1. Chapter 2
The Fertile Crescent

2. Section 1 Land Between Two Rivers

3. What 2 rivers? Mesopotamia – Greek = between 2 rivers
Tigris
Euphrates
Make up the Fertile Crescent – region in Southwest Asia that was the site of the world’s 1st civilization
Named that because it is shaped like a crescent moon
Great area to farm
Present Day Iraq

4. Good rivers…Bad rivers
Spring – snow in mountains melted = rushing water with topsoil in it – floods = rich soil = farming
Also provide:
Fish
Clay for buildings
Reeds for boats
Floods not same time - water sweeping away:
People
Animals
Houses
Crops

5. Lets Start Cities Farming success = surplus of food = cities
By 3500 B.C. earliest known cities grew
In region of Sumer

6. How did the cities work? Cities shared a common language & culture
No single ruler
Stayed independent – city-states – a city that is also a separate, independent state
In Sumer each had their own:
god or goddess
Army
Government
king

7. What did they look like? Public square – busy
Merchants display goods
Musicians, acrobats, beggars, water sellers in streets
For a fee scribes – professional writers, would read and write letters
Houses faced away from crowded streets onto inner courtyards – families ate and children played
Hot nights – slept on flat roofs
Oil lamps - light

9. What about religion?
At center of every city – ziggurat – temple to main gods or goddesses of the city
Made of terraces one on top of the other
Steps and ramps linked each level
At top – shrine
They thought gods used it as a way to get to Earth
Believed in many gods – polytheism
Poly = many in Greek
Theism = belief in a god or gods
Myth – stories about gods that explained people’s beliefs – warned gods would punish
Those who angered them
Also promised rewards

10. Ziggurats

11. What did they do for the gods?
Honor them with religious ceremonies
Priests washed statues before and after each meal offered to them
Incense burned
Huge plates of food – then food eaten by people
They would gain qualities of those goods

12. Bye-Bye Sumer Its wealth was the down fall
City-states fought over land and use of river water
2300 B.C. Sumer conquered by Akkad – area near by
King Sargon united the Sumerian city-states
Improved government and military
100 years later fell apart again
After 2000 B.C. no longer major power
Fell to Babylonia in 1700 B.C.

13. Section 2 The Fertile Crescent Empire

14. Empire??
An area of many territories and peoples that is controlled by one government

15. The Babylonian Empire Created by Hammurabi in 1789 B.C.
Conquered several cities in Sumer
Capital – Babylon
Built roads = easy travel
Caravans – groups of travelers
Cities had bazaars – markets
Cotton from India
Spices from Egypt
All this trading = money

16. Bye Babylonia
Shrank and destroyed by invaders early 1500 B.C.

17. The Assyrian Empire Open land = constantly invading
Assyrians become skilled warriors
1365 B.C. – best defense is to attack others
650 B.C. – large empire
Nile River to Persian Gulf

18. How about war Invented battering ram – pounded city walls
Used slingers to hurl stones
Archers – protected by helmet and armor
Armed charioteers
Capital – Nineveh
City of learning
Library – thousands of clay tablets from Sumer and Babylonia
Because of them we know about Mesopotamia

19. Bye Assyria
No friends
Medes & Chaldeans joined together – defeated them in 612 B.C.

20. Babylonia is Back Babylon rose while under control of the Chaldeans
Center of New Babylonia – controlled the Fertile Crescent

21. Nebu…Nebuch…Nebuchadnezzar
King Nebuchadnezzar II – rebuilt Babylon (was destroyed by the Assyrians)
Built walls around city for protection
Built massive palace
Several terraces – 350 ft. tall
Landscape – trees and gardens
Built for wife – hated dry Mesopotamia

22. Hanging Gardens

23. What about learning? Babylon – center of learning and science
Babylonian math skills and Chaldean astronomers charted stars and length of year
Only a few minutes off of modern scientists

24. Bye New Babylonia Open to attacks
539 B.C. fell to Persians – led by Cyprus the Great
Babylon spared

25. Now the Persians Persian homeland – present day Iran
Longest empire ever in the Fertile Crescent
By 400 B.C. from Greece to India

26. Who were they? Zoroastrianism – Persian religion
One god
Developed bureaucracy – complex structure of government offices
Built road network – established trading with neighbors
Tolerated people with different culture

27. Lasting Impressions
Persian achievements – shaped modern society

28. Section 3 The Legacy of Mesopotamia

29. Hammurabi’s Code Code – organized list of laws
Help people know rules and punishment
Hammurabi – ruled Babylonia B.C.
Set of rules for the empire
Told people how to settle conflicts
Based on early Sumerian codes
282 laws
Organized different categories
Trade
Labor
Property
Family

30. Hammurabi’s Code Code based on “an eye for an eye”
Punishment should fit the crime
Did not apply equally to all
Harshness of punishment depended on importance of victim
Example pg. 44
Person who accidentally broke law still guilty
Laws important because written down
Everyone knew the rules
1st recorded set of rules found

31. Writing 1st developed 3100 B.C. – Mesopotamia Way to keep records
Record keepers – important and busy in Sumer
Earliest documents – records of farm animals
One of the most valuable skill – because most don’t know how
Respected

32. Scribes
Military
Calculated amount of food and supplies an army would need
Government scribes figured the number of diggers needed to build a canal
Records
Written on clay – paper not invented

33. Clay…where did that come from?
Tigris and Euphrates – washed down from mountains
Scribes shaped clay
Used sharp tools to make letters
When dried – hard
Size and shape depended on its purpose

34. Where did writing come from?
Before writing used:
Shaped pieces of clay tokens = record keeping
1st writing symbols represented specific objects
Cuneiform – scribes combined symbols to make groups of wedges and lines
Could represent different languages = flexibility and useful
Historians believe:
Sumerians developed system of writing alone – did not borrow
Symbols set in rows
Rows read left to right
Top to bottom

35. Section 4 Mediterranean Civilizations

36. Lets get to know the Phoenicians
East coast of Mediterranean Sea
Limited resources
Snails – purple dye
Cedar forest
Increased trade
B.C. – great sea power
In Mediterranean Sea & Atlantic Ocean
Returned with stories of sea monsters
Kept people out of waters
Brought goods to Tyre & Sidon – 2 major cities
Bazaars filled with different foods
Example:
Figs - Giraffes
Olives - Warthogs
Honey - Bears
Spices
Very Expensive

37. New Alphabet Used for trade Created alphabet – 22 symbols
Set of symbols that represents the sounds of the language
Basis of alphabet used today
Each letter stood for one consonant sound
Easier than cuneiform
Before only educated understood
Now – everyone could understand it
Alphabet helped with trade who spoke different languages
Trade spread the alphabet

38. Hello Israelites Lived around Jordan River Valley – called Hebrews
No great civilization
Influenced our civilization
Their history is known from the Torah – Israelites most sacred texts
Abraham was their leader

39. Abraham Israelites began as shepherds in Mesopotamia
According to the Torah – Abraham taught monotheism – belief in one God
Mono = one
He lead them from Mesopotamia to Canaan
Famine spread there
A time when there is so little food that many people starve
Fled south to Egypt
Lived in Egypt for hundreds of years
Thrown into slavery – fearful of their power

40. Abraham Israelite leader – Moses led them out of Egypt
This was called Exodus – wondered desert through Sinai Peninsula for the next 40 years
While in the desert Moses given Ten Commandments
God’s code of laws
Eventually returned to Canaan
They united under their 1st king – Saul – defended against enemies
Next king – David established capital in Jerusalem
Solomon (David’s son)
Built temple in Jerusalem
Split in 2 after his death
North – Israel
South – Judah
Assyria conquered Israelites and gained Judah

41. Here comes an Exile
722 B.C. – Assyrians exiled – thousands to different parts of the empire
Forced people to live in another place or country
Assyrians controlled Judah – 612 B.C.
Conquered by Chaldeans
Then Chaldean Babylonians
587 – King of Judah rebelled
King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed capital city of Jerusalem – exiled people to Babylonia

42. Section 5 Judaism

43. Judaism is…
Monotheistic – belief in one god

44. Israelites believe… God is present everywhere
Knows everything
Has complete power
God promised Abraham that his people would be kings and build nations
Covenant – binding agreement
Expected to follow God’s laws, be kind and just
Moses, Israelite leader who lived around 1200 B.C. – renewed covenant
God lead Israelites to Canaan “promised land”
They obey God faithfully

45. The heart of Judaism Ten Commandments Torah set other laws
Given to Moses by God
Set religious duties to God
Set rules for correct behavior
Torah set other laws
Deal with everyday matters
Deal with food preparation
Explained punishment of crimes and equal punishment
Call on leaders to carry out laws with mercy and justice
Torah is made up of 5 books:
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Christians adopted these books as the first 5 books of the Old Testament

46. What about Men & Women?
Men - head of family, owned his wife and children
Sold his daughter into marriage
Men could only seek divorce
One successful woman - a judge – Deborah
Later on, they were not allowed to take part in religious services

47. Prophets
Prophet - religious leader, told the Israelites what God wants them to do
Disobeying Gods law = disaster
Preached a code of moral behavior
Said all people are equal before God
Kings had to obey God’s laws

48. Moving yet again…
A.D. 135 Romans added to the diaspora - scattering of people - began by Assyrians and Chaldeans
Romans drove the Israelites out of their land
Scattered them to different parts of the world
Wherever they settled they preserved their heritage
Lived in close communities
Obeyed religious laws and their traditions
Celebrate Passover – freedom from slavery – Exodus from Egypt
Helped them get through harsh times

49. Influence on other religions
Has influenced Christianity and Islam
Same geographic region
Monotheistic
Honor Abraham, Moses, and other prophets
Same moral point of view

50. Elements