monotheistic Torah covenant prophets Diaspora Fertile Crescent hierarchy ziggurat theocracy cuneiform dynasty bureaucracy pharaohs mummification hieroglyphics

. Locate and identify on a map the Fertile Crescent, Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Nile River, Sumer, Jerusalem, Egypt, Cairo and Thebes.

3200 – 500 B.C.

The Fertile Crescent

Ancient Middle East  Mesopotamia - the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (modern-day Iraq)  Fertile Crescent  Annual flooding of the river systems  rich deposits of silt = plentiful crops (wheat and barley)  plentiful crops = cities = civilization The Sumerians settled into Mesopotamia by about 3300 B.C. What were the three main problems that confronted the Sumerians? Sumerian solutions to these problems?

 city-states - cities with political and economic control over their surrounding lands and villages  The city states were independent  They were often dynastic  However, they shared a common culture

 Religion -The Sumerians believed in many gods, each having influence over some force of nature. They also believed that the people were servants of the gods.  En (one with great authority) -Ensi -Enlil  theocracy  ziggurat

 Sumerian society was divided into three classes (a social hierarchy existed) Sumerian society was patriarchal. Sumerian Contributions:

 Demise of the Sumerian city-states and the Rise of Empire  Fighting between the various city-states resulted in the weakening of Sumer, making it susceptible to foreign attack.  Sargon and the Akkadian Empire B.C.  Fighting between the cities resumed by 2100 B.C.

The Babylonian warlord Hammurabi, 1790 B Hammurabi’s Code  Hammurabi’s death in 1750 B.C

 Hittites  Nomadic, Indo-European speaking people expanded into Mesopotamia by c B.C.  used iron to make tools and weapons*  incorporated an improved horse-drawn chariot  The Hittite empire collapsed by c B.C.

 Assyrians  est. an empire by 1350 B.C. and expanded around 1100 B.C.  organized large armies  demanded tribute from conquered territories and city-states  King Assurbanipal (669-c.630 B.C.)

 Babylon  Nabopolassar (r B.C.), revived the city-state of Babylon in about 625 B.C.  By about 612 B.C, neighboring peoples and disgruntled subjects overtook the faltering Assyrian Empire  Nebuchadnezzar (r B.C.), expanded Babylon to include territories from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea (Babylonian Empire)

 In 539 B.C., Babylon fell to the Persian armies of Cyrus the Great.  Cyrus and his successors built the largest empire yet seen.

 Darius (r B.C.) accomplished the unification of the Persian empire in about 522 B.C.

 The Persian Empire eventually controlled territory that stretched from Asia Minor to India, including present-day Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The Persians were respectful and tolerant of the various groups in their empire.

“Good thoughts, good words, good deeds” Zoroaster, c. 600 B.C.

Ancient Egypt The early civilization known as Egypt arose in East Africa along the Nile River. Nile River Annual flooding of the Nile River Valley “Black Land” “Red Land” Transportation Route Egypt’s Defensive barriers Deserts on the east and west sides of the Nile River The Red Sea to the East The Mediterranean Sea to the north Cataracts (rapids) on the southern part of the Nile River Egypt is noted as having been the most stable region of the ancient world. Its continuity was based on the pharoah’s and the priests’ ability to predict the Nile River’s annual flood. Upper and Lower Egypt Menes, 3100 B.C.

The Egyptian Gods (Heliopolis) Geb [Earth]- and his sister/wife Nut [Sky]- gave birth to two sets of twins 1. Osiris [the Nile River, the God of the Dead] and his sister/wife Isis [the fertile soil of Egypt, the star Sirius 2. Seth [Disorder, the God of Foreign Places] and his sister/wife Nephtys The son of Isis and Osiris was Horus [the pharoah, the Fruit of the Land] Egyptian monarchs were commonly referred to as pharaoh [“palace” or “great house”]. The Egyptians dated their histories by dynasties of pharaohs. The early dynasties, those prior to about 2700 B.C., were likely to have been mythical.

Egyptian History is divided into three main periods of long-term stability:  Old Kingdom B.C. (Pyramid Kingdom- with capital at Memphis)  Memphis  Pharaoh and his bureaucracy  The Great Pyramid  Mummification  150 years of decentralization  Middle Kingdom B.C. (Golden Age).  Thebes  Expansion into Nubia, Palestine, and Syria  The Hyksos and their technology  New Kingdom B.C.  Hatshepsut (r B.C.)  Thutmose III  Akhenaton  Tutankhamen  Ramses II (r B.C.)

 Egyptian Society How do we know about the Ancient Egyptians?  Translations into Greek  Archaeologists  Hieroglyphics and hieratic script- Rosetta Stone and papyri  Herodotus and Thucydides Egyptian Contributions :

The Origins of Judaism  Abraham  Mesopotamia to Cannan (Israel)  Isaac  Jacob from Israel to Egypt, Land of Goshen  The religion of the Israelites (Hebrews) was unlike the Egyptian religion. It was monotheistic.  Moses and the Torah  Kingdom of Israel (emerged between 1200 and 1000 B.C.)  King David ( B.C.)- unified the Israeli tribes  King Solomon ( B.C.) Ancient Israel was at the height of its power.  Jerusalem- capital of Israel; the Holy Temple  Decline of the Kingdom of Israel (division- north and south)  Judah and Israel  722 B.C., the Assyrian conquests (Israel scattered)  586 B.C., Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar (the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed; Diaspora )  539 B.C., Cyrus the Great and Persia (religious tolerance, return to Israel (Judah)

Ancient Middle East and Egypt Vocabulary  Fertile Crescent- crescent-shaped region of fertile land that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf  hierarchy- a system in which people are ranked one above the other according to status or authority  ziggurat- temple structure associated with ancient Mesopotamia  theocracy- the belief that gods ruled cities  cuneiform- a system of writing that used wedge-shaped marks  dynasty- ruling family  bureaucracy- system of government that includes different job functions and levels of authority  pharaohs- ancient Egyptian kings  mummification- the preservation of dead bodies by embalming and wrapping them in cloth  hieroglyphics- system of writing in which pictures called hieroglyphs represent objects, concepts, or sounds  monotheistic- believing in one god  Torah- the most sacred text of the Hebrew Bible, including its first five books  covenant- a binding agreement; specifically, in Jewish tradition, the binding agreement God made with Abraham  prophets- spiritual leader who interprets God’s will  Diaspora- the spreading of Jews beyond their historic homeland