Transcript Ancient History

Ancient History
As Humans scattered out and
populated Earth, they did so
as small hunter/gatherer
bands.
Then, about 10k years ago,
that changed.
People discovered
agriculture—the systematic
planting of food crops and
domestication of animals.
The First Agricultural Revolution
• Occurred at
around the same
time in five
different
locations:
Mesopotamia,
Egypt, India,
China and
Mesoamerica
The Neolithic Revolution
•
What was it?
– 8000 – 3500 BCE
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Why did it happen?
Dwindling game?
Why was it such a big deal?
More Food = More People
• Agriculture led to permanent settlements
(usually along rivers/lakes) and increased
population.
• More people living in smaller spaces
means greater opportunity for conflict and
growth.
• Growth= language, religion, society
• Conflict= crime, disease, disorder
Evolution of Civilization
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A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Key Traits of a
Civilization:
Growth of cities
Specialization
Written Language
Advanced
Technology
Complex Institutions
Growth of Cities (Urbanization)
1) Large urban
areas
2) Centers for
trade and
commerce
Primary Elements of Civilization
1) Urban Focus
o Cities become the center of CREPS*
development
2) Distinct Religious Structure
o Gods are crucial to success of civilization
3) New Political and Military Structures
o Organized government bureaucracy rises to
meet administrative needs of population
o Armies organized to gain land and power
*Cultural, Religious, Economic, Political, Social
Primary Elements of Civilization
(cont’d)
4) Social Structure based on economic power
o Top: Kings, priests, warriors, political leaders
o Free Common People: Artisans, farmers
o Bottom: Slaves
5) Development of Writing
o Used by upper class for record keeping
6) New and significant artistic and intellectual
activity
o For example, monumental architecture (religious)
7) Arable land and a good location
o Allows for food surplus, population growth, and
survival
Specialization (Skilled Labor)
1) Skilled Workers, called artisans
2) Trade amongst artisans for goods
Written Language
• Transitions human history from Prehistory
to History
Advanced Technology
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Wheel
Plow
Sailboat
metalworking
Complex Institutions
1) Government
2) Organized
religion
3) schools
Ancient Mesopotamia
“Land between the Rivers”
I.
Sumer—southern Fertile Crescent (4k-2k BC)
A. Civilization of city-states bound together by a
common culture
1) Sumerians believed to have migrated to the
region from Persia/central Asia prior to 5000
BC
A Hostile Land
B. Geography
1) Water—unpredictable flooding/drought
(too much or not enough)
Hostile Neighbors
2) Defense problems—open, flat land w/no
natural barriers for protection
Scarcity of Resources
3) Resources—limited
natural resources in
the region
• Lack of forests = no
wood
• Few mineral/metal
resources
• Dirt, rock and sand in
abundance
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Perseverance
C. Solutions
Water---irrigation systems
Defense—walled cities and standing armies
Resources—broad trading networks with other
regions
Enter the Supernatural
D. Religion
• polytheism—multiple gods
based on nature; classes and
rankings of gods
(Anu, Enlil and Ea)
• Human qualities and emotions
• Interference into human lives—
hostile/care
• Afterlife—”Land of No Return”;
no joy or emotion, bleak dismal
The Ziggurat
Ziggurat
Evolution of Religion in Sumer
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a)
b)
c)
d)
Ruling society of kings and
priests
Earliest society ruled by priests
In times of war, priest turned over
power to military leader
As wars became more
commonplace, turned to military
leadership more often
Evolved into a king who was
military leader/religious leader
E. Social Classes
• Upper Classes—royal
families, nobility,
priesthood
• Middle Classes—wealthy
merchants, scribes
• Lower Classes—
laborers, farmers
• Slaves—foreigners
captured in war, family
members sold into
slavery, criminals; not a
permanent situation
F. Decline and Fall
1) A millennium of war
(3000-2000 BC)
a) Kish
b) Uruk
c) Lagash
d) Umma
e) Ur
Collapse
• Overrun by foreign
invaders from the
north
• Foreign invaders
adopted Sumerian
culture and written
language
The First Empires
After the fall of
Sumer, a
series of
foreign
invasions
swept the
region.
The Akkadians
• Semitic nomads moved into
northern Mesopotamia and
settled at Akkad (just north of
the major Sumerian city-states)
around 5000 BC
• 2300 BC Sargon I seizes power
and launches invasions across
Mesopotamia
• Adopted Sumerian customs
while maintaining Akkadian
language
Akkadian Empire
• After the
death of
Sargon’s
grandson,
NaramSin, the
empire
began to
collapse.
The Amorites
• Another Semitic group from eastern Syria, the
Amorites, conquer the region
• Conquered the Sumerian city-states to the south
• Established capital at Babylon
• Greatest expansion and growth under King
Hammurabi
King and Lawgiver
• Strong leader who united most of
Mesopotamia
• Growth of trade and agriculture
• Hammurabi is most famous for
his written code of laws-282 sections with laws from
around the region—created a
type of equity of law
• Specific laws with harsh
punishments kept harmony
Babylonian Society
• Similar class system to Sumer with
laws/punishments differing for each class
• Borrowed heavily from Sumerian culture
and adopted cuneiform to their Semitic
language
Collapse of Babylon
• After Hammurabi’s
death, empire
collapsed
• Successors unable to
keep empire together
• Hittite invasion
destroyed Babylon
The Egyptians
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Kemet (Black Land) of the Nile River Valley
5000 BC, nomads began settling along the Nile
Farming villages that grew wheat and barley
Series of tribal kingdoms develop
The Two Kingdoms
• Early Egypt divided into
north and south
• Lower Egypt in the north
where Nile empties into
Mediterranean
• Upper Egypt in the south
bordering Ethiopia
• Narmer (Menes), king of
Upper Egypt conquered
Lower Egypt around 3000
BC w/capital at Memphis
The Old Kingdom
• 2700 BC to 2200 BC
the two kingdoms
began to merge
identities under one
central government
• Theocracy evolved
with a king and his
bureaucracy
• First pyramids built
during this time as
tombs for the kings
The Middle Kingdom
• Old Kingdom collapsed due to infighting of
nobles
• First Dark Ages from 2200 BC to 2050 BC
• New Dynasty seized power in 2050 BC to
establish the Middle Kingdom with capital
at Thebes
• Expansion of territory into Nubia (Sudan)
and Syria
The New Kingdom
• Around 1700 BC, invaders from southwest Asia
attacked Egypt, beginning the Second Dark Ages
• Hyksos conquered Egypt with bronze weapons
and horse drawn chariots (Egyptians fought on
foot with copper and stone weapons)
• Around 1600 BC, Ahmose led the revolt against
Hyksos rule and drove them out
• Ahmose was the first ruler of the New
Kingdom, first to use the title pharaoh
(great house of the king)
• Ahmose rebuilt Egypt to even greater glory
The Woman Pharaoh
• Around 1480 BC,
Hatshepsut came to power
when her husband
Thutmose II (her half
brother) died.
• Her stepson (born to
Thutmose II and a harem
girl) was too young to rule
• She became Regent of
Egypt
Hatshepsut
• About 7 years into her
regency, she proclaimed
herself pharaoh and wore
men’s clothing and the false
beard
• Why? Now believe there
were several coup attempts
against her and her stepson
• Had to take on the persona
of a male pharaoh to gain
legitimacy and acceptance
• Huge building programs under her reign,
including the Valley of the Kings
• Thutmose III became
pharaoh upon her death
• Unlike his stepmother,
focused on military and
conquest
• Conquered northern
Mesopotamia and parts
of central Africa
• Huge wealth came into
Egypt from conquered
areas
• After Thutmose III died,
series of weak pharaohs
brought about decline
• Saved from destruction
by Ramses II who fought
off Hittite invasion at the
Battle of Kadesh
• Treaty signed between
two nations calling for
truce and alliance
• After Ramses II died
in 1237 BC, Egypt
began to decline and
later destroyed by
Seafaring raiders
from the
Mediterranean
• Finally conquered by
Libyans from the
west and Kushites
from the south
Egyptian Culture and Society
• Similar to Sumer:
a) Upper class—nobility
and priests
b) Middle class—
artisans, merchants,
scribes
c) Lower class—farmers
and laborers
d) slaves
Religion
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Polytheistic
Greater focus on afterlife
Idea of god/king
Religion evolved over time to include afterlife for
all people
• Originally only royalty and nobility had an
afterlife, but by the New Kingdom the concept
was universal
Hieroglyphics
• Writing with pictures
• Also hieratic for day-to-day transactions
(simplified version)
• Scribes
• Papyrus paper
Other Advancements
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Mathematics—geometry
Calendar with 365 days
Embalming and surgeries
medicines