Transcript North Africa & Southwest Asia

North Africa & Southwest Asia
Early Cultures
Egypt, in North Africa, and
Mesopotamia, in Southwest
Asia, were the earliest known
human civilizations.
The earliest civilizations date back
only about 5,000 years.
Mesopotamia, the site of the
first permanent human
settlement, grew between the
Tigris River and the Euphrates
River. Today, Syria and Iraq
occupy this area.
Mesopotamia and other early
civilizations are known as the
Bronze Age because of their
use of metal bronze, a mixture
copper and tin.
The people of Mesopotamia built
irrigation systems to control
flooding. They also developed a 12month calendar based on the
phases of the moon to better
predict the coming of the flood
waters. Barley, and possibly wheat,
were grown for the first time. The
plow was used here for the first
time, as well.
A city-state was made up of the
city and the farmland around it.
City-states were theocracies.
A theocracy was a form of
government ruled by an
individual who was both the
religious leader and the king.
These priest-kings had almost
absolute power.
A theocracy is a form of
unlimited government.
Empire-group of states under
one ruler
Babylon’s greatest king,
Hammurabi, wrote a set of laws
known as the Hammurabi Code.
The Babylonians developed a
number system based on 60.
We have borrowed the 60
minute hour, the 60 second
minute, and the 360 degree
circle from the Babylonians.
The Phoenicians were one of
the most important traders.
They were located mainly in
what is today Lebanon. They
developed an alphabet that
gave rise to the Hebrew, Greek,
and Latin alphabets still in use
today.
Ancient Egypt
Egypt grew out of a river valley,
the Nile.
The Nile River is the longest
river in the world. It runs north
from its source for 4,160 miles.
At the Mediterranean Sea it
forms a great delta.
Delta-a fan-shaped or triangular
piece of richly fertile land.
Pharaoh means great house
which probably refers to their
lavish or fancy palaces.
Polytheistic means many gods.
This describes most religions of
ancient times. The pharaoh
ruled as a god, so Egypt’s
government was a theocracy
like Mesopotamia.
Important Egyptian gods
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Horus-god of light
Hapi-river god
Re-sun god
Osiris-god of the harvest and eternal life
Egyptians embalmed
(preserved immediately after
death) the bodies of their dead.
They embalmed their dead
because they believed in life
after death, and they did not
think the soul could exist without
the body.
The mummies of poor people
were buried in caves or in the
desert sand. Rich people’s
mummies were placed in coffins
in very elaborate tombs. Many
of these tombs contained
fabulous treasures.
The biggest tombs were called
pyramids, and they belonged to
the pharaohs.
Ancient Egyptian system of
writing is called hieroglyphics, a
form of picture writing with
about 800 signs. Language
experts only learned to read
hieroglyphics in 1821.
Hatsheptsut was the first female
pharaoh.
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
are major world religions. All
three are examples of
monotheism-the belief in one
supreme god.
Judaism is the oldest of these
three religions. It was first
practiced by the Israelites.
Today the followers of Judaism
are known as Jews. Their holy
book is known as the Torah.
Judaism important holy days
Rosh Hashanah-New Year’s Day
on the Jewish calendar
Yom Kippur-the holiest day in
Judaism, also called the Day of
Atonement, Yom Kippur is
observed by a 24-hour period of
prayer and fasting.
Christianity is the world’s largest
religion. It is made up of people
called Christians. Their holy
book is known as the Bible.
Christians were persecuted in
the Roman Empire until about
A.D. 300. Then the emperor,
Constantine the Great,
proclaimed Christianity was to
be a lawful religion. At this point,
Christians were no longer
persecuted.
Like all great empires, Egypt
grew weak and was eventually
conquered by the Greeks and
Romans.
The spread of Christianity was
achieved through the work of
individuals and missions. The
teachings of Jesus were carried
across the globe by
missionaries who built
churches, schools, and
hospitals to take care of new
Christians.
Europe, especially Rome and
Constantinople, became the
center of Christianity. For
hundreds of years the Christian
church shared power with the
rulers of many nations of
Europe.
Important events in the life of Jesus
• Jesus’ birth
• Palm Sunday-when Jesus entered
Jerusalem in triumph
• Good Friday-day of his crucifixion, death
on the cross
• Easter-the day Jesus rose from the dead,
the most important day of the Christian
calendar
Islam is the world’s second
largest religion. The followers of
Islam are called Muslims. The
Muslim holy book is the Koran.
There are three holy cities in
Islam: Mecca, Madinah, and
Jerusalem.
Ramadan
• A very important holiday on the Muslim
calendar.
• In this month, according to Muslim beliefs,
God began to reveal the Koran to
Muhammad.
• Muslims observe Ramadan by fasting from
dawn to sunset and refraining from any
acts that take their attention away from
God.