Ancient Civilizations

1
Ancient Civilizations

• Chris Anderson
• Randolph-Henry High School
• Charlotte County
• andersoncm_at_ccps.k12.va.us

2

• Most ancient civilizations developed along rivers
  or in river valleys
• Theses early civilizations made many important
  contributions to the world

3
Ancient Egyptians

• What do you think of when you hear Egypt?

4
Ancient Egyptians

• The ancient Egyptians built their civilization
  along the Nile River
• The river flows from South to North
• The river starts in the mountains of central
  Africa and empties into the Mediterranean Sea
• A large delta exists at the mouth of the river

5
Ancient Egyptians

• Gifts of the Nile
• The Nile River valley is lush and greena sharp
  contrast to the desert around the Nile
• The river banks are covered with rich, fertile
  soil
• The Nile floods predictably, leaving behind rich
  silt on the river banks
• The river is also home to water fowl, fish, and
  useful plants (papyrus)

6
Ancient Egyptians

• Menes (Narmer) united Upper and Lower Egypt,
  creating Egypts first dynasty around 3000 BC
• From this beginning, 30 dynasties will ruled
  Egypt over the next 2700 years
• This 2700 year period has been divided into 3
  sub-categories
• Old Kingdom
• Middle Kingdom
• New Kingdom

7
Ancient Egyptians

• Egyptian kings were the political leader and
  religious leadermaking Egypt a theocracy
• Kings also used a bureaucracy to help handle
  other tasks
• Tax collection
• Trade
• Construction projects

8
Ancient Egyptians

• Old Kingdom
• Lasted from 2700-2200 BC
• Pyramids built during the Old Kingdom
• Burial tombs for kings
• Started as simple rectangular burial tombs called
  mastabas
• Later kings wanted their tombs to be even more
  elaboratebuilt a mastaba on top of another
  mastabacreating step pyramids

9
Ancient Egyptians
10
Ancient Egyptians

• Eventually, the architects wanted to create
  smoother pyramids
• The first attempts were not perfect

11
Ancient Egyptians

• They did get it right in the endthe Pyramids of
  Giza

12
Ancient Egyptians

• Old Kingdom Egyptians started the tradition of
  mummification
• At first, only reserved for royalty and the
  wealthy
• The process lasted 40 days
• Involved removing organs to help remove water
  from the body
• Spices and salts were used to dry the body
• The preserved body was wrapped in linen and
  placed in a sarcophagus (stone coffin)
• The body was placed in its tomb with the deceased
  worldly possessions.

13
Ancient Egyptians
14
Ancient Egyptians

• Middle Kingdom
• 2200 BCEgyptian kings began losing powerthe
  kingdom started to crumble
• 2050 BCa new dynasty took powerushering in the
  Middle Kingdom
• The middle kingdom ran from 2050 until 1800 BC

15
Ancient Egyptians

• The new kings made many improvements
• Expanded the kingdom into parts of Syria
• Cleared more land for agriculture
• Constructed more irrigation systems

16
Ancient Egyptians

• But the dynasty will only be short lived
• Noble wanted powercausing a civil war
• The civil war allowed an outside group to take
  over Egyptthe Hyksos
• The Hyksos were able to conquer the Egyptians
  because they had better weaponsmade of bronze
• Hyksos ruled Egypt for 110 years

17
Ancient Egyptians

• New Kingdom
• 1600 BCAhmose (an Egyptian Prince) led a revolt
  against the Hyksos, driving them out of Egypt
• The Egyptians used the Hyksos bronze weapons and
  fighting style to drive the Hyksos out of Egypt
• Ahmose established a new dynastyushering in the
  New Kingdom
• All kings after Ahmose were called pharaoh

18
Ancient Egyptians

• 1480 BCEgypt had its first female
  pharaohHatshepsut
• 1370 BCpharaoh Amenhotep IV and his wife
  Nefertit attempted to change the religion Egypt
  into a monotheistic designworshipping only 1
  god
• Their attempts nearly destroyed Egypt
• 1200 BCthe great Ramses II became pharaoh and
  ruled for 67 years
• By 945 BCEgypt was weak and fell to the Lybians
  and Kush

19
Ancient Egyptians

• Egyptian Culture
• The Egyptians were polytheistsworshipped lots of
  gods
• Gods were part animal and part human
• Believed in an afterlife

20
Ancient Egyptians
21
Ancient Egyptians

• Egyptians developed a writing system called
  hieroglyphicspicture writing

22
Ancient Egyptians

• The discovery of the Rosetta Stone allowed
  historians to decode the hieroglyphics

23
The Fertile Crescent

• While the Egyptians were building their
  civilization, people were creating civilizations
  in the Fertile Crescent
• The area stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to
  the Persian Gulf
• Included the modern nations of Israel, Jordan,
  Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq

24
The Fertile Crescent
25
The Fertile Crescent

• Most people settled in one particular area of the
  Fertile CrescentMesopotamia
• Mesopotamia literally means land between 2
  rivers
• Located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

26
The Fertile Crescent
27
The Fertile Crescent

• The Two Rivers
• Both rivers start in Eastern Turkey and run,
  nearly parallel, to the Persian Gulf
• The rivers flood, but unpredictablyvery
  dangerous for the people living in the area
• Early Mesopotamian villages worked together to
  tame the rivers
• Built dams and canals

28
The Fertile Crescent

• 1. Sumerians
• 3500 BCSumerians migrated into Mesopotamia and
  created a civilization called Sumer
• Sumer is known as the birthplace of the 1st
  cities
• The Sumerians created city-statesa city and all
  of the surrounding land with its own, independent
  government

29
Sumer
30
The Fertile Crescent

• Each Sumerian city-state was politically
  independent of the others
• Yet, each city-state shared common cultural
  attributes
• Language
• Religion
• Zigguratsstone temples

31
The Fertile Crescent
32
The Fertile Crescent

• Sumerians also created a writing systemcuneiform
• Started as pictograms, but evolved a type of
  script
• Marks were made on wet clay with a sharp,
  wedge-tipped reed

33
The Fertile Crescent
34
The Fertile Crescent

• Only scribes could read and write the cuneiform
• They learned their craft in eddubas--schools

35
The Fertile Crescent

• Sumerian Culture
• Sumerians were polytheists
• Sumerian were inventorsthey invented
• Wagon wheel
• Arch
• Potters wheel
• Sundial
• 12 month calendar
• Bronze
• Metal plow

36
The Fertile Crescent

• 2. Akkadians
• The Akkadians took over the Sumerian city-states
  in the 2000s BC
• The Akkadians were led by a powerful kingSargon
  I

37
The Fertile Crescent

• Sargon expanded the kingdom of Akkad
• He united all of Mesopotamia under his rule
• He also expanded trade in his empire
• After his death, the kingdom was unable to
  sustain itself gradually fell apart

38
The Fertile Crescent

• 3. Babylonians
• The Babylonian civilization was established by
  the Amorites
• The most powerful Babylonian king was Hammurabi

39
The Fertile Crescent

• Hammurabi made many accomplishments
• United all of Mesopotamia under his rule
• Turned Babylon into an international center of
  trade
• He is most famous for his set of written
  lawsHammurabis Code
• 282 sections covering all aspects of life
• Very strictan eye for an eye

40
Trading Civilizations

• The Egyptians and Mesopotamian peoples had great
  influence over other civilizations of the Middle
  Eastern region
• Trading civilizations developed and traded with
  the Egyptians and Mesopotamian civilizations
• Aramaeans
• Phoenicians
• Lydians

41
Trading Civilizations

• 1.) Aramaeans
• 1200 BCsettled in central Syria
• Created capital at Damascus
• Spoke a Aramaic
• Politically and militarily weak
• Constant feuding between the ruling classes
• Very active in the land trade in the Middle East
• Controlled the land trade between Egypt and
  Mesopotamia
• Became very rich because of trade

42
Trading Civilizations

• 2.) Phoenicians
• 3000 BCthe Phoenicians settled in Canaan
  (Lebanon, Israel, Jordan)
• Sea Traderstraded goods to get food that they
  could not grow
• Built ships out of cedar wood that grew in Canaan
• Built many port cities along the Mediterranean
  coast
• Expert seamen and navigators

43
Trading Civilizations

• The Phoenicians major contribution was an
  alphabet
• Developed around 1100 BC
• Developed to keep up with trade transactions
• Contained 22 charactersall consonants, no vowels
• The alphabet was easy to learn, allowing more
  people to be able to read and writeno need for
  scribes

44
Trading Civilizations

• The Phoenician alphabet became the basis for the
  Greek alphabet and all western alphabets

45
Trading Civilizations

• 3.) Lydians
• Settle on the peninsula of Asia Minormodern day
  Turkey
• They were rich because of the rich gold deposits
  around their homes
• Lydians introduced the money system to the
  worldthey were the 1st to produce coins

46
Hebrews

• The Hebrews introduced monotheismthe belief in
  one Godto the world
• The Bible is the main source for information on
  the Hebrews
• Abrahamfather of the Hebrews
• 1900 BCAbraham led his family from Sumer into
  Canaan, along side the Phoenicians and Philistines

47
Hebrews

• The Hebrews had to deal with harsh conditions in
  Canaana desert region
• Most Hebrews herded animalssheep and goats
• Abrahams grandsonJacobhad 12 sons
• Each of Jacobs sons headed a different Hebrew
  tribe
• These tribes became known as the 12 Tribes of
  Israel

48
Hebrews

• A drought in Canaan caused the different Hebrew
  tribes to look in different areas for suitable
  places to farm
• The Hebrews were invited into Egypt to share
  Egypts surplus of food
• The Hebrews and Egyptians lived peacefully at
  first
• Egyptians, eventually turned the Hebrews into
  slaves

49
Hebrews

• Hebrew slaves had a difficult life
• They prayed for a deliverer
• 1200s BCMoses was able to lead the Hebrews out
  of EgyptThe Exodus
• Moses led the Hebrews into the Sinai Desert
• The 10 Commandments were created
• JoshuaMoses successorled the Hebrews back into
  Canaan

50
Hebrews

• Life back in Canaan was very difficult
• The 12 Tribes had to fight with the Philistines
  and Canaanites for land
• The Hebrews fought for 200 years with little
  successthe tribes could not unite against their
  enemies

51
Hebrews

• The Hebrews will unite under King Saul (1020-1012
  BC)
• Saul was unable to defeat the Philistines
• He lost popularity with the people

52
Hebrews

• The Hebrews turned their hopes on a hero of the
  warsDavid (1012-973 BC)
• David had shown his bravery by slaying Goliath
• David created his capital at Jerusalem
• He built a large temple in his capital

53
Hebrews

• Davids sonSolomon (973-922 BC)ascended the
  Hebrew throne in 973
• He built lots of cities
• He heavily taxed the people
• He was hated by the people
• After his death in 922 BC, the Hebrews split into
  2 separate kingdoms
• IsraelNorth
• JudahSouth

54
Judah and Israel
55
Hebrews

• Each kingdom was politically independentbut
  independence was short lived
• 722 BCa group called the Assyrians took Israel
• 586 BCthe Chaldeans captured Judah
• The Hebrews were forced out of their homeland
• The Hebrew temple at Jerusalem was destroyed
• During this time of foreign occupation, the
  Hebrews became known as the Jews

56
Hebrews

• 539 BCthe Hebrews were allowed back into their
  homeland by the Persians
• 400s BCEzra gathered Jewish holy writings into
  a holy book called the Torah
• The Torah was composed of 5 books
• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy

57
Hebrews

• The Hebrews blazed the path for future
  monotheistic religions
• Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all are based on
  the Hebrew ideas of monotheism

58
Powerful Kingdoms

• 3 very powerful kingdoms will emerge in Asia and
  conquer most of the Fertile Crescent Region
• Assyrians
• Chaldeans
• Persians

59
Assyrians

• Assyrians lived in the hills of Mesopotamia
• At first, they were weak and constantly attacked
  by their neighbors
• By 900 BCthe Assyrians had defend themselves and
  attack others
• They developed a very powerful and organized
  military system
• Foot soldiers
• Charioteers
• cavalry
• Used iron weapons

60
Assyrians

• The Assyrians were very cruel to those they
  conquered
• Burned entire cities to the ground
• Tortured prisoners
• Relocated entire cities and kingdoms
• Heavily taxed the people

61
Assyrians

• 650 BCthe Assyrians had a very large empire
• Stretched from the Persian Gulf to Egypt and
  parts of Turkey
• Built roads to increase communication

62
Assyrians

• 612 BCthe people of the empire rebelled against
  their Assyrian captors
• The civil war allowed an outside
  groupChaldeansto conquer the Assyrians

63
Chaldeans

• Chaldeans had very powerful kings
• King Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC)
• He expanded the empire into Canaan
• He made Babylon into the largest city of the
  ancient world

64
Chaldeans

• Babylon housed 2 of the worlds great wonders
• Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Wall of Babylon

65
Chaldeans

• No king after Nebuchadnezzar would have his power
• The empire slowly fell apart because of weak
  kings
• 539 BCPersians conquered Babylon and the
  Chaldean Empire

66
Persians

• Persians settled in modern day Iran
• Persian had many powerful kings
• Cyrus
• 540s BCCyrus conquered much of the known world
• Mesopotamia
• Syria
• Canaan
• Phoenicia
• Lydia
• Greek city-states in Turkey

67
Persians

• Cambyses
• Cyrus son
• He increased the Persians holdings by capturing
  Egypt
• The empire stretch for over 3000 milesfrom the
  Nile River to the Indus River
• 50 million people in the empire

68
Persians

• Darius I (522-486)
• Divided the large empire into provinces with
  individual governors for each province
• Very tolerant
• Had the Royal Road constructed
• 1500 miles long
• A rest stop was placed on the road every 14 miles

69
Persians
70
Persians

• Xerxes
• Darius son
• 480 BChe attempted to take over the Greeks
• His failure caused the empire to lose power and
  begin to crumble

71
Persians

• Persian Culture
• Polytheistsworshipped many gods
• Zoroaster tried to change Persian religion
• Said the world was controlled by 2 gods
• 1.) Ahura Mazdathe good
• 2.) Ahrimanthe evil