Ancient Middle East and Egypt

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Ancient Middle East and Egypt

• Chapter 2

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City-States of Ancient Sumer
Map Skills (pg. 31)

• A series of early civilizations developed in the
  land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers,
  called Mesopotamia. The first of these was Sumer.

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City-States of Ancient Sumer
Map Skills (pg. 31)
Later civilizations would develop in the North,
close to the Taurus Mountains because of its
proximity to the two rivers and the Mediterranean
Sea.

• What natural features might have limited
  expansion of early Fertile Crescent Civilizations?

• Given the geography of the Fertile Crescent,
  where do you think later civilizations would
  develop?

The Zagros Mountains, and the Syrian and Arabian
deserts might have limited expansion of early
Fertile Crescent Civilizations.
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City-States of Ancient Sumer
Infographic

• How did cuneiform writing allow Sumerians to
  communicate more effectively than they could
  using tokens and clay envelopes?
• Cuneiform expanded their possibilities for more
  complex communication because it gave them
  options for not only economic transactions but
  also ideas.

• What modern day toy does the cuneiform writing
  tablet resemble?
• The Cuneiform writing tablet resembles the
  Blackberry personal organizer, PSP or Nintendo
  DS. It is a small hand held tool for
  communication and sharing ideas.

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City-States of Ancient Sumer
Reading Literature

• Why does Gilgamesh pick the plant that
  Utnapishtim has described?
• Gilgamesh picks the plant because Utnapishtim
  says it will give him eternal life.

• What does he want it to do for him?
• Gilgamesh wants to stay young forever

• Which physical characteristic of a snake makes it
  work well as the character who ends up benefiting
  from the plant?
• The fact the snakes shed their skin makes them
  a good character, because it appears to become
  young again.

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City-States of Ancient Sumer
Review Questions

• Rich soil, Wheat fields, the Tigris and Euphrates
  rivers, and clay make the Fertile Crescent a good
  place for civilization to develop.

• The Sumerian city-state include a strict
  hierarchy the upper class includes ruling
  family, leading officials, and high priests a
  small middle class included lesser priests,
  scribes, merchants and artisans the majority of
  people were in lowest level, they were peasant
  farmers.

• Sumerians were polytheistic and believed that
  Gods and Goddesses controlled every aspect of
  life. Their gods had very human like
  characteristics like eating, drinking, marriage,
  and having families. Sumerians believed in a
  grim afterlife.

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City-States of Ancient Sumer
Review Questions

• The Sumerians recorded the movements of the
  plants and stars and established a number system
  based on six. They divided the hour into 60
  minutes and the circle into 360 degrees.

• The Babylonians built on Sumerian learning and
  developed basic algebra and geometry to create
  calendars and predict eclipses of the sun and
  moon. This would have been more difficult
  without the invention of writing.

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Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders
Infographic

• Three men could fit in each chariot.
• Some of their weapons included lances, axes, and
  bows and arrows.

• Hittite modifications allowed the chariot to
  carry another man, which meant two warriors
  wielded weapons instead of only one.
• The extra man could have slowed the chariot and
  perhaps it was less mobile (harder to drive).

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Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders
Map Skills

• Describe the difference between the Empires of
  the Assyrians and Persians and the Phoenician
  Empire.
• Assyrians and Persians built large empires in
  the ancient Middle East. The Phoenicians had a
  smaller empire, but established trade routes and
  colonies all along the Mediterranean world.

• What information on the map supports the claim
  that the Phoenicians were skilled sailors?
• The Phoenicians established several cities along
  the coast and established many colonies
  throughout the Mediterranean, including Sicily,
  Sardinia and Spain.

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Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders
Map Skills

• Study the locations of the Persian capitals.
  Were they well placed for rule over the entire
  empire?
• It is possible that the distance of the capitals
  made it easier to govern a larger area. Also,
  the capitals were away from the Mediterranean
  Sea, indicating that trade in the East was more
  important the by the Mediterranean..

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Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders
Money Economics

• What advantages did a money economy offer over a
  barter economy?
• Exchanges are easier because currency has an
  agreed upon value, each item can be given an
  exact value (not in relation to another item),
  and money can be saved and at a later time.

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Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders
Review Questions

• How do civil law and criminal law differ?
• Civil law deals with private (personal) matters,
  like contracts, or marriages, while criminal law
  deals with offences committed against people (ie
  robbery or murder)

• Name a significant contribution made by the
  Hittites, Assyrians, and Babylonians after each
  groups conquest in the Middle East.
• The Hittites introduced ironworking, the
  Assyrians introduced laws regulating life within
  the royal household and founded the first
  library, and the Babylonians built one of the
  largest and most respected cities of ancient
  Mesopotamia.

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Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders
Review Questions

• What are two steps Darius took to unite the
  Persian Empire?
• Darius united the empire by building or
  repairing miles of roads to improve
  communication. Also, he established a common
  set of weights and measures and encouraged the
  use of coins.

• How do you think Persian policy of tolerance
  helped the empire to grow so large?
• If the Persians had not been tolerant of the
  customs of the people they conquered , those
  people might have revolted.

• One effect of warfare and conquest was that
  knowledge and beliefs spread among different
  peoples. How else did people of the ancient
  Middle East spread their ideas?
• Trade and the establishment of colonies were
  ways to spread knowledge and beliefs among
  different people.

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Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders
Making a Table

• Empire Date(s) Ruler
• Sumer 3300 bc
• Akkad 2300 bc Sargon
• Babylon 1790 bc Hammurabi
• Hittite 1400 bc
• Assyria 1350 bc
• Babylon 612 bc Nebuchadnezzar
• Persia 539 bc Darius
• Phoenicia