1. Ancient Civilizations and Empires
Review of Early World History

2. The Rise of Civilization
Civilization = a highly complex and organized society
Hunting and gathering  villages  towns  cities  civilization
Things you see in a civilization:
Writing: representing spoken language with visual symbols
social system hierarchy: ranking groups of people according to importance, status or power
Cities with public structures: places, temples, markets for trade
Religion: The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods
Government: organizing and coordinating activities of a more complex society
Art: Works produced by such skill and imagination

3. Early Civilizations What did early civilizations have in common?
Geography: river valleys – easy access to water and fertile soil to make farming productive and support a growing population
Government: from rule by village elders to a more centralized authority (kings)
Defense: competition for resources leads to conflict. Walls and armies are formed for protection
Specialized jobs: with food surplus everyone no longer is required to farm – artisans, warriors, priests, government officials
Trade: one city can not produce all the resources people want/need. Long distance trade with other settlements help civilization grow

4. Mesopotamia Within the Fertile Crescent
Between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Irrigation systems to allow farming
Collection of powerful city states
Worshiped gods and goddesses
Temples to gods had powerful priest-kings
Fought wars with each other over water and land with
Cuneiform – wedge shaped writing
Kept records of food storage
History and poetry
Famous King Hammurabi
Law codes

5. Egypt North Africa The Nile River – delta Irrigated the annual flood
Massively productive agriculture
Flax – used to make linen
Established a dynasty of pharaohs
Dynasty = series of rulers who come from the same family
Absolute monarchs – unlimited power
Could collect taxes in food, goods or labor
Produced massive works of architecture, papyrus, hieroglyphics
Complex religion based on gods and goddesses with an emphasis on the afterlife

6. Indus Indus River Valley in India
Broad flood plain means a much larger spread of civilization
Cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Walled with a fortified upper citadel and lower ordered residential area
Wells, sewers, bathrooms
Complex writing code historians are still trying to decipher
Rigid castes system – social categories that determined a person’s place. Can not move between castes
Produced cotton and many luxury items for trade

7. Chinese Yellow River valley in the North Shang dynasty
Yangtze River valley in the South
Walled cities
Similar characteristics
Produced millet, rice, ceramics, silk
Consulted oracles
Pictogram writing system

8. Ancient Empires
Empire = a large political unit in which a number of different lands or peoples are governed by a single ruler
Usually develop when a powerful state conquers weaker neighbors
History is full of powerful empires

9. Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece was made up of many independent city states
Athens, Sparta, Thebes, etc.
People were called Hellenes
Similar ethnic background, customs, and language
City states banded together when threatened or forced to by a powerful city state

10. Athens Most powerful of the Greek city states
Produced the world’s first democracy
Valued personal and political liberty
Direct democracy= rule by the people through direct participation in government
Citizenship – men over 20
Not women, slaves or foreigners
Vote in people’s assembly, make speeches on public policy, elect magistrates (officials to carry out decisions)

11. Athens Goes to War War with Persia Athens had the strongest navy
Sparta had the strongest army
Athens formed alliances with other Greek city states to fight off the Persian threat
Kept the alliance after the war
Athens dominated and required tribute from all other city states
Peloponnesian War
War between Athens and Sparta
Macedonian Wars
Lose to the next great empire

12. Alexander the Great
Macedonians were viewed by the Greeks as barbarians, but were conquered by Phillip II.
His son Alexander became king at age 20.
Takes over the Persian Empire
Continues to move east, and south
Egypt, Pakistan and India into the Indus River civilization
Soldiers refuse to go further
Dies from wounds at age 32
Spread Hellenistic culture throughout the region

13. The Early Roman Republic
Began as a small city state on the Italian peninsula
Established a republic
Republic= a system of government through which the people rule through representatives who govern according to law
Laws – the Twelve Tables – to ensure the rights of roman citizens in courts
3 part system
Popular assembly – citizens vote on laws and elect magistrates
Magistrates – carry out the laws and select senators
Senate – write laws and handle foreign affairs
Grow more powerful – based in old wealthy families

14. The Roman Empire
Rome expands through military conquest – continually at war
Citizens were required to serve in the military
Punic wars – with Carthage (another powerful city state in North Africa)
Anatolia, Syria, Egypt, Spain, Gaul (France), Britain, and Germanic tribes
Conquered land was incorporated into the empire
Bureaucracy to collect taxes and set up infrastructure
Roads aqueducts, games, public buildings
Must provide soldiers for Rome
Could become citizens

15. The Roman Empire
Also dealt with slave revolts and civil wars between powerful families
Julius Caesar – makes himself the sole ruler of Rome after winning a civil war with Pompey
Assassinated by a coalition of senators
Leaves a power vacuum
Great nephew Octavian steps in

16. The Roman Empire Octavian Augustus Caesar
Becomes the first Emperor of Rome
Senate becomes an advising body to the emperor
Begins the Pax Romana
Period of calm, prosperity and peace that continues for 200 years (15 emperors)
Doesn’t last forever – civil war returns, military revolts, and a series of bad emperors lead Rome into a volatile time
Diocletian splits the empire into East and West for better management