Download North Africa and Southwest Asia: Place and Times

North Africa and Southwest
Asia: Place and Times
By: Mr. Hunter
African Proverbs
 It takes a whole village to raise a child .
 You must judge a person by the work of
his/her hands.
 Don't insult the crocodile until you cross
the water.
 A hippopotamus can be made invisible in
dark water.
Why learn about North Africa?
 Ancient civilizations developed there.
 Three of the world’s major religions
originated there.
 Many books, movies, and news
documentaries focus on North Africa!
 The ancient pyramids are there.
 Events in the Hebrew Scriptures, The
Christian Bible, and the Qur’ an of Islam
occurred in this part of the world.
Key Words










Oasis
Fertile
Nile
Tigris
Euphrates
Persian Gulf
Hunter-gatherers
Irrigation
Turkey
Petroleum
Points To Ponder
 The three major rivers in this region are
the _____, _____, and the _____ .
 Hunter-gatherers settled permanently in
the Fertile Crescent because
__________________________________
_________________________________ .
Points To Ponder
 Rivers enrich the soil by
________________________________ .
 The region’s seas affected its development
by serving as _____ _____ .
 The Persian Gulf attracts worldwide
interest today because of the _____
resource found there.
Ancient Mesopotamia/Fertile
Crescent
 1. What modern-day countries lie in the
land of the fertile crescent?
 2. What were three challenges the
Sumerians faced in trying to develop citystates?
 3. Were the Sumerians polytheistic?
Explain.
 4. What were the roles of kings and priests
in city-states?
1. What modern-day countries lie in
the land of the fertile crescent?
 Iraq
 Northern Syria
 Southeast Turkey
2. What were three challenges the Sumerians
faced in trying to develop city-states?
 Threat of invaders
 Lack of water
 Risky trade decisions
3. Were the Sumerians
polytheistic? Explain.
 Yes, the Sumerians believed in more than
one god. For example, the gods Enlil and
Utu controlled the rain.
 Certain city-states built temples to a
specific god/goddess.
Polytheistic Society
 Each temple was built on a pyramidshaped tower called a ziggurat.
4. What were the roles of kings and
priests in city-states?
 The kings and priests were at the top of
the class system.
 Priests served as the first governors of
Mesopotamian city-states, and controlled
religious and economic life.
 These rulers later became kings, who
controlled political and military life.
Compare/Contrast
Class systems
Mesopotamian class sytem
Modern US class system
Cuneiform
Points To Ponder
 1. Do you think that individuals in a society
must speak and write the same language
to truly identify with that society’s culture?
 2. How did cuneiform affect culture?
 3. What was the role of scribes in society?
Do you believe that this system was fair?
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
 Egypt was a fascinating place with a rich
history!
 This history would not have been made
possible without the Nile River.
The Nile River
 The “river in the sand
Why was the Nile River so
important?
 The Nile’s yearly floods left silt that made
the soil fertile.
 It also provided a route for trade/travel.
What did ancient Egyptians do to
manage the Nile?
 They built canals.
 They strengthened riverbeds.
Papyrus
Papyrus
 Paper like material
 Tall plant found in swamps and marshes
around the Nile River
 The word paper is derived from papyrus
 Wrote in hieroglyphics
Hieroglyphics
 Picture symbols (pictographs) used to
stand for both words and sounds.
Ancient Egyptian Beliefs
 Ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife.
Preparations for the afterlife
 mummifying bodies
 filling tombs with possessions the dead
would use for the afterlife
 decorating the tombs with art
Pyramids
Pyramids
 The pyramids were a place the pharohs,
or kings, spent the afterlife.
 92 million cubic feet of limestone
 The builder and staff used hieroglyphics to
stand for words or sounds to make lists of
the workers and supplies they needed for
the project.
RE
 Re was the son of the
Sun God.
 Egyptians believed
that the ruling pharoh
was the living son of
Re
Horus
 Horus was the sun god
 Temples were built in
honor of major and local
gods for people to
worship.
 Many homes contained
small shrines for worship
What do you know about each?
 Judaism
 Christianity
 Islam
How do Judaism, Christianity and
Islam differ from the religions of the
Sumerians and Egyptians?
 Jews, Christians, and Muslims are
monotheists.
 The religions of the Sumerians and
Egyptians were polytheistic.
Judaism
 The first Jews were the Hebrew people,
who believed in a god called Yaweh.
 Yaweh spoke to a man named Abraham
was told to settle in Canaan.
 Abraham’s decendents are called Jews,
and their religion- Judaism
What happened to the Jews?
 Babylonians destroyed the first temple in
Jerusalem. Jews were exiled to Babylon.
_____
 Persians took control of Mesopotamia.
Cyrus allowed Jews to return to
Jerusalem. _____
 Israel came under Roman control. Jews
revolted against Rome, and Jerusalem
was destroyed. _____
Christianity
 Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
 He was a Jewish carpenter that traveled
the countryside, teaching and preaching.
 He was baptized by his cousin, John the
Baptist.
Islam
 Muhammed was the prophet of Islam was
born in Mecca about 575 years after
Christ’s death.
 A believer in Islam is a Muslim.
 He was spoken to by God through Gabriel.
Islam
Islam
 Revelations were collected in the Quar’an
Islam
That which you have been given is but a fleeting
comfort of this life. Better and more enduring is
that which Allah has for those who believe and
put their trust in Him; who avoid gross sins and
indecencies and, when angered, are willing to
forgive; who obey their Lord, attend to their
prayers, and conduct their affairs by mutual
consent; who bestow in alms a part of that which
We have given them and, when oppressed, seek
to redress their wrongs. [Al-Qur'an, Sura: 42
(Ash-Shura), Ayat: 36-39]
Islam, Judaism, and Christianity
Although religious wars have begun
because of differences, Islam,
Judaism, and Christianity are
fundamentally the same.
Muslim Empires








1. What is theocracy?
2. How were Islamic ideas and culture spread?
3.Where was the Ottoman Empire located?
4. What were sultans? How did they show
tolerance of other religions?
5. What did Suleiman I establish in his empire?
6. Who were Janissaries?
7. What caused the Ottoman Empire to decline?
What happened to the Ottoman Empire after
WWI?
Muslim Empires
 1. a government ruled by a religious leader
 2. through books and artwork exchanged
along trade routes and through conquest
 3. In modern-day Turkey and parts of
North Africa, Southwest Asia and
Southeast Europe
 4. The sultans were the rulers of the
Ottoman Empire who allowed Christians
and Jews to worship freely.
Ottoman Empire
Muslim Empires
 5. Suleiman I established a law code and
system of justice
 6. The Jannisaries were a special group of
soldiers that developed from a small force
of slaves