SSWH1 The student will analyze the origins, structures, and interactions of complex societies in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean from 3500 BCE to 500 BCE.

. Define “Fertile Crescent.”

Geographic Features Mesopotamia – The Fertile Crescent Curved shape of land including lands facing Mediterranean Sea & plain between Tigris & Euphrates Rivers

Define “Fertile Crescent” A well-watered and fertile area, the fertile crescent arcs across the northern part of the Syrian desert

a. Describe the development of Mesopotamian societies; include the religious, cultural, economic, and political facets of society, with attention to Hammurabi’s law code. Mesopotamia: City-state of Sumer Early civilization developed along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers due to the rich soil used for agriculture Polytheistic meaning many gods or deities

Geographic Features Mesopotamia – The Fertile Crescent Flooded yearly (unpredictable) leaving behind a thick mud called silt Farmers planted crops in rich soil Resulted in plentiful harvests  allowed villages to grow

Geographic Features Environmental Challenges for Sumerians Unpredictable flooding with a period of little to no rain. Land sometimes became almost a desert.

Geographic Features Environmental Challenges for Sumerians Solution: Dug irrigation ditches that carried river water to their fields Led to production of surplus crops

Geographic Features Environmental Challenges for Sumerians No natural barriers for protection (defenseless)

Geographic Features Environmental Challenges for Sumerians Solution: Built city walls with mud bricks

Geographic Features Environmental Challenges for Sumerians Limited natural resources Building materials scarce

Geographic Features Environmental Challenges for Sumerians Solution: Traded their grain, cloth, & crafted tools with people of mtns & deserts In exchange, they received raw materials like stone, wood, & metal Cultural Diffusion: process by which a new idea or product spreads from one culture to another

Location: Modern day Iraq & Iran Means: Land between 2 rivers (Tigris & Euphrates) Religion: Center of society, Polytheistic (many gods), Ziggurat (temple) Polytheistic meaning many gods or deities

Development of Mesopotamia Culture Art & Architecture Literature – The Epic of Gilgamesh Ziggurats Arches Columns Ramps

Development of Mesopotamia Culture Science & Technology Cuneiform (See AKS 30g) Irrigation Bronze Wheel Sail Plow

Development of Mesopotamia Religion Polytheistic Belief in more than one god Ziggurat (Sumerian temple) was the center of city life Priests conducted rituals & sacrifices to city gods Served as storage for grains, fabrics, gems

Development of Mesopotamia Politics Rulers Military leaders that shared power with priests Priests prayed to gods, controlled irrigation systems Ruler controlled standing armies

Power and Authority Ziggurat Temple at the center of each city-state

Power and Authority Sumerian City-States 1st settled in 3300 BC City-state is a city and its surrounding lands

Key Civilizations in Mesopotamia Sumerian City-States (4000-2300 B.C.) Small, independent cities w/ surrounding villages & farms Not unified, constantly at war w/ one another

Key Civilizations in Mesopotamia Babylonian Empire (1800-1500 B.C.) Most important king was Hammurabi Hammurabi’s Code 282 laws that formed the basis of the Babylonian legal system Different punishments for rich & poor “Eye for an eye”

Mesopotamia Religion: Polytheistic Culture: Patriarchal (Controlled by Men), ruled by a council of elders which developed into city-states, women could own property, written language, music Economics: Agriculture was the a main economic force, especially along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Mesopotamia Culture: Art, Religion, Trade (women have rights) Economy: Bartering Politics: Priests 1st leaders, after many wars the best fighters became permanent leaders (dynasties) Law: Hammurabi’s Code – 282 written laws, created to unify the community (govt responsible for society)

Power and Authority Priest were Rulers Priests acted as go betweens for the people and the Gods Priests demanded crops as a form of taxation for their services People believed that the Gods were responsible for all things in their lives (crops, rich soil, rain, etc.)

Science and Technology Cuneiform Sumerian writing system on clay tablets

Who was Hammurabi? Hammurabi became the king of Babylon around 1792 BC. He transformed Babylon from a single city-state into a large empire, which united Mesopotamia under one rule.

Hammurabi’s Ingenuity Even though Hammurabi made Babylon a powerful empire that lasted for the next 1,000 years, he is remembered mainly for his code of laws. Hammurabi’s Code was the first laws ever written down. It was a compilation of 282 laws. The death penalty was enforced for breaking many of the laws.

Code of Hammurabi After years of constant fighting by Mesopotamian city-states, Hammurabi came to power The first ruler of Babylon, Hammurabi set up a a code, or set of laws for the people to follow He wanted to rule fairly and promote the welfare of the people

EGYPT

b. Describe the relationship of religion and political authority in Ancient Egypt. Egyptian Pharaohs (kings) were considered to be living gods The rule based on religious authority is called a theocracy Pharaohs continued to help rule after their deaths-pyramids were built to house the pharaoh and everything he would need in the after life

northeast corner of Africa Egypt grew to be an important civilization for over three hundred years because of the Nile River.

Impact of Geography The Nile is a unique river, beginning in the heart of Africa and coursing northward for more than 4000 miles. It is the longest river in the world. The Nile Delta is called Lower Egypt; the land upstream, to the south, is called Upper Egypt. To the ancient Egyptians, the most important feature was the yearly flooding.

Geographic Features Ancient Egypt – Nile River Benefits: Predictable yearly flooding  allowed farming settlements to grow Worshiped the river as a god b/c of its abundance

Geographic Features Ancient Egypt – Deserts on Either Side of Nile River Benefits: Shut out invaders Spared Egypt constant warfare

Importance of Religion Religion also provided a sense of security. The ancient Egyptians had no word for religion. Religious ideas were an inseparable part of their world order. Polytheistic- Were divided into two groups sun gods and land gods

Life after Death The ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife of beauty, peace, and contentment. Since most of their lives were filled with hard work, they looked forward to death as a release from this lifetime. They believed their souls would need to use their bodies again, so the Egyptians invented a process to embalm their bodies called mummification. Wealthy could afford better mummification than the poor

Steps in Mummification After the body was washed and covered with scented oils, the liver and kidneys were removed and placed in jars that would be put in the coffin later. The brains were removed carefully, but the heart was left in the body because they believed it was the mind and would be needed immediately in the next life. Then the body was wrapped in either linen or rough cotton strips and a sticky tar-like mixture was poured over the cloth strips forming a protective outer covering for the body. When the mixture hardened, the mummy was placed in a wooden coffin, which was carved and painted to resemble a person. Then the mummy was laid in its tomb, along with many objects the Egyptians thought it would need for daily use in the next lifetime, such as tools, jewelry, furniture, religious statues, and food.

Society in Ancient Egypt God-King (Pharaoh) Upper Class of Nobles and Priests Merchants, Artisans, Scribes, and Tax Collectors (The Middle Class) Peasants – the largest number of people in Egypt simply worked the land

Egyptian Culture Writing System Hieroglyphics Like Sumerian cuneiform, it used pictures to represent ideas

c. Explain the development of monotheism; include the concepts developed by the ancient Hebrews, and Zoroastrianism.

Monotheism Definition: Hebrews believed in one god b/c: Belief in a single god Hebrews believed in one god b/c: Believed Abraham had made a covenant with God, where Abraham and his descendants promised to obey God in return for God’s protection

Origins of Judaism 2000 B.C. God commands Abraham to take his people to Canaan. All the early history of the Hebrews is written in the Torah – the first five books of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible

Origins of Judaism 1650 B.C. Descendants of Abraham move to Egypt At first, they held places of honor in the Egyptian kingdom Later, Hebrews forced into slavery

Origins of Judaism 1300-1200 B.C. Hebrews begin their “exodus” from Egypt Moses led the Hebrews out of slavery Later, he received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai

Origins of Judaism 1020 B.C. Hebrews unite and form the kingdom of Israel Saul Drove the Philistines out of central Palestine David United the tribes & made Jerusalem the capital Began a dynasty

Origins of Judaism 962 B.C. King David succeeded by his son, Solomon Solomon built a great temple in Jerusalem to glorify God and house the Ark of the Covenant (this held the Ten Commandments)

Ancient Hebrews Believed that their god had power over all people and that he would protect them Their god gave them laws or commandments to obey (Ten Commandments) The history of the Hebrews is written in their bible, the Torah

Zoroaster Persian prophet Taught that earth is a battleground between good & evil & each person is supposed to take part in this struggle Taught belief in one god, Ahura Mazda, who will one day judge everyone according to how well he/she fought the battle for good His teachings led to the concept of Satan and the belief in angels seen in Judaism, Christianity, & Islam

d. Describe early trading networks in the Eastern Mediterranean; include the impact Phoenicians had on the Mediterranean World. Many of the ancient trade routes were water based

The Importance of Trade Trade between regions was important in the transfer of ideas from the Near East (Middle East) to area on the edges of Europe (in the Mediterranean Sea)

Rise of the Phoenicians Phoenicia never really unites into a nation but does include several wealthy city-states Phoenicians were master ship builders and are said to have traveled to Britain and around the coast of Africa nearly 2,500 years before anyone else

Phoenicia founded many colonies along the coast of the Mediterranean (Carthage) which lead the Phoenicians to be one of the richest civilizations of the ancient world Phoenicians were also some of the best builders of the ancient world – they are reported to have built the Temple of Solomon for the Hebrew people

The Alphabet Because the Phoenicians were so involved in trading they had to create a alphabet to record transactions

Seafaring Traders - Phoenicians Skilled shipbuilders & sailors First Mediterranean people to sail beyond Strait of Gibraltar, possibly even around Africa

Seafaring Traders - Phoenicians Phoenician traders spread their alphabet system to the peoples with whom they traded

Phoenicians The Phoenicians developed a series of powerful city-states along what is now Lebanon-colonized a large area

Phoenicians The Phoenicians were great sailors and shipbuilders This enabled them to explore and set up city-states throughout the Mediterranean These city-states were used for trading posts for goods found throughout the region

e. Explain the development and importance of writing; include cuneiform, hieroglyphics, and the Phoenician alphabet. Cuneiform: Created by Sumerian scribes as a means to keep records: written into moist clay which was then dried

Sumerian Cuneiform Consisted of pictographs Used wedge-shaped tool to press symbols into clay, then baked clay in the sun to preserve the writing Used for record-keeping, writing about wars, natural disasters, etc. Marked beginning of written history

Hieroglyphics In early Egyptian hieroglyphics, pictures stood for an idea. As they developed, the pictures came to represent sounds Egyptians used a form of paper called papyrus to write on Writing allowed civilizations to record their history, religious, and cultural beliefs

Egyptian Hieroglyphics Consisted of pictographs Scribes recorded history, beliefs, & ideas of ancient Egypt (often times in the tombs of the pharaohs) Used to document tax collection, laws, storage of grain, etc.

Phoenician Alphabet Needed a way of recording transactions clearly and quickly Similarities can be seen between Phoenician, Greek, & modern-day alphabets

Phoenician alphabet Developed as a means of recording trade transactions-spread throughout the Mediterranean Was a phonetic system: one sign represented one sound Other cultures based their alphabet on the Phoenicians (Greece)