Four separate civilizations

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• Four separate civilizations
• Mesopotamia
• Egypt
• Harappa (Indus Valley)
• Shang China (Huang He)

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• Mesopotamia was a succession of societies
• Sumeria (Sumer)
• Akkad
• First Babylon
• Assyria
• Second Babylon

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• Geography
• Unpredictable rivers (Tigris and Euphrates)
• Delta region extremely fertile
• Flat land open to invasion no natural barriers
• By 4,000 BCE at least four major groups had
  migrated into Sumeria Hamites from North Africa,
  Semites from Arabia, Indo-Europeans from Russia,
  and Caucasians from Georgia
• Semi-arid climate required extensive irrigation
  projects

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• Growth of the state
• Irrigation projects required cooperation on a
  grand scale and leadership
• Farmers banded together in settlements to manage
  the environment and for protection
• These settlements became compact cities
  surrounded by high mud-brick walls
• These cities were independent from one another
  hence they were city-states

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• The city-states were often built around existing
  religious structures enhancing the close
  relationship between government and religion
• The ziggurat became the focal point of these
  city-states

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Ziggurats - stepped towers topped by temples
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Ziggurats were the focal point of the city-state
The Tower of Babel is believed to have been a
ziggurat
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• Sumeria lasted about 1,300 years (3360 2400
  BCE)
• There was constant warfare between city-states
  and invaders and between city-states themselves
• Each city-state controlled an area about 100
  square miles
• There were about 12 major city-states including
  Ur, Eridu, Lagash, and Uruk
• Each city-state was ruled by a priest/leader
  called a Patesi who was the highest political,
  religious, and military authority

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• Religion
• People felt utterly dependent on will of gods due
  to harsh life
• Originally, each city-state had its own patron
  god but later all gods were collected into a
  hierarchy reflecting Sumerian values
• As male gods became dominant strengthening of
  patriarchy
• Afterlife sad and gloomy place (later used as
  model for Hell)

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• Religion and Politics
• All land belonged to the gods and kings were
  their representatives
• Kings and priests afforded special place in
  society
• Theocracy rule by gods or priests
• By the end of Sumerias influence, kings were
  becoming separate from the priest class

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• Class System
• Kings / priests
• Commoners farmers, artisans, merchants
• Slaves
• Sumerian Life
• Marriage was based on a contract
• Males were dominant but females had more freedom
  than they do today
• Females exerted influence through sexuality
• Due to property inheritances, women would be put
  to death for adultery

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• Cuneiform
• Oldest writing system
• Original purpose was economic
• Used to record memoranda, lists of goods,
  receipts, contracts, etc
• One of first uses was to record beer recipe

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Cuneiform- first system of writing
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Cuneiform tablet with envelope
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Writing was reserved for the wealthy classes
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• Writing systems beget literature
• Oldest literature was epic poem The Epic of
  Gilgamesh
• Poem relates story of Gilgamesh, ruler of Uruk,
  who seeks out survivor of great flood in quest of
  eternal youth

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• Trade links with Egypt and Harappa
• Adopted use of silver as means of exchange
• Invented the wheel and pioneered use of carts
  and chariots
• Sumerian mathematics based on 12, 60, and 360
  (clock and circle)
• Sumerian astronomical charts basis for modern
  astronomy
• Invented quadratic expressions

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• Conquered Sumeria Akkad first empire
• Some centralization of power
• Sargon I first emperor
• Absorbed / took on Sumerian culture

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• Political
• Akkad was overthrown by Amorites
• Sumerian language disappeared replaced by
  Amorite Semitic language
• Made capital at Babylon
• Old Babylon overthrown by invading Kassites and
  Hittites
• Period of chaos followed for about three centuries

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• Hammurabi
• Founder of the Old Babylonian Empire
• Most known for his code of laws
• based on two 282 laws
• principles lex talonis and class

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• Political
• Conquered Kassites and brought all of Mesopotamia
  under their control
• Noted for brutality and ruthlessness
• Largest Mesopotamian empire in landmass
• Conquered Egypt for short period
• Assyria brought down by invading Medes and
  Chaldeans

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• Political
• Established by Chaldeans who made capital at
  Babylon
• King Nebuchadnezzar
• Hanging gardens
• Continued Sumerian culture
• Conquered by the Persians

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Other Middle Eastern Societies

• Hittites
• Iron
• Israelites
• Two kingdoms
• Judaism
• Phoenicians
• Alphabet
• Trade colonies (Carthage)

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1. What was the worlds first writing system?
2. What was it developed for?
3. Who were literate in Mesopotamia? Why?
4. What was the first piece of literature? What
was it about?
5. What was the basic political unit of
Mesopotamia?
6. What was the focal point of the Mesopotamian
city-state?
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7. How did geography affect the development of
Mesopotamian religion?
8. How did geography affect the development of
Mesopotamian civilization?
9. What was the first empire? Who created it?
10. What was the Code of Hammurabi? What was it
based on?
11. Who laid the foundations for our modern
alphabet?
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• The characteristic political organization of the
  Tigris Euphrates civilization was
• Democracy
• Large, durable empires
• Village-level government
• Regional city-states
• Hunting bands

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• Geography
• Desert
• Redlands
• Natural barriers to invasion
• Nile River
• Blacklands
• Unlike Mesopotamia, river serene and predictable
• River was everything to Egyptians life and
  communication
• Mediterranean and Red seas
• How did geography influence Egypts religion?

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• Political
• Egypt separated into two distinct regions Upper
  and Lower Egypt
• These regions unified by King Menes during the
  Archaic Period
• Pharaoh great house or palace

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• Founded by King Zoser
• Power virtually unlimited
• Pharaoh was considered child of the sun god
• Married sister to keep blood lines pure
• Pharaohs chief subordinates were the priests
  pharaoh was the chief priest

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• Egypt eventually divided into 42 provinces
  administered by a governor
• Governors reported to the Pharaoh or his chief
  bureaucratic official, the Vizier
• The Old Kingdom was a period of great peace
• Pharaoh had no standing army each local area
  had its own militia
• There was little to no slavery
• Most of the large pyramids were constructed
  during the Old Kingdom

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The pyramids at Giza
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Contrary to popular belief, the pyramids were not
built with slave labor but by the Egyptian
people. How was it done?
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• The Old Kingdom fell about 2200 BCE
• Financial problems due to construction of the
  pyramids
• Crop failures
• Provincial nobles usurped power from central
  government warred against each other
• Civil war allowed development of brigands and
  invasion by desert nomads
• Period of chaos called the First Intermediate
  Period ended with rise of Middle Kingdom around
  2050 BCE

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• Ruled through an alliance composed of middle
  class nobility kept in check
• Period of expansion Nubia conquered
• Construction of public works versus pyramids
• Religion democratized hope of salvation of
  common people

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• Middle Kingdom considered golden age of Egypt
• Middle Kingdom possibly fell to revolt by nobles
• Period of chaos followed
• Weakened Egypt conquered by Hyksos

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• Hyksos gained power through superior weapons
  chariots and bronze weapons
• Egyptians learned from Hyksos united as one
  people to oust them
• Ahmose became powerful as power of nobility
  severely curtailed

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• Egypt became imperialistic appetite whetted for
  war and conquest
• The large army gathered to destroy the Hyksos
  used by pharaoh to expand territory
• Egypt conquered into Libya and Syria
• Prisoners of war large slave population

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• Hatshepsut
• First of four female rulers of Egypt
• Became pharaoh as regent for son
• Succeeded by son Thutmose III
• Son destroyed most records of Hatshepsut

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• Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton)
• Established monotheism
• Aton- the sun god
• Queen Nefertiti
• Short reign (15 years)

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• Polytheism restored by boy-pharaoh Tutankhamen
• Ramses II (The Great)
• The Treaty of Kadesh - Egypt Hittites
• Conquered by nomadic Sea People
• Last real independent kingdom
• Libyans, Nubians (Kush), Assyrians, Persians,
  Greeks, Romans, Muslims, Europeans

Forensic experts have re-created the real
Tutankhamen
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The Treaty of Kadesh
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Ramses the Great today
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• Egyptian Religion
• Polytheistic
• Two major gods Amon-re (sun) and Osiris (Nile)
• During Old Kingdom religion was for the state not
  the masses
• Story of Osiris symbolized death and resurrection
  immortality (Osiris, Isis, Seth, Horus)
• The concept of the afterlife became fully
  developed during the Middle Kingdom
• Amon became god of the living and Osiris god of
  the dead

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• Elaborate preparations were made to preserve
  remains for the afterlife
• The dead appeared before Osiris for judgment
  based on deeds done on earth the good had
  eternal pleasure the bad were destroyed
• Religion was now ethical
• Religion changed during the New Kingdom people
  relied on magic charms/potions for salvation
  instead of ethical behavior
• This was in part responsible for the monotheism
  that sprung up under Akhenaton

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1. How did geography affect the Egyptian
civilization?
2. Who united Upper and lower Egypt?
3. What are the three major phases of ancient
Egyptian political history?
4. In what period were the great pyramids
constructed?
5. What ended the Middle Kingdom?
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6. Who was Egypts first female ruler?
7. In what period were the Egyptians most warlike?
8. In what period were the pharaohs most
politically aligned with the middle class?
9. What did Akhenaton introduce to Egypt?
10. What ended the New Kingdom?
11. During what period do you think Moses and the
Jews were in Egypt?
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• Egypt differed from Mesopotamian civilization by
  stressing
• Well-organized, durable empires
• Extensive trade
• Firm religious beliefs
• Greater social equality
• More modest building projects

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• Sophisticated urban centers
• Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
• Dynamic trade state - trade with Mesopotamia and
  China
• Monsoons

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Cities very sophisticated with advanced sewage
systems
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Harappan writing has not yet been deciphered
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Harappans worshipped cattle and Shiva
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• Decline due to
• Degradation of the ecosystem
• Migration of nomadic Aryans
• Political collapse

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• Aryans
• Noble People
• Indo-Europeans
• The Vedas
• Hinduism

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• Level 1 The Brahmins (priests)
• Level 2 The Kshatriyas (warriors/nobles)
• Level 3 The Vaisyas (traders and farmers)
• Level 4 The Sudras (common laborers) Mostly
  Dravidians
• Outcastes The Untouchables

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• Geography
• Isolated
• Huang He (Chinas Sorrow)
• Vulnerable northern borders
• Western desert
• Himalayas
• Vietnam
• Pacific Ocean
• Arable land culture of conservation

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• Yangshao
• Slash-and-burn agriculture
• Domestication of animals
• Silk production
• Longshan People
• Permanent settlements with walls
• Occupational specialization
• Xia Dynasty mythical?

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• Shang Dynasty
• 3,000 states - Fragmented
• King - head shaman
• Dynasty based on divine rule
• Bureaucracy increasingly sophisticated
• Technologically advanced
• Use of bronze
• Chariot warfare (imported from West?)
• Lacquer

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• Writing
• Oracle Bones
• Ideographic symbols
• Primary purpose was religious

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• Bronze
• Sophisticated metallurgy skills
• Controlled by elites
• Used for religious rituals and weapons

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1. What river gave life to Harappan civilization?
2. How would you characterize Harappan
civilization?
3. How is the Harappan written language unlike
that of the rest of the floodplain civilizations?
4. What happened to the Indus Valley civilization?
5. What was an early form of Chinese writing?
6. What geographic factor most influenced life in
Harappa?
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7. What area of China was most conflicted?
8. What form of art was used in Chinese religious
rituals?
9. What is considered the first major Chinese
civilization?
10. On what major river was Chinese civilization
first established?
11. What did the Aryans base the caste system on?
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12. What does the word Aryan mean?
13. What ancient texts give scholars information
about the Aryans?
14. What is the goal of Hinduism?
15. Most of the Sudra caste is composed of what
people?
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• Which river valley civilization was most
  completely destroyed by invasion?
• Huang He
• Indus
• Nile
• Tigris-Euphrates
• Mekong