 Greek for “land between the rivers”  Although mostly arid (dry), there lies an area known as the Fertile Crescent due to its arch shape and rich agricultural capabilities

 Two rivers frame Mesopotamia  Tigris  Euphrates  Both flooded Mesopotamia at least once a year leaving behind silt (a thick bed of mud)  Silt produces fertile soil for agriculture  Farmers used the rivers as irrigation sources  Agricultural growth = population growth = cities

 Sumerians first settle and farmed Mesopotamia in 3300 B.C.  The Sumerians were attracted to good soil  The Sumerians faced three challenges  Unpredictable flooding and a period of little to no rain  No natural barriers for protection (defenseless)  Limited natural resources (building materials)

 Dug irrigation ditches for steady flow of water  Built city walls with mud bricks for defense  Sumerians traded grains, cloth, and tools for natural resources

 Because Sumerians needed to solve the challenges of their landscape, they began to organize  This organization needed leaders and rules  These leaders and the rules they produced became the foundation of a government and a civilization

 The Sumerians gave us city-states  City-state = a city and its surrounding land functioning as one unit  At the center of all Sumerian city-states was the ziggurat  Ziggurat = a step-shaped temple were priests ruled city-states

 Sumerian culture was a theocracy  Theocracy= rule by divine (god) authority  The rulers passed their rule onto their sons and they did the same  This series of rule by a family is called a dynasty

 Polytheism = the belief in many gods  The Sumerians tried to please their gods through work and sacrifice  The rulers saw themselves appointed by the gods  The people saw themselves as servants of the gods

 Sumerians had social classes that defined and separated groups  Women had more rights than other later civilizations  New ideas and inventions:  Wheel, sail, plow  First to use bronze  Math; measuring and architecture  Writing = Cuneiform

 An empire brings together several peoples, nations, or previously independent states under the control of one ruler.  Sargon of Akkad:  2350 B.C. conquered Sumer  Adopted Sumerian culture  Helped to spread Sumerian culture and knowledge

 2000 B.C. Amorites conquer Sumer and established the capital of Babylon  Babylonian empire reached its peak under the reign of Hammurabi  Hammurabi’s Code:  System of laws put together to establish order and rule

 The Nile  World’s longest river  Flows south to north  Foundation of Egyptian civilization  The gift of the Nile  Yearly predictable flooding  Left behind silt  Farmers worshipped the Nile as a god  Egypt = “the gift of the Nile”

 Flooding amount varied  Too little = starvation  Too much = devastation  Desert = natural barriers/isolation but…  Desert = natural barriers/ protection

 Cataracts = choppy whitewater that prohibited travel  Egypt divided into Upper and Lower Egypt between Mediterranean Sea and first cataract of the Nile

 Upper Egypt  Area between first cataract and Nile river delta  It is the southern portion of the two areas  Lower Egypt  Area from the Nile river delta to the Mediterranean  It is the northern portion of the two areas

 Nile flows north  Boats flow with current  Winds blow south  Boats use sails  United the villages  Promoted trade

 United Upper and Lower Egypt  Established capital at Memphis  Where Upper and Lower met

 Kings were gods themselves  Pharaohs were god-kings  As powerful as spiritual gods  Pharaoh was the center of all things  Government  Military  Religion  Life

 Pharaohs ruled after their death  Their tombs were more important than their palaces  Pyramids (p. 39)

 Egyptians believed in an afterlife  Mummification to preserve the body for the afterlife

 Used social classes  Could break from your social class  Women were entitled to same rights as men  Marriage and divorce

 Used symbols for words and sounds  First written on clay tablets  Papyrus – reeds that could be formed into a paper-like sheet

 Subcontinent – includes India, Pakistan and Bangladesh  Mountains serve as protective barriers to river valley  Indus and Ganges Rivers form Indus River Valley

 Rivers carry water and silt  Monsoon – seasonal wind  Bring flooding in summer months

 Flooding unpredictable  Rivers sometimes changed course  Monsoons unpredictable

 Larger area influenced by civilization than other areas  Planned cities  Grid system used for planning  Plumbing and sewage  Citadel  Strong central government

 One of the largest Indus Valley sites  Flood control  Streets  Bathrooms

 Written language using symbols  Toys = _______________  Few weapons = _________________  Religion thought to be polytheistic with a theocracy  Trade was prominent  Use of rivers to travel  Artifacts from other areas of the world

 China  Natural barrier  Gobi Desert  Taklimakan Desert  Himalayas

 River Systems  Huang He (Yellow)  “yellow river”  Yellow silt called loess  Chiang Jiang (Yangtze)

 Flooding  Devastating  Huang He = “China’s Sorrow”  Isolation  Had to rely on what they could produce  Attacks  Even though isolated, still open enough for invasion

 Xia Dynasty  Brought irrigation  Shang Dynasty  First Chinese rulers to leave written records  Social classes  Large walls for defense  Zhou Dynasty  Mandate of Heaven  Feudalism

 Center of civilized world  Family  Respect for elders  Women inferior  Social classes  Nobles (rulers/wealthy)  Peasants (workers)  Religion  Spirits of ancestors  Oracle bones

 Spoken v. written  Common written language unites all of China  Difficult to learn  Nobles v. peasants

 Dynastic Cycle – pattern of rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties (p.54)  Mandate of Heaven  Divine approval to rule  Feudalism – ruling system in which nobles oversee lands under control of a central leader

 Roads  Canals  Coins  Cast iron