Transcript Western Asia and Egypt

Fertile Crescent
hierarchy
ziggurat
theocracy
cuneiform
dynasty
bureaucracy
pharaohs
mummification
hieroglyphics
monotheistic
Torah
covenant
prophets
Diaspora
. Locate and identify on a map the Fertile Crescent, Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers, Nile River, Sumer, Jerusalem, Egypt, Cairo and Thebes.
3200 – 500 B.C.
The Fertile Crescent
Ancient Middle East
 Mesopotamia- the valley between the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers (modern-day Iraq)




Fertile Crescent
Annual flooding of the river systems
rich deposits of silt = plentiful crops (wheat and barley)
plentiful crops = cities = civilization
The Sumerians settled into Mesopotamia by about
3300 B.C.
•
What were the three main problems that confronted
the Sumerians?
1.
2.
3.
•
Sumerian solutions to these problems?

city-states- cities with political and economic control
over their surrounding lands and villages
The city states were independent
 They were often dynastic
 However, they shared a common culture


Religion-The Sumerians believed in many gods,
each having influence over some force of
nature. They also believed that the people
were servants of the gods.
 En (one with great authority)
-Ensi
-Enlil

theocracy

ziggurat

Sumerian society was divided into three classes (a social
hierarchy existed)
1.
2.
3.
Sumerian society was patriarchal.
Sumerian Contributions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Demise of the Sumerian city-states and the Rise of
Empire


Fighting between the various city-states resulted in the
weakening of Sumer, making it susceptible to foreign
attack.
Sargon and the Akkadian Empire- 2300 B.C.
 Fighting between the cities resumed by 2100 B.C.
• The Babylonian warlord
Hammurabi, 1790 B
• Hammurabi’s Code
 Hammurabi’s death in 1750 B.C

Hittites




Nomadic, Indo-European speaking people
expanded into Mesopotamia by c. 1400 B.C.
used iron to make tools and weapons*
incorporated an improved horse-drawn chariot
The Hittite empire collapsed by c. 1200 B.C.

Assyrians
est. an empire by 1350 B.C. and expanded around 1100 B.C.
 organized large armies
 demanded tribute from conquered territories and city-states
 King Assurbanipal (669-c.630 B.C.)


Babylon



Nabopolassar (r.625-605 B.C.),
revived the city-state of
Babylon in about 625 B.C.
By about 612 B.C, neighboring
peoples and disgruntled
subjects overtook the faltering
Assyrian Empire
Nebuchadnezzar (r.605-562
B.C.), expanded Babylon to
include territories from the
Persian Gulf to the
Mediterranean Sea (Babylonian
Empire)


In 539 B.C., Babylon fell to the Persian armies
of Cyrus the Great.
Cyrus and his successors built the largest
empire yet seen.

Darius (r.522-486 B.C.) accomplished the unification of
the Persian empire in about 522 B.C.

The Persian Empire eventually controlled territory
that stretched from Asia Minor to India, including
present-day Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan, and
Pakistan. The Persians were respectful and tolerant of
the various groups in their empire.
“Good thoughts, good words, good deeds”
Zoroaster, c. 600 B.C.
Ancient Egypt
The early civilization known as Egypt arose in East
Africa along the Nile River.
•
Nile River
•
•
•
•
•
Annual flooding of the Nile River Valley
“Black Land”
“Red Land”
Transportation Route
Egypt’s Defensive barriers
•
•
•
•
Deserts on the east and west sides of the Nile River
The Red Sea to the East
The Mediterranean Sea to the north
Cataracts (rapids) on the southern part of the Nile River
•
Egypt is noted as having been the most stable region of the
ancient world. Its continuity was based on the pharoah’s
and the priests’ ability to predict the Nile River’s annual
flood.
•
Upper and Lower Egypt
•
Menes, 3100 B.C.
The Egyptian Gods (Heliopolis)
•
•
Geb [Earth]- and his sister/wife
Nut [Sky]- gave birth to two sets of twins
1. Osiris [the Nile River, the God of the Dead] and his
sister/wife Isis [the fertile soil of Egypt, the star Sirius
2. Seth [Disorder, the God of Foreign Places] and his
sister/wife Nephtys
•
The son of Isis and Osiris was Horus [the pharoah, the
Fruit of the Land]
Egyptian monarchs were commonly referred to as
pharaoh [“palace” or “great house”]. The Egyptians
dated their histories by dynasties of pharaohs. The
early dynasties, those prior to about 2700 B.C., were
likely to have been mythical.
Egyptian History is divided into three main periods of
long-term stability:
 Old Kingdom 2575-2130 B.C. (Pyramid Kingdomwith capital at Memphis)
Memphis
 Pharaoh and his bureaucracy
 The Great Pyramid
 Mummification
 150 years of decentralization


Middle Kingdom 1938-1630 B.C. (Golden Age).




Thebes
Expansion into Nubia, Palestine, and Syria
The Hyksos and their technology
New Kingdom 1539-1075 B.C.





Hatshepsut (r.1503-1482 B.C.)
Thutmose III
Akhenaton
Tutankhamen
Ramses II (r. 1279-1213 B.C.)

Egyptian Society
1.
2.
3.
How do we know about the Ancient Egyptians?




Translations into Greek
Archaeologists
Hieroglyphics and hieratic script- Rosetta Stone and papyri
Herodotus and Thucydides
Egyptian Contributions:
The Origins of Judaism
 Abraham






Mesopotamia to Cannan (Israel)
Isaac
Jacob from Israel to Egypt, Land of Goshen
The religion of the Israelites (Hebrews) was unlike the Egyptian
religion. It was monotheistic.
Moses and the Torah
Kingdom of Israel (emerged between 1200 and 1000 B.C.)








King David (1010-970 B.C.)- unified the Israeli tribes
King Solomon (970-930 B.C.) Ancient Israel was at the height of its
power.
Jerusalem- capital of Israel; the Holy Temple
Decline of the Kingdom of Israel (division- north and south)
Judah and Israel
722 B.C., the Assyrian conquests (Israel scattered)
586 B.C., Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar (the temple in Jerusalem was
destroyed; Diaspora)
539 B.C., Cyrus the Great and Persia (religious tolerance, return to
Israel (Judah)
Ancient Middle East and Egypt Vocabulary















Fertile Crescent- crescent-shaped region of fertile land that extends from
the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf
hierarchy- a system in which people are ranked one above the other
according to status or authority
ziggurat- temple structure associated with ancient Mesopotamia
theocracy- the belief that gods ruled cities
cuneiform- a system of writing that used wedge-shaped marks
dynasty- ruling family
bureaucracy- system of government that includes different job functions
and levels of authority
pharaohs- ancient Egyptian kings
mummification- the preservation of dead bodies by embalming and
wrapping them in cloth
hieroglyphics- system of writing in which pictures called hieroglyphs
represent objects, concepts, or sounds
monotheistic- believing in one god
Torah- the most sacred text of the Hebrew Bible, including its first five
books
covenant- a binding agreement; specifically, in Jewish tradition, the
binding agreement God made with Abraham
prophets- spiritual leader who interprets God’s will
Diaspora- the spreading of Jews beyond their historic homeland