independent city-states Sumer the city-state belonged to a god

polytheistic worshipped many gods Sumer

cuneiform: first written language Sumer ziggurat: example of Sumerian architecture Sargon: established first empire

cuneiform building techniques the wheel 360 degrees in a circle division of hours and minutes Sumerian influence

Hammurabi united Mesopotamia compiled a law code most famous Amorite king

Hammurabi’s Law Code retaliation = basis social, moral, domestic, and commercial standard

Hammurabi’s Law Code “To cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and evil, that the strong might not oppress the weak.”

Hammurabi’s and Moses’ Law Codes Hammurabi’s = man’s conduct Moses’ = man’s heart

Epic of Gilgamesh legendary figure seeking immortality records a universal flood

Epic of Gilgamesh “Tear down (this) house, build a ship! Give up possessions, seek thou life. Despise property and keep the soul alive! Aboard the ship take thou the seed of all living things.”

Amorite accomplishments extensive trade algebra, geometry, and astronomy

Upper Egypt hugs the Nile River cut off from the outside world

Lower Egypt spread across the Nile Delta easy contact with other nations

Nile River only available water important highway

Menes united Egypt capital = White Walls (Memphis)

Ancient Egypt Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom New Kingdom

Old Kingdom “Age of the Pharaohs” or “Age of the Pyramids”

Pyramids vs. Ziggurats pyramids = smooth sides ziggurats = terraces and stairs pyramids = distant worship ziggurats = personal experience in worship

Khufu or Cheops built the Great Pyramid at Giza

First Intermediate Period First Intermediate Period unrest and cultural inactivity pharaohs had shorter reigns

Middle Kingdom Importance: great artistic output Joseph and his family move to Egypt

Second Intermediate Period Second Intermediate Period Hyksos “Shepherd Kings” knowledge of warfare

New Kingdom “Age of the Empire” capital moved to Thebes

Hatshepsut early New Kingdom ruler first female ruler of Egypt

Thutmose III “Napoleon of Egypt” probably the pharaoh from whom Moses fled

Amenhotep II athletic and militaristic probably the pharaoh who refused to let Israel go

Rameses II “the Great” embarked on great building projects

pharaoh merchants common people foreign slaves priests and nobles

Social class status depended on favor of the pharaoh favored women

Egyptian Legacy medical advances solar calendar hieroglyphics and papyrus geometry and astronomy

Egyptian Religion polytheistic = many gods pharaohs = most powerful judged in the afterlife importance of embalming

Hittites from Asia Minor ruled by a military commander iron production

Phoenicians city-states on the coast a commercial empire developed an alphabet

Tyre massive sea walls impressive navy

Tyre’s destruction Nebuchadnezzar Alexander the Great

Arameans the capital = Damascus called “the crossroads of civilizations” “go-between” language

Hebrews/Israelites Divisions of Hebrew history: Patriarchal Egyptian Wilderness Conquest Judges

Divisions of Hebrew history: United Kingdom Divided Kingdom Exile Persian Hellenistic Hebrews/Israelites

Divisions of Hebrew history: Maccabean Roman Hebrews/Israelites

destroyed by Assyria in 722 B.C. Israel (northern 10 tribes) Israel (northern 10 tribes)

Judah (southern 2 tribes) Judah (southern 2 tribes) destroyed by Chaldea in 586 B.C.

Assyrian Empire assimilated and adapted previous cultures known for military might

Assyrian Captains Tiglathpileser = Damascus in 732 B.C. Sargon II = Samaria in 722 B.C. Sennacherib = Jerusalem

Jonah sent to Nineveh whole city repented later returned to wickedness God judged with Chaldean invasion God’s Mercy to Nineveh

Chaldean Empire capital = Babylon

Nebuchadnezzar ~greatest ruler~ 586 B.C. destroyed Jerusalem

diaspora scattering, especially of the Jews

Babylon two sets of outer walls protected by the Euphrates River contained the hanging gardens study of astronomy

Persians Indo-European people from present-day Iran Cyrus = greatest ruler

universal coinage Lydian Contribution

Persian Government satrapies = small divisions or provinces some local self-rule network of roads

Persian Culture borrowed and adapted from conquered nations Sumerian cuneiform Lydian currency Phoenician and Greek navies Egyptian calendar

Zoroastrianism Ahura Mazda = god Avesta = sacred writings Persian Religion

Zoroastrianism vs. others monotheistic like Israelites afterlife and judgment of works like Egyptians