2.  Overview of Ancient Egypt  Early inhabitants (Neolithic's) called the land Kemet  Renamed Egypt by the Greeks  The Nile River Valley (annual floods)  World’s Longest River – flows from South to North  Two Kingdoms by 4,000 B.C.  Lower Kingdom in the North  Upper Kingdom in the South  3000 B.C. – Narmer invaded Lower Egypt  Marked the first Egyptian Dynasty

3.  The Old Kingdom (2700-2200 B.C.)  Established a theocracy (god-king)  Built pyramids to honor god-kings (mummification)  The Middle Kingdom (2050-1700 B.C.)  Egypt was reunited after a time of upheaval  The capital was moved to Thebes  Were invaded by the Hyksos (from Western Asia)  The New Kingdom (1600-1200 B.C.)  Egyptians overthrew the Hyksos – led by Ahmose  Kings began to use the title Pharaoh

4.  Hatshepsut (1480 B.C.) - female pharaoh  Ruled because her son was too young to rule  Extensive building projects  Thutmose III (Hatshepsut’s son)  Expanded the Dynasty to include Syria  Made an “empire” for Egypt – cultural diffusion  Amenhotep: (1370 B.C.) – wife Nefertiti  Decided to make Egypt monotheistic (Aton)  Changed his name to Akhenaton  Moved the capital to central Egypt

5. Tutankhamen (King Tut) – The boy king – Moved the capital back to Thebes Ramses II (“the Great”) – Fought the Hittites for control of Syria – A.D. 1995, a tomb was uncovered that held 50 of Ramses 52 sons – Egypt weakened after Ramses’ death Invasions by the Libyans and Kushites

6.  Social Order  Upper class; middle class; lower class  Women's’ rights improved btwn. Old & New Kingdoms  Religion: polytheistic (other than Akhenaton)  Gods were depicted as part human part animal  Writing System  Hieroglyphics: carved picture symbols  Hieratic: cursive for everyday use  Rosetta Stone: part Greek and part Egyptian  Book of the Dead

7.  Strip of land that stretched from the Med. Sea to the Persian Gulf  Mesopotamia: “the land between the rivers”

8.  Settled in Mesopotamia in 3500 B.C.  Built the world’s first cities (Ur, Uruk, Eridu)  Built ziggurats – temples in each city-state  only priests could enter the temples  Government: each city was independent  A military leader was chosen to lead/protect  2700: military leaders were viewed as kings  Leaders served as king and high priest  The legal systems were not clear or consistent

9.  Roles of Men and Women  Men had ultimate authority over families  Women possessed very few rights (buy/sell prop.)  Writing System  Cuneiform: pictograms on wet clay  Gilgamesh was written @ 1850 B.C.  Religion: each god was over a natural force  The gods were viewed as unpredictable/angry  Inventions:  The wheel, 12 mo. Calendar, arch, and sundial  Developed bronze and metal plow

10.  Invaders dreamt of controlling an empire  Sargon I and the Akkadians  Came to power in the 2300s B.C.  United the Mesopotamian city-states  Hammurabi’s Babylonian Empire  Amorites overran Sumerian centers (Babylon)  Hammurabi became the dominant ruler  Increased Babylon's prosperity  Law Code: “Made Justice Appear in the Land”  Law covered the entire region  282 sections on Daily Life  Clear punishment for crimes

11.  Babylonian Society  Upper Class: Kings, priests, nobles  Middle Class: artisans, merchants, scribes, farmers  Lower Class: slaves (from war/had not paid debts)  Borrowed ideas and techniques from Sumerians  Writing system, farming techniques, & religion

12.  Larger than both Sumer and Egypt  Located in South Asia  Reached its height @ 2500 – 1500 B.C.  Used the natural boundaries of the Himalayas and Hindu Kush  Seasonal “Monsoons” affect the climate  Winter temps of 70º; Summer temps of 100º  Flooding of the Rivers enriches the soil

13.  Harappan and Mohenjo-Daro civilizations  Centrally planned cities  A citadel, city laid out in a grid  Language and Religion  Written records (pictograms)  Animal/human deities  Collapse  Flooding and violent invasion

14.  Zhong Guo – “Middle Kingdom”  Isolated from much of the world  Shang Dynasty (1700-1000 B.C.)  Myths (Creation and founding individuals)  Early Religion – leaders were both pol./relig.  polytheistic  Achievements: metal workings, silk cloth  Mandate of Heaven:  Justified rulers’ authority  If a ruler governed improperly, they lost the mandate