First Civilizations: Africa and Asia

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First Civilizations Africa and Asia

• Ancient Egypt/Sumerian Civilization
• Old Kingdom (2700 B.C.-2200 B.C. )also known as
  Pyramid Age
• Middle Kingdom (2050 B.C.-1800 B.C) Hyksos
  conquer Egypt
• New Kingdom (1550 B.C.-1100 B.C.) Egypt gains
  power and then begins to decline

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Early Egyptian Rule

• Egyptians believe in
• Life after death
• Pharaohs were viewed as gods
• Caste system
• - PharaohsgtHigh Priests and Priestessesgt
  NoblesgtCraftspeople and Merchantsgt Peasant
  farmersgt Slaves

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Important Egyptian Term

• Hieroglyphics- used to keep records of Egyptian
  culture for thousands of years
• Mummification- process of preserving the dead
• Delta- triangle area formed by deposits of silt
  at the mouth of a river
• Satrap- governor of a province of the Persian
  empire
• Ziggurat- pyramid shaped temple built by the
  sumerians

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More terms and facts

• Papyrus- reed used to make paper-like material
• Sumer was made up of independent city-states
• The Epic of Gilgamesh is a poem recounting the
  adventures of a Sumerian hero
• The Code of Hammurabi was the first major
  collection of laws

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More facts about Egypt

• Egyptian society relied on the Nile River for
  much of its natural resources
• Most Egyptians were farmers
• The Phoenicians were responsible for spreading
  much of Middle Eastern civilization

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Important People

• Tutankhamon (King Tut)- pharaoh who died young
  and was made famous when his tomb was discovered
• Amon-Re- Egyptian sun god
• Hammurabi- ruler who published a code of laws to
  help unite his empire
• Hatshepsut- Egyptian queen who declared herself
  pharaoh
• Ramses II- pharaoh who spread Egyptian rule
  northward as far as Syria

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More Important People

• Osiris- god of the Nile and ruler of the
  underworld
• Moses- led enslaved Hebrews out of Egypt
• Zoroaster- Persian thinker who rejected the old
  gods and taught that a single god ruled the world
• Isis- wife of Osiris

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Even More Important People

• Sumerians- credited with creating the wheel
• Lydians- developed the first coined money
• Hittites- the first to work with iron
• Phoenicians- developed the first alphabet
• Babylonians- they created the first written code
  of laws

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• All done !!