1. Egypt and the Middle Eastern Empires

2. The Assyrians Developed in Mesopotamia
Used Iron weapons and military strength to conquer territory and enslave others
Some Mesopotamians paid TRIBUTE to avoid fighting which made the Assyrians kings wealthy
Built a library at Nineveh collecting ancient writings in various languages and documenting important historical events

3. The Chaldeans Under king Nebuchadnezzar empire grew
Destroyed Jerusalem and took slaves
Made Babylon most beautiful city in the ancient Middle East including the Hanging Gardens
Astronomers studied the sky and developed constellations
Figured out the length of a year and week

4. The Persians Massive empire used roads to unify Persia
Used coins (Lydia) ending barter system
Allowed conquered people to keep their language and religion but had to pay taxes
Zoroaster preached about religion and how to live
His teachings have influenced other religions

5. Egypt

6. The Nile River Egypt is “the gift of the Nile”
River creates fertile land along its banks
Nile floods each spring, irrigating farms
River was also used for transportation and trade between Egyptians

7. The Old Kingdom 3100 BC to 2186 BC Egypt was united
Egyptian cities became centers of business
Egyptians began building pyramids for their pharaohs (godlike rulers) to rule in the afterlife
Pharaohs eventually lost power and the city leaders began to fight each other leading to civil war

8. The Middle Kingdom 2040 BC Egypt was reunited
Expanded trade and irrigation projects
Began to mummify everyone after death
Developed medicine and arithmetic
Overrun by invaders (Hyksos) with superior weapons
Eventually the Egyptians drove them out

9. The New Kingdom 1600 BC the New Kingdom emerged
First female pharaoh (Hatshepsut) spread Egyptian influence into Africa and expanded trade
Polytheistic (many gods) religion

10. Legacy of the Egyptians
Papyrus- used a reed to make paper
Scrolls contained medical information
Architectural achievements (pyramids, temples, palaces, obelisks)
Arithmetic developed to collect taxes as well as for measurements and weights
Extensive achievements in artwork