Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Name _______________________________________________________ Period _________________ Babylonian Empire Babylon gained independence from Assyrian Empire in 627 b.c. As barbaric tribes from the north and east invaded Assyria, Babylon capitalized upon Assyria's weakened state, by gaining independence. The Babylonians then proceeded to conquer the rest of Southern Mesopotamia. The Assyria Capitol of Nineveh was captured by the Babylonians (612 BC): The Babylonians marched north, conquering Assyrian territory along the way as they advanced toward the heart of the empire. There were libraries in most towns and temples. An old Sumerian proverb said: "He who would excel in the school of the scribes must rise with the dawn." The Babylonian system of mathematics was sexagesimal, or a base 60 numeral system. From this we get the modern day usage of 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 360 (60 x 6) degrees in a circle. The Babylonians were able to make great advances in mathematics because the number 60 has many divisors (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, and 30), making calculations easier. They also demonstrated knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem well before Pythagoras. What does the proverb mean : "He who would excel in the school of the scribes must rise with the dawn?" _____________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Why would a 60 numeral system be beneficial? _______________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name _______________________________________________________ Period _________________ Egyptian Empire The different areas of the Ancient Nile River were ruled by tribal chiefs and kings. As time passed smaller kingdoms unified - forming larger and larger kingdoms. This continued until around 6,000 years ago when the Nile Valley consisted of only two large kingdoms. These kingdoms were called Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. Lower Egypt was in the Northern portion of the Nile Valley, and Upper Egypt was in the Southern portion of the Nile Valley. Around 5,000 years ago a powerful king from the Upper Egyptian nation led an army North in order to conquer Lower Egypt. This kings name was Narmer. Narmer established a unified Egypt throughout the Nile Valley. He built a capital on the border between Lower and Upper Egypt, which he named Memphis. From Memphis, Narmer and his decedents ruled Egypt. A family that rules a nation is known as a dynasty. From 5,000 years ago until around 2,300 years ago Egypt was ruled by 30 different dynasties. Historians divide the nearly 2,500 years of Egyptian history into three periods. These periods are known as the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. The Egyptian government was a theocracy. The government used the power of religion as a control in ruling the country. The pharaoh was the head of the state and also the divine representative of the gods. During the old kingdom, the pharaohs considered themselves to be living gods ruling with absolute power. By the middle kingdom, they were representatives of the gods on earth. To reinforce their images as the representatives of the gods they were often depicted as warriors who single-handedly defeated their enemies. Who was the first ruler of Egypt? ___________________________________________________ Why do you think historians split up Egyptian History into groups? ____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Why would having the King as a representative of the gods help his power? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Why do you think Southern Egypt was the “Upper Kingdom” and Northern Egypt was the “Lower Kingdom?” ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Name _______________________________________________________ Period _________________ Persian Empire The Achaemenid Persian empire was the largest that the ancient world had seen, extending from Anatolia and Egypt across western Asia to northern India and Central Asia. Its formation began in 550 B.C., when Lydian King Astyages of Media, who dominated much of Iran and eastern Anatolia (Turkey), was defeated by his southern neighbor Cyrus II ("the Great"), king of Persia (r. 559–530 B.C.). This upset the balance of power in the Near East. The Lydian army withdrew for the winter but the Persians advanced to the Lydian capital at Sardis, which fell after a two-week siege. The Lydians had been allied with the Babylonians and Egyptians and Cyrus now had to confront these major powers. The Babylonian empire controlled Mesopotamia and the eastern Mediterranean. In 539 B.C., Persian forces defeated the Babylonian army at the site of Opis, east of the Tigris. Cyrus entered Babylon and presented himself as a traditional Mesopotamian monarch, restoring temples and releasing political prisoners. The one western power that remained unconquered in Cyrus' lightning campaigns was Egypt. It was left to his son Cambyses to rout the Egyptian forces in the eastern Nile Delta in 525 B.C. After a ten-day siege, Egypt's ancient capital Memphis fell to the Persians. It was during the Achaemenid period that Zoroastrianism reached South-Western Iran, where it came to be accepted by the rulers and through them became a defining element of Persian culture. The religion was not only accompanied by a formalization of the concepts and divinities of the traditional Indo-Iranian pantheon but also introduced several novel ideas, including that of free will. Zoroastrians believe that there is one universal God: Ahura Mazda. He is said to be the one uncreated Creator to whom all worship is ultimately directed. Ahura Mazda's creation—truth and order—is the antithesis of chaos, or falsehood and disorder. The resulting conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity, which has an active role to play in the conflict. The religion states that active participation in life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. This active participation is a central element in Zoroaster's concept of free will. Ahura Mazda will ultimately prevail over the evil Angra Mainyu or Ahriman, at which point the universe will undergo a cosmic renovation and time will end. In the final renovation, all of creation—even the souls of the dead that were initially banished to "darkness"—will be returned to life in the undead form. At the end of time, a savior-figure will bring about a final renovation of the world in which the dead will be revived. Why do you think the Persians were able to conquer so much land? ______________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What are some of the beliefs of Zoroastrianism? What religion are its beliefs similar to? ______ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________