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River Valley Civilizations A Brief Overview River Valley Civilizations Mesopotamia Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Present Day: Iraq Flooding: Floods once a year, unpredictably Characteristics: 1. 2. 3. 4. Mesopotamia is located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Fertile Crescent Mesopotamia is Greek for “land between two rivers” Low amount of rainfall Open plains- no natural barriers from outside attack Mesopotamia Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Nile River Valley Present Day: Egypt (Africa) Flooding: Floods the same time every year in July. River recedes in October leaving fertile soil. Characteristics: 1. 2. 3. 4. River flows NORTH for 4,100 miles It is the worlds longest river Egypt is considered to be the “gift of the Nile”, the river gave them life Protected by the Sahara desert that lies to the west Nile River Valley Indus River Valley Present Day: India- a tremendous peninsula sometimes referred to as a subcontinent. Flooding: 1. 2. The Indus river floods unpredictably and sometimes changes course Extreme wet and dry seasons Characteristics: 1. 2. 3. 3 water boundaries- The Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean 2 mountain ranges- The Himalayas and Hindu Kush Monsoons- seasonal winds that bring tremendous amounts of rainfall to the valley Indus River Valley Yellow (Hwang Ho) River Valley Present Day: China Flooding: unpredictable flooding. The river ruined so many villages that it is called “China’s Sorrow” Characteristics: 1. 2. Called the yellow river because it deposits yellow silt. Many natural boundaries a. b. c. d. 3. East: Pacific Ocean West: Plateau of Tibet and Desert South West: Himalaya Mountains North: Gobi Desert Mountains and desert dominate 2/3 of the land Yellow (Hwang Ho) River Valley Mesopotamia Geography Located between Tigris and Euphrates rivers Fertile Crescent Modern Day Iraq Low amount of rainfall-needed a steady water supply River floods annually- unpredictable Open plains-no natural barrier from outside attack Limited natural resources- no good supply of stone, metal, wood Solutions to Natural Problems Dug irrigation ditches to control water supply Build mud walls around the city for protection Traded with people in surrounding areas for natural resources Government Separated into City-States divided by swampy areas, acted as their own country City-States included a city, farms, and the villages around the city City-States controlled by Temple Priests-success of crops depended on Gods City-States united under Sargon I Sites such as Ur, Uruk, and Eridu are considered to be some of the worlds first cities During time of war men of the city picked a leader for the war As war became more common priests gave men permanent control of the army Some commanders became full time rules, called Monarchs Map of City-States Religion Polytheistic-believed many gods controlled nature called Animism Each god controlled a specific natural force or human activity Gods could cause great misery in angered Thought gods had little regard for the people Built huge temples called Ziggurats to honor the gods Believed in life after death Sacrificed animals to the gods to ensure good growing seasons Social Structure Social Classes emerged Highest: Priests and Kings Wealthy merchants Laborers and common people Slaves Women were not equal to men but had some rights Could not attend school Could own property and hold most jobs Fall of the Civilization Constant fighting between city-states led to not being able to fight off outside invaders Contributions Cuneiform writing- system of 700 symbols that represented sounds, objects, and ideas. Written on Clay tablets. System of numbers based on 60, 360 degree circle Architecture- Ziggurats Contributions Tax system to support the city states Sumerians manufactured bronze the use of the wheel The use of the umbrella Use of the metal plow Written law codeHammurabi’s Code of Laws Hammurabi Nomadic warriors called Amorites invaded Mesopotamia and established their capital at Babylon Babylon reached its height during the rule of Hammurabi Hammurabi’s Code Hammurabi collected existing laws and established a unified code of laws for the entire Empire, all city-states Code applied to everyone but had different punishments for different classes of people and men and women Code had 282 laws dealing with all aspects of society: family relations, business conduct, crime, ect Had specific punishments for each type of violation Code reinforced the idea government is responsible for what occurs in society. If a man is robbed and the thief is not caught, government is responsible to compensate the victim. Things I need to Know for the Test Where do all early civilizations develop? What river did the Egyptian develop next too? What did rivers provided? Review on Neolithic Revolution. Polytheism, pyramids, mummification Hieroglyphics Egyptian Civilization Geography Located on the Nile River in Northeast Africa Settlement began around 5000 BC River flows north 4,100 miles Floods the same time every year, July Egypt is considered ‘the gift of the Nile”, the river gave them life Farmers relied on the floods to irrigate crops Protected by the Sahara desert that lies to the west History and Government Menses (Narmer) unites upper and lower Egypt into one and established the 1st dynasty Established their capital at Memphis From about 3000 BC to 332 BC, Egypt was ruled by 30 dynasties History and Government Kings were considered gods called Pharaohs, this is a theocracy Kings were the center of government and religion Built pyramids during the Old Kingdom Places to honor and bury their god-kings Egypt had a population of about 5 million people at its height Religion Polytheistic- believed in over 2000 gods and goddesses Most important god Ra- the sun god Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaton and claimed to be equal to the sun god Built huge temples to honor gods and goddesses ReligionPyramids Believed that kings continued to rule after death, built enormous pyramids as tombs Pyramids were built during the kings life to show strength in his dynasty Religion Osiris- The Egyptian god responsible for life, death and rebirth Also known as the God of the Afterlife, Weighed the heart of people passing into the afterlife to judge them. If the heart was lighter than a feather they passed through If the heart was heavier- Devourer of Souls would eat the heart Religion Akhenaton Akhenaton- a Pharaoh who founded a new and controversial religion Kings were mummified to preserve the body and put into tombs with his belongings Also given “The Book of the Dead” which contained prayers to go to next life Book of the Dead The Empire Narmer: Conquered lower Egypt Sets the capital of his government in Memphis Women- had the ability to own property, testify in court, and begin the divorce process The Hyksos The Hyksos were able to invade and defeat the Egyptians because they had better tools and horse drawn chariots Contributions and Achievements System of numbers- to tax, farmers used geometry to survey the land after floods Architecture- measurement, building of pyramids and palaces Developed a 365 day calendar based on the flooding of the Nile Medicine-pulse, circulatory system, splint broken bones, surgery-tonsils out Numbers Calendar Hieroglyphics Writing System Writing SystemHieroglyphics, pictures representing ideas Wrote on Papyrusreeds that grew near the Nile Translated by the Rosetta Stone- stone had 3 languages on it including Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Greek Everyday writing was called Hieratic Rosetta Stone