* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Early River Civilization Notes
Plagues of Egypt wikipedia , lookup
Thebes, Egypt wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Egyptian medicine wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Egyptian race controversy wikipedia , lookup
Index of Egypt-related articles wikipedia , lookup
Middle Kingdom of Egypt wikipedia , lookup
Prehistoric Egypt wikipedia , lookup
Egypt (Roman province) wikipedia , lookup
Early Civilizations Mesopotamia, Egypt, Assyria and Persia Beginning of Civilization Civilization • • • • • Early humans slowly domesticated food and animals As the food supply grew, many nomadic tribes settled into villages Prehistory: Time before written history The villages began to grow creating Civilization Civilization has 5 characteristics 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Advanced cities Specialized workers Complex institutions Record keeping Advanced technology Advanced Cities • As cities grew, the need for certain workers increased – Traders, government workers, and priests were the most popular • With all the extra food, specialization or development of skills in certain work • Many new jobs expanded beyond farming to include artisans or skilled workers who make goods by hand – Because of specialization, artisans made better tools, weapons and jewelry • With large populations living together, the need for government, or system of ruling, was needed – Government is an example of an institution or long lasting pattern of organization in a community – Other forms of an institution that make up civilization are religion and the economy New Technology • New tools and techniques helped to solve many problems early civilizations had – Farmers used plows attached to animals to plow their fields – Artisans invented the potters wheel to help make pots, plates, bowels and jugs around 3,500 B.C. – Metal workers found that mixing tin and copper made bronze around 3,000 B.C. • Called the Bronze Age when people used bronze instead of copper and stone City of Ur • On the Euphrates River (around Southern Iraq), around 5,000 years ago, a large city was created called Ur • Ur had class system for it’s 30,000 inhabitants • Ur had an irrigation system that brought water in from over a mile away – This irrigation system gave Ur a food surplus that helped the economy • Ur had a large marketplace where people bartered or traded goods and services without money • The most important building in Ur was the giant temple – It was ziggurat (means “Mountain of God") or pyramidshaped monument – Priests would walk the 100 steps (about 15 per story) to the top to sacrifice a goat or sheep Mesopotamia • Between the Persian Gulf in the east and the Mediterranean Sea in the west is a large desert • Within this area is an arc of excellent farming land – Called the Fertile Crescent • This area included a land called Mesopotamia which means “land between the rivers” • Almost all early civilzations were started by rivers. Thus becoming Early River Civilizations. • The 2 rivers that ran through Mesopotamia were the Tigris and the Euphrates • Each year, these rivers flooded bringing silt which provided good farming nutrients • Even with the excellent farming conditions, Mesopotamia: – flooded at irregular time periods, – had no natural barriers for protection – Had limited natural resources • All the organized cities in Mesopotamia served had their own governments and rulers • These main cities and the surrounding areas were known as city-states or a city and surrounding areas functioning as an independent unit – Ur was a city-state • Hammurabi took the existing laws and combined them into a single, uniform code of laws called Hammurabi’s Code – The code was carved in stone and placed all over the empire • The code had 282 specific laws that dealt with everything from community to family to business and crime • Even though the law applied to everyone, the punishments varied by wealth • After about 200 years, a group of people called the Amorites invaded and conquered Mesopotamia – After conquering, they set up their capital at Babylon (near present day Baghdad) • The height of the Babylon Empire was between 1792-1750 BC under the leader Hammurabi • Because farmers in Mesopotamia believed that success with the crops depended on blessings from the gods, the priests were in charge of the government • In times of war, the men of the city chose strong soldiers to lead the armies • As wars became more frequent, these men became permanent leaders • These leaders began to pass the power onto their sons forming a Dynasty or series of rulers from the same family Religion • Religion played a central role in ancient Mesopotamia • The different forms of religion were: – Monotheism-belief in 1 god – Polytheism-belief in more than 1 god • Was the most popular in Mesopotamia • The people and priests had a god or demon for everything that happened – Storms, floods, heat, sickness, good fortune, death, love and so on Building Empires • Around 2350 BC, a city-state called Akkad started to conquer other citystates • After conquering all of Mesopotamia, Akkad became the world’s first empire or many people and countries under one leader Egypt • Stretching over 4,100 miles in eastern Africa is the longest river in the world – Called the Nile • The river provides fertile soil for the barren desert land like in Mesopotamia • Because of the abundance of food that the Nile was able to produce, Egyptians worshiped it as a god • Most Egyptians lived along the Nile from the mouth (Mediterranean Sea) in the North to the first rapids (First Cataract) in the South • Those that lived around the Delta or the broad, marshy, triangular area of land formed by silt at rivers mouth were in Lower Egypt • Those that live near the First Cataract lived in Upper Egypt because the elevation is higher • To travel, those in Upper Egypt used the Nile currents to go north and those in Lower Egypt used sail boats powered by the winds Uniting Egypt • Egypt was founded around 5,000 BC into small villages that had their own gods, rituals and customs • By 3,200 BC, the villages were united into two kingdoms- Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt • Eventually a man named Narmer united the two kingdoms into one • Narmer moved the capital to Memphis, near the boarder of Upper and Lower Egypt and he combined the 2 crowns – He then was the first ruler of the first dynasty of 31 that ruled over 2,600 years • The kings of Mesopotamia and Egypt were different in regards to religion – In Mesopotamia, the kings were representatives of the gods – In Egypt, the kings were the gods • The Pharaohs or God-Kings were almost as powerful as the gods in the heavens – The type of government that is ruled by religious authority is called a theocracy • The Egyptians believed that because the Pharaohs were gods, then they ruled after death • To make their eternal reign easier, they built magnificent tombs, or pyramids • The pyramids had perfectly cut stone that weighed anywhere from 2.5 tons to 15 tons • Like the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians believed in many gods – They worshiped more than 2,000 deities or gods and goddesses • The rich and royal Egyptians had their dead bodies go through a process called mummification which was embalming the corpse to prevent it from decaying • The corpse was then placed in a tomb (like the pyramids) and given items the person would need in the after life, life food, clothing and jewelry • The Egyptian form of writing became known as hieroglyphics – In this form of writing, a picture stood for an idea • Many hieroglyphics were carved or drawn onto stone, but they soon moved to papyrus or Egyptian paper Egypt Invaded • Egyptian history is split into 3 parts – Old Kingdom (till 2080 BC) – Middle Kingdom (20801640BC) – New Kingdom (15701075) • The Middle Kingdom was a prosperous time • When it ended, Egypt went into war and violence • With weak leaders and internal fighting, Egypt was weakened enough for invaders • From 1640-1570 BC, Egypt was conquered and ruled by nomadic raiders called Hyksos – They used chariots to get to Egypt • While the Hyksos ruled Egypt, a group of people called Hebrews came to live in Egypt around 1650 BC • By 1600, a strong Egyptian Queen was able to finally drive the Hyksos out of Egypt • The Hebrews, who remained in Egypt, were then made slaves and didn’t leave till around 1250 BC The New Kingdom • After the Hyksos were overthrown, the New Kingdom was created • During the New Kingdom, Egypt decided to become an empire and became wealthier and more powerful than ever – They used 2 wheel chariots, bronze spears, archers, and infantry (foot soldiers) • One of the greatest rulers of the New Kingdom was the Queen Hatshepsut • As queen, Hatshepsut encouraged trade with other kingdoms • After many years of ruling, Hatshepsut’s stepson Thutmose III became pharaoh • Thutmose III was an aggressive ruler who expanded the empire into Palestine, Syria and to the Upper Nile • As the Egyptians pushed into Syria, they came into conflict with a group of people called the Hittites – After many small battles, Ramses II the Pharaoh who got into a major war around 1285 with Hittites • Like the Old Kingdom, many pharaoh’s of the New Kingdom built many large monuments and temples Assyria • Around 850 BC, the Assyria built a large empire with the use of a well structured army – Used Iron weapons and armor instead of bronze • Between 850 and 650 BC, the Assyrians conquered all the old centers of civilization (Babylon, Mesopotamia, and Egypt) • The Assyrians built large cities – Nineveh was the capital of Assyria • Nineveh was the largest city of the time being 3 miles wide and 1 mile long • Nineveh also had the worlds largest library at the time with more than 20,000 clay tablets • Around 612 BC, two groups called the Medes and the Chaldeans conquered Assyria and destroyed Nineveh • After defeating the Assyrians, the Chaldeans made Babylon the capital • This made Babylon the center of civilization 1,000 years after Hammurabi ruled there • The greatest King of the Chaldeans, Nebuchadnezzar restored Babylon’s glory Persia • Persia, located in the south-eastern Fertile Crescent, was populated by Indo-Europeans around 1,000 BC – People from what is now Russia • For about 500 years, people left them alone until King Cyrus began to conquer other kingdoms – He built an empire that stretched over 2,000 miles • Cryus was a fair ruler – Used tolerance and kindness towards conquered territories to gain loyalty • Eventually, Cyrus was killed in battle and his son, Cambyses took control • Cambyses was a weak ruler who had no tolerance – When he died 8 years later, the Persian control had diminished • Cambyses’s successor was Darius who was a noble of the ruling dynasty • After taking control, Darius put down revolts that had arisen during Cambyses’s reign • After putting down the revolts, Darius began to expand the empire • Under the Persian’s, conquered people were allowed to practice their own religion and followed their own laws • Even though he was tolerant Darius still had absolute power – In each province, he installed satrap’s or governors who ruled locally • To make sure the governors remained loyal, Darius sent out officials to supervise • With such a large empire, Darius needed a reliable road system – The Royal Road connected the capital Susa to Sardis in the far west over 1,600 miles away • In addition, Darius issued a standard coin system of gold and silver – People now never needed to weigh the metal