Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt Ch. 10 Sec. 1 Pp

Civilization ► Def. – a term that describes highly developed cultures with cities, organized governments and religions, and systems of writing ► They have specialized workers, and use technology and metals. ► Earliest civilization was the Bronze Age. People mixed copper and tin to make tools and weapons.

Mesopotamia ► Located in the Fertile Crescent, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers ► Around 4500 B.C., wandering people settled here and began farming ► Built walls and irrigation systems ► Created 12-month calendar and invented the plow

What Country is it Today? ► Iraq!

Sumer ► Built cities that held up to 40,000 people ► Sumer was a city- state (a city that was a small state or nation) located where the Tigris and Euphrates run closest to each other.

Sumer ► Trade made them wealthy ► Invented the wheel and sailboat

Mesopotamian Religion ► A ziggurat (a large, step-like tower) was at the center of each city ► They believed that the city’s chief god or goddess lived in the temple at the top ► Only priests could enter the temple

Mesopotamian Religion and Government ► Polytheism – worship of many gods and goddesses ► Theocracy – government controlled by religious leaders ► Q: Are there any countries with theocracies today?

First System of Writing ► Sumerians were first to write down laws and keep lists and records ► Cuneiform – writing made up of hundreds of markings shaped like wedges ► Taught writing in tablet houses, but only the wealthy went there

Epic of Gilgamesh ► It was the world’s first known story ► King Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel around performing brave deeds ► When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh searches for a way to live forever

Akkad and Babylon ► Around 2300 B.C., Akkad conquers Sumer ► World’s first empire (group of states under one ruler) ► Hammurabi was Babylon’s greatest ruler ► Developed 60 min. hour, 60 sec. min., and 360° circle Sargon, King of Akkad

Hammurabi’s Code ► He took what he thought were best laws from other city- states and applied it to his empire ► Carved in stone and placed where people could see them

A New Babylon ► After Hammurabi’s death, empire split into smaller territories ► Chaldeans, under King Nebuchadnezzar, rebuilt Babylon

Phoenicians ► Trade spread ideas and culture ► Phoenicians were located in Lebanon ► Their alphabet gave rise to the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin alphabets

Egypt – Gift of the Nile ► Developed along the Nile River valley ► Delta – fan-shaped fertile area ► Protected from invasion by desert, sea, and Nile’s cataracts (waterfalls) ► Annual floods produced rich soil

The Pharaoh ► 3100 B.C. – Upper and Lower Egypt were unified by Narmer ► Pharaoh – “great house” ► Considered a god, he was the center of their life

Religion ► Their gods stood for some part of nature ► Re – sun god ► Hapi – river god ► Horus – sky god Thoth, Arbitrator between Good and Evil

Religion ► Believed soul could not exist without the body, so they embalmed and mummified them. ► Pyramids – large tombs of the pharaohs

Trade and Conquest ► Conquered by the Hyksos around 1700 B.C. ► Gave the Egyptians bronze and iron weapons and the chariot ► Egypt conquered Kush (Sudan) and Punt (Somalia) ► Traded with Greeks and Phoenicians

Egyptian Writing ► Hieroglyphics – form of writing in which pictures are used for words and sounds ► Papyrus – Nile plant the Egyptians turned into paper

Mathematics and Medicine ► Number system based on ten ► Used fractions and whole numbers ► Developed geometry ► Used splints, bandages, and compresses ► Sewed up cuts and set broken bones ► Remedies for hair loss and indigestion