1. Ancient Civilizations: Mesopotamia-Egypt
Themes Notes
AP World History

2. Political :Trade, War, Diplomacy, Nation Building
Egypt:
Unified Egypt lead by the God-King Pharaoh (Menes, 3100 BC, Old Kingdom)
Hyksos people from near east settled in Nile Delta. Ousted by New kingdom Pharaohs after bringing bronze working (farming tools and weapons).
New Kingdom: invaded parts of Syria and Palestine
Hittite Rise: People of central Turkey brought new languages and Iron technology as major advancement
Rameses II: last great Egyptian pharaoh ( BC)
Mesopotamia:
Isolated city cities function as isolated political units or City-State
Political structure: Kings ruled city-states as monarchy (Sargon, Hammurabi)
Trade with outlying territories: Egypt, Syria, Near East out-posts, Turkey
Babylonians united Mes. (Hammurabi, BC)
 Code of Hammurabi: First codified system of laws
Depended on Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

3. Change and Continuity Mesopotamia: Egypt Change Continuity
Writing system—Pictograph, Ideogram, Phonetic sign
Political unification—began as sovereign city-states, become unified under Hammurabi.
Egypt
Political instability: Old, middle, and new kingdoms experienced periods of collapse, chaos, and invasion.
Territorial growth and change
Metal working technology—Copper to Bronze in Second Intermediary Period (1640s).
Continuity
Religion—animistic, polytheism
Society: Egyptian society and social structure remained though 1200+years (ex. Pharaoh)

4. Technology, Inventions, and Demography
Mesopotamia:
Writing—Pictograph called Cuneiform
Schools
Literature
Egypt:
Stone working technologies—Pyramids
Bronze working brought by the Hyksos
Written Language—Pictograph
Demography: Spread to Palestine and Syria in New Kingdom

5. Social Structure Mesopotamia
Kings and nobles: King and royal family, priests, and high officials
Free clients: Workers who relied on royal family. Worked noble lands in return for an independent plot of land.
Commoners: Free citizens who could buy and sell their lands. City dwellers had some political rights.
Slaves: Indentured servants, prisoners of war, and criminals.
Women: domestic roles, fewer political rights, men controlled home and political world. Some roles for women in religion and some property rights for women.
Religion: Developed as a system to explain the unexplainable. Violent relationship with gods due to the unexpected nature of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

6. Social Structure Egypt
Pharaohs: God-King on earth rules divine monarchy
Royal family and advisors
Scribes and other government officials
Soldiers, merchants, artisans
Farmers and free workers
Slaves
Women: Early on mainly filled traditional roles, no females allowed in scribe schools, eventually women were pharos
Some female leaders as wife of the Pharaoh, did receive royal burial
Religion: Goddesses important part of religion. More peaceful relationship with gods due to the predictable nature of the Nile River.

7. Culture Mesopotamia: Polytheistic Religion
Animism—prayed to prevent the wrath of the harsh world
Ziggurat – Most visible religious structure
Code of Hammurabi—laws governed crime, medicine, trade, and agriculture. Eye for an eye.
Cuneiform – Writing system with wedge shaped symbols. Became basis of Asian language. Complex system; small group used it.
Egypt:
Polytheistic Religion; Osiris, Isis, others. Active after-life mythology. Mummification as part of death and after life.
Short period of monotheism (Akhenaten, BC).
Pharaoh is god Horus in human form. Divine rule.
Ironworking form Hittites

8. Culture Cont. Mesopotamia: Math and Science
Number system based on 60; basis of second and minutes we use today.
Astronomy
Great adapters of their environment: Metals (Bronze) ceramics, transportation, and engineering.