Objective  Examine the impact of location and geography on the people and culture of the Middle East

Big Ideas Early Civilizations of the Middle East

First Civilizations Developments & Achievements  Fertile Crescent: Mesopotamia – Crash Course Crash CourseCrash Course  Successful farming settlements had grown into powerful city-states:  large town that has its own gov’t and controls the surrounding country side – priest-kings  Sumer: 3500BC – Greek for southern  Government – laws, army  Religion – special gods - Built Ziggurats - scribes  System of writing – cuneiform – pass on information  Used a wheel  Sailing ships = trade  Developed plow and accurate calendar  Built dams to control floods  System of measurement – based on 60  All Influenced later people – Rap – Rap  Akkadians after Sumer

The Fertile Crescent

Gilgamesh is one of the oldest recorded stories in the world. It's about an ancient King of Uruk who may have actually existed and whose name - Gilgamesh - is on the Sumerian King List Hero's Journey Sumer Website

An artist's rendition of one type of Sumerian sailboat. The rope indicates where the sails would have hung on the wooden mast. The body of the boat is made of bundled reeds covered with leather Sumerian Irrigation Canal and Plow

Lack of natural barriers around the Fertile Crescent  King Hammurabi conquered much of the Fertile Crescent - Babylonians  Drew up a code of law – single system of justice - laws laws  Mastery of iron: iron weapons - Hittites  Phoenicians known as carriers of civilization = trade  Developed an alphabet that evolved into ours

Royal portrait - Hammurabi - King of Babylon BC Map showing the Babylonian territory upon Hammurabi's ascension in c BC and upon his death in c BC Figures at top of stone "fingernail" above Hammurabi's code of laws.

Persian Empire’s Influence  Conquered the vast empire from Asia Minor to Indus Valley – Iran – Darius I – ruled at peak  Gov’t  Divided into provinces  Governor/Satrap was responsible for collecting taxes and for keeping order  Tolerance of other peoples  Trade/Communication  Improved & expanded the road system  Uniform system of coinage

Darius the Great (526 – 485 B. C. E.)  Established a tax-collecting system.  Divided the empire into districts called SATRAPIES.  Built the great Royal Road (video) system.

Greece and Rome addition to the Middle East  Hellenism (Hellenistic Civilization)

Hellenism (Hellenistic Civilization)  Alexander spread the concept of Hellenism throughout his newly-conquered empire.  Hellenism comes from the term Hellenes, which is what the Greeks called themselves.  Hellenism, therefore, is the spread of Greek culture throughout Alexander’s empire.  Under Hellenism Greek art, architecture, literature, technology, and ideas were blended into the Middle East  This culture diffusion continued well after Alexander’s abrupt death in 323 B.C.E.

Alexander the Great video 3:00 or video 7:00 video  Macedonian (Greek) King that laid the final death blow to the Persian Empire and conquered it.

Roman Conquest  Eventually another Mediterranean civilization, Rome, conquered all the lands around the Mediterranean rim.  Under Roman rule trade flourished throughout the Middle East.  Roman rule also brought with it an extensive law system, road network, national security force, and economic stability.  By 395 C.E. the Roman Empire split into two halves, the Roman and Byzantine Empires.  The Byzantine Empire continued to ruler over parts of Asia Minor for the next 1000 years.

Constantine’s City-- Constantinople

Roman Empire

Greece and Rome addition to the Middle East  Hellenistic civilization: 330’s BC  Blended Greek culture with cultures of ancient Middle East  Alexander the Great conquered Persian Empire  Pursued research in science mathematics, medicine and philosophy  Rome: by 115 AD ruled much of ME:  trade and diffusion flowed  split Byzantine Empire next 1,000 years from Constantinople – split by 330 AD  About 700 years – fall of Rome isolated with Europe

Even BIGGER Idea:  Over thousands of years, migrating people, traders, and conquerors have brought many ethnic groups and their ideas to the region.