Chapter 2 Ancient Middle East and Egypt 3200 B.C.- 500 B.C.

Fertile Crescent From Persian Gulf to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea Mesopotamia= between two rivers Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flow from modern day Turkey into Iraq Catastrophic floods occurred in ancient Sumer The Epic of Gilgamesh Villagers had to work together to protect themselves and their farmland from the violent flooding

Building Cities Lack natural resources like timber and stone Made houses and other structures out of clay bricks Merchants traveled far to sell their wares Sumerians may have been the first people to use wheeled vehicles

Sumerian Civilization Takes Shape 12 separate city-states Rule by war leaders/hereditary rule In charge of public works, warfare, enforced laws, employed scribes, chief servant of the gods Hierarchy- system of ranking Upper class- ruling family, leading officials, and high priests Middle class- lesser priests, scribes, merchants and artisans Lower class- peasants farmers and slaves

What were women’s roles in Sumerian society? What was the Sumerian view of the afterlife?

Section 2 Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders The Fertile Crescent was a very appealing place for nomadic peoples and ambitious warriors Some came through Mesopotamia to pillage and some to settle

Sargon and the Akkadians Ruler of Akkad 2300 B.C. Invaded city-states of Sumer Built first known empire Only lasted until his death

Hammurabi and Babylon 1790 B.C. King of Babylon Brought much of Mesopotamia under his empire Code of Hammurabi Law code Codify- arrange and set down into writing Most enduring legacy

Types of Law Civil Law Deals with private rights and matters Business contracts Property inheritance Taxes Marriage Divorce A Husband had legal authority over his wife, and a legal duty to support her A Father had unlimited authority over his children

Criminal Law Offenses against others Robbery Assault Murder “eye for an eye”

Other Accomplishments of Hammurabi Public works such as irrigation, well-trained army, temple repairs Unified his empire through religion Marduk became the chief god of Babylon over all other Sumerian gods

Hittites 1400 B.C. Secret of ironworking Empire collapsed around 1400 B.C. Ironworking spread Refine the horse-drawn chariot p. 39

Assyrians 1350 B.C. started their empire, 1100 B.C. spread across Mesopotamia Feared warriors City of Nineveh- world’s first library King Assurbanipal Collected cuneiform tablets from all over the Fertile Crescent

Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon Revived Babylon Stretched from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf Hanging Gardens Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Persians Babylon fell to Cyrus the Great Asia minor to India- Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan and Pakistan Policy of tolerance Darius I Satraps and satrapy Single law code Traveled all over his empire Produced common weights and measures Barter economy vs. money economy

Zoroaster 600 B.C Rejected old Persian gods One god, Ahura Mazda, ruled the world He was in constant struggle with Ahriman, the prince of lies and evil It was your job to decide with side to support Zoroaster taught that in the end Ahura Mazda would win, and their would be a final judgment day

Phoenicians Sailors and traders String of cities along the eastern Mediterranean coast in modern day Lebanon and Syria Some farming, but mostly relied manufacturing and trade Set up colonies in North Africa, Sicily, and Spain Some made it as far as Britain “Carriers of civilization” Alphabet 22 symbols that stood for a consonant sound Greeks added vowel sounds and symbols This is where we get the words you are reading right now

Section 3 Kingdom on the Nile Geography Nile- longest river in the world. Flows from south to north Surrounded by dessert Yearly flooding Channeled water for the dry season Upper Egypt- South Lower Egypt- North Cataract- waterfall Delta- Triangular area of marshland River used for trade and as a unifying force

Old Kingdom 2575 B.C.- 2130 B.C. Pharaohs- Egyptians kings/gods Strong centralized state Bureaucracy- a system of gov’t that includes different job functions and levels of authority Vizier- chief minister Ptah-hotep Vizier 2450 B.C. Wrote Instructions of the Vizier Ptah-hotep

Great Pyramids are Built! Necropolis=cemeteries Take out your packet and read about the building of the pyramids!!

Middle Kingdom 1938 B.C.- 1630 B.C. Turbulent period Power struggles, crop failures, debt Nile not as predictable Took over Nubia More contact with peoples of the Middle East and Crete About 1700 B.C. Hyksos invaded Read Hyksos and Horses

New Kingdom 1539 B.C.- 1075 B.C. Age of conquest Hatshepsut Thutmose III Ramses II Ruled 66 years Built many monuments to himself Fought with the Hittites- first signed peace treaty

Decline 1100 B.C. Invaded by Assyrians and Persians 332 B.C. Greeks took over 30 B.C. Rome took it from the Greeks

Section 4 Egyptian Civilization

Religion Chief gods and goddesses Sun god Old Kingdom called Re Middle Kingdom called Amon-Re Pharaohs received their right to rule directly from Amon-Re

Osiris and Isis Osiris God of the Dead and the Nile River Isis was ideal female and wife of Osiris

Akhenaton In 1380 B.C., Amenhotep IV challenged the priests of Amon-Re He worshipped only Aton, a minor god Many did not following him Changes did not last beyond his lifetime

Egyptian Views of the Afterlife Pass a test to win eternal life Osiris would judge the weight of your heart against that of a feather If your heart was heavier then you would be fed to the Eater of the Dead If your heart did not out-weight the feather then you could enter the Happy Field of Food Book of the Dead was there as your guide

Mummification Egyptians believed that the afterlife would be much like life on Earth Buried the dead with everything they needed for eternity Mummification was used to preserve the body Just for rulers and nobles, but eventually ordinary Egyptians were mummified, including pets

Egyptian Society Mostly farmers and slaves In the off-season men were expected to serve the pharaoh Women would tend to the children and household

Changes Social classes more fluid because of warfare and trade Women enjoyed a higher status Inherit property Enter business deals Buy and sell goods Got to court Obtain a divorce

Advances in Learning Hieroglyphics Hieratic Demotic p. 54 in textbook Rosetta Stone Knew about the human body b/c of mummification Modern-day calendar Geometry

Arts and Literature Gods and pharaohs always larger than other figures in art Stiff standard poses Not life-like Literature included hymns, prayers, proverbs, and love poems The Tale of Sinuhe

Section 5 The Roots of Judaism

Unique Belief System Monotheistic Torah- first 5 books of the Bible plus more Talmud- laws and customs Moses David Solomon Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Captivity

Law and Morality Society was patriarchal Women had few legal rights Ten Commandments Prophets Strong code of ethics

Diaspora Means to spread out Kept their traditions and ways of life Greatly influenced Christianity and Islam