians
Archaeologists
think writing
system is oldest in
the world—
cuneiform
(kyoo*NEE*uh*FAW
RM)

Cuneiform
◦ Wedge shaped markings made by pressing
sharpened reed against clay
◦ Became more “script” over the years
◦ Basis for alphabet systems of writing
◦ Scribes using cuneiform rose high in society
◦ Gilgamesh epic thought to be oldest story in the
world

Polytheistic
◦ Presided over specific natural forces—rain, moon,
air
◦ Each city-state claimed its own god
◦ Thought gods cared little for humans and needed
to be appeased
◦ Afterlife was dark under world and no chance for
happy afterlife








Wagon wheel
Arch, for sturdier buildings
Potters wheel to shape clay
Sundial to keep time
Numbering system based on 60
Twelve-month calendar
First to make bronze out of tin and copper
“history begins in Sumer”—one historian


Mesopotamia conquered and reconquered
Sargon of the Akkadians was first
◦
◦
◦
◦
One of nomadic groups
From Arabian Peninsula
Conquered all city-states and united Mesopotamia
Empire disintegrated after his and grandson’s death

Kingdom of Ebla in
northern Syria
◦ Clay tablets left
behind describe
prosperous kingdom
lasting past 2000
B.C.

Hammurabi’s Babylonian Empire
◦ Amorites overran Sumerian centers
◦ Produced strong ruler—Hammurabi
 Babylon became major trade center
 Produced grain and cloth

Hammurabi’s Law
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Perhaps his greatest achievement
Consisted of 282 sections
Clear actions against violations
Harsh approach
“an eye for an eye”
Crimes became the concern of the entire
community—individual revenge not needed


After Hammurabi’s death, Babylon declined
Chaldeans in 600 B.C. brought Babylon back
Chapter 2, Section 3




Indus River Valley reached its height about
2500 B.C. to 1500 B.C.
Terms to Define: subcontinent, monsoon
People to Meet: the Harappans
Places to Locate: Indus River Valley, Harappa,
Mohenjo-Daro


India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh
Subcontinent of South Asia

Archaeologists
named the
settlement “the
Harrapan
civilization”
The Harapans built
oven brick homes



Indus River Valley
people traded with
the Mesopotamians
Pictograms used as
language
Possible climate
change caused
collapse
Chapter 2, Section 3



Terms to define: mandate
People to meet: Yu the Great
Places to locate: Huang He Valley, Anyang


Lack of outside contact allowed the Chines to
develop one culture and develop national
identity
China has the oldest continuous civilization in
the world

Three major rivers
◦ Huang He (HWONG HUH) (“the great sorrow”)
◦ Chang Jiang (CHAHNG JYAHNG) also known as
Yangtze
◦ Xi Jiang (SHEE JYAHNG)

River silt deposits make great agriculture






Very little known
Neolithic life uncovered
Findings date back to earlier than 5000 B.C.
Shang kings were both political and religious
leaders
Few people could read or write
Seven capital cities identified under Shang
Dynasty


Shang Dynasty rulers militarily weak
Around 1000 B.C. , Wu killed the Shang king
and established a new dynasty
◦ Lasted 800 years

Chinese believed their rulers governed from
mandate (authority) of heaven