Phoenicians They were powerful traders who settled in the Fertile Crescent along the Mediterranean coast (present day Lebanon)

The Phoenicians were never a unified country They set up colonies around the Mediterranean Sea What is a colony? _______________________________________ They used colonies for trade

The Phoenicians increased trade along rivers and sea Most important city-states: Sidon and Tyre in the eastern Mediterranean The greatest Phoenician colony was Carthage in north Africa

religion: polytheism

accomplishments: shipbuilders and seafarers

purple dye (made from the murex, a kind of snail)

an alphabet (one of Phoenicia’s most important contributions) The Phoenicians needed a way to record business transactions clearly & quickly They developed a writing system that used symbols to represent sounds (phonetic) As they traded around the Mediterranean they introduced this writing system to their trading partners This made trading easier The basis of all modern European and West Asian alphabets adopted and changed by the Greeks

The Hebrews

History Abraham originally lived in the Fertile Crescent; around 1950 B.C.E. he moved to Canaan, (in the northern Middle East between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River)

famine forced the Hebrews to leave Canaan They went to Egypt where they were forced into slavery

later, the Hebrews were led out of Egypt by Moses and went back to Canaan. This is called the Exodus.

Important People Abraham the “father of the Hebrew people” Moses: he led the Hebrews out of Egypt; he delivered the Ten Commandments to the people King Solomon: he built a temple at Jerusalem

Religion monotheism - a belief in one god**** Torah: holy book of the Hebrews; it is the first 5 books of the Bible (the Old Testament)

Ten Commandments: laws that applied to everyone, including the ruler required that believers worship God and live justly with one another the Israelites believed that these laws formed a new covenant between God and the Israelites; God promised to protect them and they promised to keep God’s commandments stated both moral & religious conduct

Yahweh: god of Hebrew people

Important Facts Jerusalem: the Holy City King David: united the tribes of Israel and made Jerusalem the capital

spread of Judaism: the Exodus (when the Jews fled from Egypt)

the Exile: the forced detention of the Jews in Babylon after the Babylonians conquered Judah

the Diaspora : the scattering of the Jews; this is when the Jews were driven from their homeland; the Jewish religion survived, but the Jewish political state ceased to exist for more than 1800 years

the Wailing Wall in A.D. 70, the Romans destroyed the ancient Temple of Jerusalem the Wailing Wall of the Temple is all that remains today

the Hebrews consider this wall their most sacred shrine (holy site)

The Nubians

Kingdom of Nubia (Kush) (2000 B.C. – 500 B.C.)

Where is this kingdom located: in Africa, south of Egypt along the Nile River

Why did people move there: it had fertile soil for agriculture Did Nubia (Kush) have slaves? Yes, they were captives from wars

First capital city was at Napata Then the capital city was moved to Meroe Meroe was rich in iron ore

The people made iron weapons and tools Traders took iron bars to the Red Sea where they traded the iron weapons and tools for jewelry, cotton, silver lamps and glass bottles

Religion: polytheistic; adopted many beliefs of the Egyptians

At times, Egypt ruled Nubia (Kush)

At times, the princes from Kush went to Egypt where they learned about Egyptian language, customs and hieroglyphics. This is an example of cultural diffusion.

Nubia (Kush) was invaded by the kingdom of Axum (Aksum)

At times, Egypt ruled Nubia (Kush) At times, the princes from Kush went to Egypt where they learned about Egyptian language, customs and hieroglyphics. This is an example of cultural diffusion.

Nubia (Kush) was invaded by the kingdom of Axum (Aksum)