Cradles of Civilization Ancient Sumerians 3500B.C.-1792B.C. Ancient Egyptians 3000B.C.-1000B.C. Ancient Indus 2500B.C.-1500B.C. Ancient Chinese 2500B.C.-1000B.C. Cultural Diffusion Crossroads of the World Center of the World
The Fertile Crescent MESOPOTAMIA
The Fertile Crescent is of great world- historical significance. It gave birth to and sustained many great civilizations. The Fertile Crescent is the place where agriculture and civilization first arose, the birthplace of our alphabet, the place where great religions first uplifted the souls of mankind, the home of philosophers, saints, poets, explorers and conquerors.
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Sumerians (3500 B.C B.C.) Akkadians (2300 B.C B.C.) Babylonians (1792 B.C B.C.) Hittites (1650 B.C B.C.) Hebrews (1200B.C.-586 B.C.) Phoenicians (1000 B.C.-700 B.C.) Assyrians (750 B.C.-605 B.C.) Chaldeans 605 B.C.-550 B.C.) Persians (525 B.C.-331 B.C.)
The Sumerian Civilization People/ Brief History Settled near the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers around 3500 B.C. Established city states of Kish and Ur Constructed Ziggurats (step pyramids for temples) Worshipped polytheistic gods Contributions to Civilizations Written Language of Cuneiform Created the wagon wheel Built man’s first arches Created and used sun dials to calculate time First civilizations to control fire to blend metals to make bronze Hammurabi’s Written Law Codes
Ziggurat A large solid mud-brick stepped tower. Stairways lead to the top where there was a small temple.
I.The Twin Rivers A.Settlement began around 5000 B.C. B.Euphrates and Tigris Rivers 1.No regular supply of water 2.Unpredictable and destructive floods 3.Dams, canals, ditches built to help damage done by floods
The Fertile Crescent, One Of The World's Most Important Wetlands, Devastated By Drainage Nairobi - 18 May 2001 Around 90 per cent of the Mesopotamian marshlands, known since time immemorial as the fertile crescent, have been lost mainly as a result of drainage and damming.
II.The Sumerian Civilization A.First arrived around 3500 B.C. B.Built first city-states 1.Independently governed 2.Military leader 3.King and priest
II.The Sumerian Civilization (con’t) C.Sumerian law 1.Well regulated family 2.Women under authority of men D.System of writing: Cuneiform 1.Wedge shaped clay
II.The Sumerian Civilization (con’t) E.Polytheistic religion 1.gods were selfish, little regard for human beings 2.Worshipped at a Ziggurat, step pyramid 3. No afterlife
Ziggurat, form of temple common to the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians. The earliest examples date from the end of the 3rd millennium BC, the latest from the 6th cent. BC. The ziggurat was a pyramidal structure, built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, with a shrine at the summit. The core of the ziggurat was of sun-baked bricks, and the facings were of fired bricks, often glazed in different colors, which are thought to have had cosmological significance. Access to the summit shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side or by a continuous spiral ramp from base to summit. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven. Notable examples are the ruins at Ur and Khorsabad in Mesopotamia. Similar structures were built by the Mayan people of Central America.
II.The Sumerian Civilization (con’t) F.Technological inventions 1.Wagon wheel 2.The arch 3.The sundial 4.Metallurgy to make Bronze
III.First Mesopotamia Empires A.Akkadians 1.United city-states of Mesopotamia under one empire through military conquests 2.Utilized cultural diffusion with the Sumerians
III.First Mesopotamia Empires (con’t) B.Babylonians 1.Semetic people defeated Sumerian centers and founded a dynasty in Babylon 2.Ruler was Hammurabi a.Entire region under his control b.Written law codes
Hammurabi’s Law Codes Specific punishment for each violation
III.First Mesopotamia Empires (con’t) 2.Ruler was Hammurabi (con’t) c.Major advance towards justice and order to have written laws 3.Decline came after Hammurabi’s death when they were destroyed by the Hittites around 1600 B.C.