The Four River Civilizations

Cities and Civilizations Seminar We begin at about 8,000 BC when village life began in the New Stone Age. . . Also known as the Neolithic Revolution. NEW STONE AGE

What is the REVOLUTION? A TOTALLY new way of living: From Hunter-Gatherers to Agriculture

The invention of Agriculture changed the way people lived. Agriculture (Farming) Growth of Cities Division of Labor (Specialization) Trade Writing and Mathematics

Agriculture leads to the development of Civilization Writing Cities Art Civilization Religion Social Structure Government

GEOGRAPHY influenced the development of river valley civilizations. Nile River Tigris/Euphrates River Indus Ganges River Yellow and Yangtze Rivers

Early River Valley Civilizations Environment Flooding of Tigris and Euphrates unpredictable No natural barriers Limited natural resources for making tools or buildings Sumer Flooding of the Nile predictable Nile an easy transportation link between Egypt’s villages Deserts were natural barriers Egypt Indus Valley Indus flooding unpredictable Monsoon winds Mountains, deserts were natural barriers Huang He flooding unpredictable Mountains, deserts natural barriers Geographically isolated from other ancient civilizations China

Define “Fertile Crescent.”

Define “Fertile Crescent” A well-watered and fertile area, the fertile crescent arcs across the northern part of the Syrian desert. It is flanked on the west by the Mediterranean and on the east by the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and includes all or parts of Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. From antiquity this region was the site of sophisticated settlements.

(Iraq) Greeks called the northern part of the Fertile Crescent Mesopotamia “Between Two Rivers” (Tigris River and Euphrates River) The southern part of Mesopotamia was called Babylonia, originally Sumer. Which country is Mesopotamia today? (Iraq)

Mesopotamia – Fertile Crescent Sumer – The Earliest of the River Valley Civilizations 3000 BC Sumerian Civilization grew up along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now Kuwait.

Sumer - Sumerians (Kuwait) ca. 3500 to 3000 BC. (ca. = circa) Sumer gave us the city-state. Define: city-state Political unit made up of a city and the surrounding lands. (Hinterland) Each city state has its own government, even when it shares a culture with neighboring city states.

Sumerian Writing: cuneiform Cuneiform is created by pressing a pointed stylus into a clay tablet.

Sumerians invented: Brick technology Wheel Base 60 – using the circle . . . 360 degrees Time – 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute 12 month lunar calendar arch ramp ziggurat

Ziggurat – Holy Mountain

The Akkadians To the north of Sumer was a city-state called Akkadia Around 2340 BC under the their leader Sargon, The Akkadians conquered the Sumerians

Hittites Warrior empire in what is today modern Turkey (1750-1180 BC) First to use War Chariots Briefly invaded Egypt Was later conquered by the Assyrians

Lydia Develop in what is modern day western Turkey after the fall of the Hittite empire Were traders The first to develop coins

Babylon In 1792 BC the city of Babylon conquered Sumer and Akkadia

Babylon Babylon’s king, Hammurabi created the first know written law code and was the first civilization where the citizens live by the “Rule of Law” Government by law. The rule of law implies that government authority may only be exercised in accordance with written laws, which were adopted through an established procedure.

Hammurabi’s Code - 1792 BC Hammurabi’s Code was this law code. Hammurabi ruled the Babylonian Empire for 42 years. At the end of his long reign, Hammurabi’s legal decisions were collected and inscribed on a stone tablet in a Babylonian temple. The 282 laws of the Code of Hammurabi represent one of the earliest known legal systems.

“If a man stole the property of church or state, that man shall be put to death; also the one who received the stolen goods from his hand shall be put to death.” The laws governed such things as lying, stealing, assault, debt, business partnerships, marriage, and divorce. In seeking protection for all members of Babylonian society, Hammurabi relied on the philosophy of equal retaliation, otherwise known as “an eye for an eye.”

The Phoenicians Lived along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea They were sailors and traded through out the Fertile Crescent The Phoenicians develop a written alphabet that later would develop into the alphabet we use today

Israelites Descendants of Abraham They were enslaved by the Egyptians During the reign of Ramses II Moses led the Israelites to area along the Dead Sea and the Jordon River Under a King named David the 12 tribes of Israel were united into one Kingdom and made Jerusalem the capital

Israelites David’s son Solomon continued to expand the power of Israel and built Temple of Jerusalem After Solomon’s death the kingdom divided in two Israel Kingdom of Judah 2 Tribes Located in the South Capital at Jerusalem Kingdom of Israel 10 Tribes Located in the north Capital at Samaria

Israel Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians Kingdom of Judah conquered by the Chaldeans

Assyrians Around 700 BC a city-state in the upper Tigris River valley conquered Mesopotamia The Assyrians used iron weapons Developed post roads Because of their cruelty they were overthrown by the by the Chaldeans and the Medes

Chaldeans Allied with the Medes they overthrew the Assyrians Their leader Nebuchadnezzar II made his capital at Babylon He built the famous “Hanging Gardens”

Persia Lived in what is modern day Iran Under the leadership of Cyrus the Great the Persians conquered as India to Egypt and part of Europe

Persia Cyrus and his successors showed mercy to those they conquered and many civilizations wanted to be part of Persia Very efficient rulers Divided empire into 20 provinces call satrapies Each satrapy had a governor call the satrap Maintain a very efficient roads system with rest stations along the road

Persia Zoroastrianism developed around 660 BC in Persian Zoroaster taught what he called the “true religion” There was a supreme god (Ahuramazda) and he defended good There was an evil god (Ahriman) and he was bad There is a conflict between good and evil and in the end good will win out

Persia In the 5th Century BC Persia’s expansion brought it into conflict with another group of city states called Greece After losing two wars with the Greeks, Alexander the Great led a Greek army into Persia and overthrew the empire