Transcript Chapter 12

Chapter 1
Ancient Near East:
The First Civilizations
The First Humans
Historians primarily use documents to create their pictures
of the past, but no written records exist for pre-history
– Prehistory relies on archeological & biological findings
Earliest human-like creatures (hominids) existed in Africa as
early as 3-4 million yrs ago (Australopithecines)
1.5 million yrs ago Homo Erectus (upright human being)
appeared
– Used more varied tools & 1st hominid to leave Africa for Europe &
Asia
250,000 yrs ago Homo Sapiens appear
100,000 B.C. – Neanderthals & Homo Sapiens Sapiens (1st
anatomically modern human)
– By 30,000 B.C., Homo Sapiens Sapiens had replaced Neanderthals
– 10,000 B.C. – H.S.S could be found all over the world
Hunter Gatherers of the Old Stone Age
Paleolithic (Greek for “old stone”) Age is the name for the
earliest period of human history (2.5 mil – 10,000 BC)
Spent most of their time hunting, migrating with the herds
of wild animals
500,000 BC – estimated beginning of systematic use of fire
– Food can be cooked & used for light & warmth
The Neolithic Revolution (10,000 BC – 4,000 BC)
The last ice age ended 10,000 BC and with it came great
change in the living patterns of early man
– Shift away from hunting-gathering
– Development of systematic agriculture
– Taming of animals
Once sustainable food sources developed, permanent
settlements appear & more complex societies develop
Emergence of Civilization
civilization – a complex culture in which large numbers of
human beings share a variety of common elements
Characteristics of a civilization:
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An urban focus
Distinct religious structure
Political & military structures
Social structure (usually based on economic power)
Development of a system of writing
Development of new forms of intellectual & artistic activity
Egypt & Mesopotamia were the forerunners of Western
civilization but 4 other civilizations developed in other
regions around the world 4,000-5,000 yrs ago
– Indus River Valley, Yellow River (China), Central Asia (modern
Turkmenistan) & Supe River Valley (Peru)
Civilization in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia – valley between the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers, Greek for “land between the rivers”
The founders of Mesopotamian civilization were the
Sumerians
– ~3000 B.C. – several independent cities had formed; as the cities
grew, they held economic & political power over the surrounding
countryside (forming city-states)
– Sumerian cities were walled to protect from invasion, buildings
were formed from mud bricks
Each city was believed to be owned by a specific god or
goddess
– The ziggurat (stepped temple) dominated the city
Sumerian city-states were effectively theocracies
As time passed, the priests’ ruling power was shared with a
king
Empires of Ancient Mesopotamia
~2340 B.C. – the Akkadian king, Sargon, attacked the
Sumerian city-states from the north
– The Akkadians are referred to as the Semitic people b/c of
the languages they spoke (p.9)
Sargon conquered all of Mesopotamia and west to the
Mediterranean
– After his death, Semitic lands were conquered by 2100 B.C.
Hammurabi’s Empire
Babylonian king, Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) reunited
Sumer & Akkad
– Best known for his code of law (The Code of Hammurabi p10)
– “Eye for an eye”
Religion (p.12) polytheistic, poor outlook of the afterlife
oldest examples of Sumerian writing date to 3000 BC
– Called cuneiform, used pictograms
– Only a very few were trained to write since it took so long to
master
– Literature was used for instructional purposes
Epic of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh, historic Sumerian ruler 2700 BC
– Seems to be part historical truth, part legend
Very pessimistic work
Projects the gods as vengeful and enemies of man
Raises questions about man’s mortality
Part of the story shares similarities with the biblical story
of Noah
Egyptian Civilization
Ancient Egypt developed along
the same time as
Mesopotamian civilization along
the Nile River
– The Nile runs out of central Africa
north for 1,000 miles to the
Mediterranian
– Flooding of the Nile was gradual &
predictable, making farming and
living easier than in Mesopotamia
Roughly 75% of the pop of
Egypt existed in the Nile Delta
Because of the predictability of
the annual flooding, Egyptians
had a more optimistic outlook
on the stability of life
The Old & Middle Kingdoms
Basic framework of Egyptian history provided by
Manetho, an Egyptian priest of the 3rd cent BC
Divided the history of the civilization into four periods
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Old Kingdom – (3100-2700 BC)
Middle Kingdom – (2125-2055 BC)
New Kingdom – (1550-1070 BC)
Late Period – (1070-30 BC)
3100 BC – Upper and Lower Egypt united under Menes
Old Kingdom (3-6 dynasties)
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age of great prosperity
greatest of the pyramids were built
pharaohs seen as gods
Had absolute rule but had to rule by ma’at (justice & truth)
Vizier ran the bureaucracy & nomarchs served as governors
Nomarchs could sometimes amass power that rivaled that
of the pharaoh
– The first Intermediate period resulted from rivalries
The Middle Kingdom (dynasties 11-12)
– Egyptians viewed the Middle Kingdom as a “golden age” of stability
– The view of pharaoh changed from god-king to a guide/shepherd of
the people
– Period when Egypt begins imperial expansion (Nubia, Near East)
Society & Economy
– Pharaoh – theoretically owned all of Egypt
– Nobles and Priests – ran the govt & performed religious rituals
– Merchants & Artisans – traders and craftsmen that sold goods all
up & down the Nile
– Farmers – paid taxes through crops & provided military service &
labor for building projects
Culture of Egypt
Spiritual Life
Egyptians had no word for
religion b/c it was such a big
part of all other aspects of life
Sun and land gods were
especially revered
– Re – sun god, pharaoh referred
to as “son of Re”
– Osiris – judge of the dead;
Book of the Dead (p. 20)
Pyramids
1st pyramid for Djoser (3rd Dyn)
Pyramids @ Giza for Snefru,
Khafre, Khufu
Tomb & symbol of royal power
Art & Writing
Egyptian art was functional, not just decoration
– Wall paintings and statues of gods & pharaohs strictly spiritual in
purpose
– Murals in tombs suppose to guide the soul into the afterlife
Writing emerged in Egypt during the 1st or 2nd dynasty
– Greeks later named it hieroglyphics “priest-carvings”
New Kingdom (dynasties 18-20)
During this time, Egypt became the most powerful empire of
the ancient Near East
Reached its height under Amenhotep III (1412-1375 BC)
– His son Amenhotep IV created religious upheaval when he closed
temples and abolished the gods, declaring a monotheistic religion
– Change d his name to Ahkenaten “servant of Aten”
– After his death, the old religion reinstated by Tutankhamen
Daily Life (p. 23-26)
On the Fringes of Civilization
Farming had spread into the Balkan Peninsula by 6500 BC
– By 4000 BC it had spread to southern France
– At the same time, Europeans were building megaliths (similar to
Stonehenge) a thousand years before the Egyptians were building
pyramids
Stonehenge itself was built 2100-1900 BC
– The 80 standing stones were 4 ton each & were transported 135
miles to the construction site
The term Indo-European refers to people who shared a parent
tongue (Greek, Latin, Persian, Sanskrit & Germanic)
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First Indo-Europeans based around modern Iran or Afgahnistan
Those that settled in Asia Minor formed the first Hittite kingdom
Hittite Empire formed around 1400 BC
First Indo-Europeans to use iron, fought with Egypt until Ramses II
worked out a treaty
– By 1190, Hittite power ended; but good example of assimilating
aspects of other cultures into their own