Chapter 3 Finishing up Chapter 2 pages 47-74

Chaldean Empire  Babylon was one of the oldest and grandest of all the cities of the ancient world.  Reached its height in 6 th century.  IN 612BC, a Semitic people group called Chaldeans allied themselves with the Medes and help destroy Nineveh.  Nebuchadnezzar came to power soon after and the New Babylonian Empire was created.

Nebuchadnezzar  The ancient world was amazed at the sudden rise to power of the Chaldeans. … It is even discussed in the Bible In Jeremiah 27:5-7.  He even destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC (2 Kings 25:8-21). This caused the Jewish people to be scattered. This scattering is called diaspora.  The Greek historian Herodotus described Babylon this way, “In magnificence there is no other city that approaches it.” The Babylonian Hanging Gardens.

Astronomy  They charted positions of planets and stars.  They also named constellations.  From the Bible we learned that “wise men” had an important place in Chaldean society. (Dan. 2:10-11; 4:7)

Chaldean’s collapse  The glory did not even last a century.  Drunken Feasts and a Persian invasion --- Additional reading.

Persian Empire  From what is today Iran and spread across the entire Near Eastern world.  Look on page 49 of your books. IT WAS HUGE!

Cyrus The Great

 One of the greatest conquerors who ever lived.  He rose to power among the Persian tribes in the southern region.  He was an opportunist and started to take control of different lands slowly, as the need for a strong leader arose.  One group of people he encountered as he moved into the Western regions of Asia Minor were the Lydians.

Lydians  The area that the Lydians were in control of was rich in mineral resources, like gold. … So of course Cyrus would want to conquer them.  **Fun side note: The king Midas of Lydian is suppose to be the mythical golden king.  The Lydians contribution to the world was the use of coins to trade with. Till that point the Ancient world’s economy was traditional.

King Croesus (KREE sus)  From Lydian, will confront Cyrus and his army.  In 546 BC Lydian will fall to Cyrus.  Unlike the Assyrians, Cyrus took care of his concurred people.  Cyrus allowed them to have some measure of self- rule.  Cyrus EVEN took Croesus and allowed him to live in the Persian royal court.

Reading  Page 50

Persian Government  The empire was divided into provinces called satrapies.  Each province was overseen by a satrap or governor.  The road system allowed for easy trade and travel. Why is the road system part of government?

Your notes  Read Persian Culture Regulars : Then answer the section quiz. When finished complete SA9, and SA11. Then using SA9 complete SA10. AP/Honors: Get into a pair and answer the extra reading questions.

Homework  Regulars Read pages  AP/Honors Choose one question from your reading and write a short essay, answering the question you have chosen. Essay needs to be in MLA format, typed, and well thought out. NO longer than ONE page.

Chapter 3

Two remarkable civilizations  Minoan  Mycenaean

Crete  The earliest center of civilization in the Aegean region was located on the island of Crete.  By 2000 BC the Minoan civilization (named after King Minos) flourished.  They traded and colonized.  The capital city was Knossos

Mycenae  On the mainland of Greece.  It was established by invaders from the north.  Much of their knowledge of art, building and commerce came from the Minoan culture.  When Knossos was destroyed (1400BC) Mycenae became the leader of trade.

Mycenae vs. Troy  Troy was a major commercial rival of Mycenae. Troy set at a good location for trade.  There is a Greek ledged that Mycenae's went to war with the city of Troy. After about 10 years of war. Troy falls when the Mycenae's trick the city of troy by riding in a wooden statue titled “Trojan horse”   The glory of the Mycenae was short-lived. The people of Dorians came down form the north and conquered the Mycenae.

Greek Dark Ages 

Greek Mythology  Mythology played a dominant role in shaping Greek culture during the Homeric Age.  The Greeks made up stories (myths) to explain their beliefs about life.  In order to honor their god Zeus they held national religious festivals every four years at Olympia. The games were called Olympic Games.  The Olympic games were not what we know them to be today. Many times they were life and death games.

Persian War Reading and comic due!

Alexander’s Empire  North of Greece we find the Macedonians.  King Philip II united the people of Macedonia and expanded into Greek territory.  Some Greek City-States supported Philip others did not.  Why would they support him? Why would they not?

 The divided Greek city-states could not fight against the well organized army of Philip.  However, Philip liked the Greek culture and treated those he conquered with respect.  Philip though liked by many, also had many enemies. He was assassinated in 336BC.  His son Alexander assumed the throne at the age of twenty.  He was a smart man who was educated by one of the greatest Greek philosophers, Aristotle.

Alexander’s Conquests  Alexander led his army across Asia Minor and confronted the Persian army, lead by Darius III.  Darius III ran leaving his wife and children to be captured.  Alexander took Syria, destroyed the city of Tyre, and marched right into Egypt.  Alexander had accomplished his goal. --avenge the Persian invasion of Greece and become the king of Asia.  He wanted to keep going. He went all the way to India and would have gone farther but his men were tired. They had been gone for 8 years and had marched over 11,000 miles (17,702 km).

Empire Divisions  323 BC at the height of his power Alexander will die of a fever. He died young before his 33 rd birthday.  ***Interesting note: In Dan. 8:21-22 Daniel foretold that Alexander’s empire would be divided into four kingdoms.  Alexander did not leave any plans on what should happen if he died. His generals fought among themselves for the right to rule.

 Four generals became strong and took power over sections of the kingdom.  They were greedy and fought each other.  From the families of the generals dynasties ruled portions of the former great empire. - Ptolemies: Egypt - Seleucids: Syria and Persia - Antigonids: Macedonia and Greece