Mesopotamia & Egypt B.C.E. = Before the Common Era (B.C.= Before Christ) C.E. = The Common Era (A.D.= Anno Domini/Year of Our Lord) ca. (circa) approximately Paleolithic Age: Stone tools (ca. 1 million to 10,000 B.C.) Neolithic Age: Domesticated animals, pottery (ca. 10,000– 4,000 B.C.) Bronze Age: Birth of Civilization (ca – 1200 B.C.)

The Birth of Western Civilization: Mesopotamia ca B.C. Hunter/gather societies Agricultural revolution Urbanization = Civilization – –Invention of writing – –Specialization of labor – –Social classes The city-state: political identity

An archeologist‘s conception of a Mesopotamian irrigation project (ca B.C.)

Sumerian cuneiform

A cuneiform letter in its envelope, ca B.C.

Sumer and Mesopotamian Culture First cuneiform tablets (3100 B.C.) Persistence of war King Sargon (2350 B.C.) The notion of community The palace and temple complexes: social roles Religion and the order and chaos of the natural world The law code of King Hammurabi (ca B.C.) Free citizens, commoners, and slaves Position of women

Worshipper statues from Sumer ca B.C.

The Ziggurat of Ur in Sumer, ca B.C.

Palace of Zimri-Lim in Sumer, ca B.C.

Egypt: The Gift of the Nile Oldest continuous civilization Oldest continuous civilization Prosperity dependent on the annual river flood Prosperity dependent on the annual river flood Developed separately from other societies; few contacts with outside Developed separately from other societies; few contacts with outside Complicated theological and political system; conservative and stratified Complicated theological and political system; conservative and stratified Stable government and social structure Stable government and social structure

Ancient Egypt (ca B.C.) The benefits of the Nile river valley and the long dynasty of the kingdom The theocracy of the pharaohs Ma’at and the legitimacy of the pharaohs The sun-king, the upper class, commoners, and slaves Nomarchs (governors) & scribes The position of women Religion, cults, gods, and the afterlife

Ancient Egypt (ca B.C.) The benefits of the Nile river valley and the long dynasty of the kingdom The theocracy of the pharaohs Statue of King Menkaure and His Queen ca B.C.

Egyptian Step-Pyramid ca B.C.

The Pyramids at Giza ca B.C.

Depiction of an Egyptian Funeral Ceremony

The Jews: Chronology Wander into Palestine and then Egypt (ca B.C.) Led out of Egypt by Moses and invaded Palestine (13 th century B.C.) Ruled by King Solomon: Palace and Temple of Jerusalem (ca B.C.) Enslaved by the Babylonians (586 B.C.) Subjected to other Mediterranean powers (until A.D. 1948)

The Jews: Government, Culture, and Religion The prophets The myths of the Old Testament Monotheism: Notion of universal truth God’s intimate involvement in daily affairs The law and the Covenant: the chosen people Genealogy, eschatology, and the concept of history

Ozymandias By Percy Bysshe Shelly Ozymandias By Percy Bysshe Shelly I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear -- “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear -- “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.