Transcript Egypt
Welcome to the
Ancient
Civilizations
70’s Dance Party!
Ancient Civilizations
70’s Dance Party!
• We need 2 Big Groups and 2 small groups (The
Movers & the Shakers) within the big group.
• Form 2 lines that face each other.
• Movers share ONE question from their list and
discuss the answer with their partner across the isle.
Repeat this process with the Shakers. (3.5 Mins)
• When time is up, the movers slide down one
position or (boogie down one position). Shakers stay
in place or Shake your groove thang!
• The Mover at the end of the line should boogie
down between the rows to the other end.
Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.
Why River Valleys?
• 1. Offered rich soils for
agriculture
• 2. Tended to be located in
places that could offer
protection from nomadic
invaders
The Fertile Crescent
• Arc of land
between the
Persian Gulf
and the
Mediterranean
Sea in
Southwest
Asia
One land…Two Rivers
• Mesopotamia means =
“land between the rivers”
– Tigris River and
Euphrates River
• Both rivers flooded once
a year and left thick bed
of silt.
– Silt: rich, new soil
farmers could plant
and harvest enormous
quantities of wheat
and barley
Religion & Politics
Power of the Priests
• Sumer’s earliest
governments were
controlled by temple priests
– Farmers believed they
needed blessings for
success of their crops
– Priests were the middle
man for the Gods
– Priests demanded portion
of farmer crops as tax
Political
• Later followed
Hereditary rulers:
when the power is
passed down to
family members
Sargon
City-state- an independent city
and it’s surrounding land.
•
For example Washington D. C. or Vatican
City in Rome.
MESOPOTAMIAN
CIVILIZATIONSS
LOCATION
TITLES
IMPORTANT
LEADERS
SUMER
SOUTHERN PART
OF
MESOPOTAMIA
FIRST
CIVILIZATION
OF THE
WORLD
UR – NAMMU
AKKAD
SOUTHERN PART
OF
MESOPOTAMIA
FIRST EMPIRE
OF THE
WORLD
SARGON I
BABYLONIA
CENTRAL PART
OF
MESOPOTAMIA
OLD
BABYLONIAN
EMPIRE
HAMMURABI
ASSYRIA
NORTHERN PART
OF
MESOPOTAMIA
SCOURGE OF
GODS
ASSURNASIRPAL
ASHURBANIPAL
CHALDEA
CENTRAL PART
OF
MESOPOTAMIA
NEW
BABYLONIAN
EMPIRE
NEBUCHADNEZZAR
Sargon of Akkad:
The World’s First Empire
[Akkadians]
Babylonian Empire
They overtook Sumerians around 2000 B.C.
And they built capital, Babylon, on Euphrates river
The Babylonian Empires
The most famous king of Babylonian Empire was
Hammurabi [1792-1750 B.C.]
Famous Code of Law
“the punishment
fits the crime” and
“eye for an eye”
He took all the laws of the region’s city-states and
unified them into one code. This helped unify the
region.
Hammurabi’s
Code
[r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.]
Economy
• Metal tools and weapons
(bronze, iron)
• Increasing agricultural
surplus (better tools, plows,
irrigation)
• Increasing trade along
rivers – traded with Egypt
• Development of the
world’s first cities
• Specialization of labor
Religion
• Polytheistic: Belief in Many
Gods (3,000!!!)
• Gods could be angered at
any moment and to keep
them happy Sumerians:
– Built impressive ziggurats
or temples to sacrifice
food, wine and animals
– Souls of the dead
wandered in the land of no
return
MORE
ZIGGURATS!!!
Sumerian Society
Kings and Priests
Wealthy merchants
Ordinary Sumerian people
Slaves
Women
• Could hold property
• Join lower ranks of
priesthood
• There were few women
scribes
– Scholars think that girls
were not allowed to
attend schools
Intellectual
Epic of Gilgamesh
• Myths and
legends recorded
in this long poem
• One of the
earliest works of
literature in the
world
Gilgamesh
•The Mesopotamians
believed that the dead
descended to a
gloomy underworld.
•This Epic contains a
different account of
the “Great Flood”.
“Gilgamesh, whither
are you wandering?
Life, which you look
for, you will never
find.
For when the gods
created man, they
let
Death be his share,
and withheld life
In their own hands”
Achievements
Science and
Technology
• Invented the wheel,
the sail, the plow
• First to use bronze.
• Developed system of
writing
• Built irrigation
systems, buildings,
surveyed flooded
fields.
Achievements
Science and
Technology
• Invented the wheel,
the sail, the plow
• First to use bronze.
• Developed system of
writing
• Built irrigation
systems, buildings,
surveyed flooded
fields.
Egypt
Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.
Egypt Unites
• In the
beginning,
Egypt was
separated into
two kingdoms:
–1. Lower Egypt
–2. Upper Egypt
Lower Egypt
Upper Egypt
King Menes
• Established a capital,
Memphis
• Established first
Egyptian Dynasty
• Unites Upper and
Lower Egypt
United
United lower and upper Egypt and wore a
crown that symbolized its united kingdom
Pharaohs
• Egyptian kings = pharaohs
• The Egyptians viewed their
pharaohs the same as the gods
–KINGS WERE GODS
• Stood as center of religion as well
as government and army
• Type of Government = Theocracy
Trade
• By 3200 BC, Egyptians were
trading with the Mesopotamians
• Also traded up and down the Nile
–Gold
–Ivory
–Cattle
–Granite blocks
Religion
• Polytheistic
• 2,000 gods and
goddesses
• Built huge temples
to honor gods
• Believed in
afterlife
–Osiris – god of the
dead
Video Link
Social
• Very different from the citystates of Mesopotamia
• Egypt’s united kingdom
allowed
–High degree of unity
–Stability
–Cultural continuity (staying the
same)
Life in Egyptian Society
Pharaoh
Royal Advisor
Priests
Traders/Merchants
Ordinary Citizens
Slaves
Intellectual
• Developed writing =
hieroglyphics
–Pictographic writing system
• Developed written numbers
for recording taxes
–Addition, subtraction
Achievements
• Knowledge in math = skillful
engineers
– Pyramids
– Palaces
• Egyptian Architects first to use stone
columns in homes, palaces and
temples
• 12 month, 365 day calendar from
studying the stars
– So accurate it was only 6 hours off from
today’s calendar year
Calendar/
Time
Piece
Geography
• Nile River – 4,132 miles long, flows
northward
• Every year in July the river flooded
REGULARLY leaving behind rich
soil.
• The Nile is the longest river in the
world!
• Forbidden Deserts on either side of
the Nile = Natural barriers
Desert = Dry
Water = Fertile/Green