Download River Valley Civilizations

Early River Valley Civilizations
Happy Last Day of SOL Bootcamp!
• We have a quiz today on the 1st page of your
SOL books (Early Man/ARVs)
• You’ll need a sheet of paper out once the bell
rings!!
River Valleys are…..
• Called “Cradles of Civilization”…why?
– Because they were first!!
Here are the 4!! 
CHARACTERISTICS SHARED BY ALL
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS
Political Structure of Early Civilizations
• World’s first states/govts.
• City-states, kingdoms, empires
• Centralized government
• Citizens give up rights to the state
• Based on religious authority
Social Patterns of early societies
• Most kings ruled by
hereditary rule
– Ex) Dynasties of kings
and pharaohs
– Same family in power
a loonng time!
• Rigid class system
based on slavery
– Slaves usually from other
societies, or debtors
• Written law codes
– 10 Commandments (Israel)
– Code of Hammurabi (Mesopotamia), 1700 BCE
• “Eye for an Eye”
Egypt and Persia   
Location, Location, Location
• Egypt is located on the Nile River
• ***River flows North, where it empties into the
Mediterranean Sea
– Nile Delta
Egyptian Religion
• Egyptians were Polytheistic:
–Worshipped many gods
–Believed the Pharoah was a
god!!
–Most important deity was
Re, “the Sun God”
Hieroglyphics
• Egyptian writing
system
• Each picture
represents a
common object in
Egypt
The Empire of Persia
History: (Modern day Iran)
• Conquered
Mesopotamia
in 550 BC
• Built on top of
ancient
civilizations
A) Religious Tolerance
B) Imperial Bureaucracy
C) Royal Roads
D) Zoroastrianism
Mesopotamia: Land between
Two Rivers
Mesopotamia means, “The land
between the rivers”
Two rivers are the Tigris and
Euphrates, in modern-day Iraq
This area was part of the Fertile Crescent.
A fertile arc of land from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea,
through Mesopotamia, to the Persian Gulf
Aral
Sea
Black Sea
Tigris
Mediterranean
Sea
Nile
Euphrates
Mesopotamia is
formed by the Tigris
and Euphrates
Rivers.
These rivers empty
into the Persian Gulf
Cuneiform
Done on Clay Tablets (Mesopotamia)
India
A) Geography
1. Geography made invasion of India difficult
– Geographic barriers?
•
•
•
Hindu Kush Mountains
Himalayas
Indian Ocean
2. Aryans invaded
through the
Khyber Pass in
Hindu Kush
4. Caste System in India (from Aryans)
-You were born into your position in life
-Your position could not change
-Your position determined your job and
socio-economic status
Became part of Hindu religion!!!
MAURYAN EMPIRE , 300-185 BCE
Mauryan Empire
• Asoka: Emperor of Mauryan Dynasty
– Contributions:
• Spread of Buddhism to China
GUPTA EMPIRE, 320-550 CE
Gupta Empire
1. Golden Age of classical Indian culture
2. Major contributions were made in
mathematics, textiles, and literature
1. Peace and Prosperity under the Gupta family
made this possible
Examples of early Indian cities
• Mahenjo--Daro and
Harappa
Buddhism and Hinduism
RELIGIONS OF THE MAURYAN
EMPIRE
Other Early Civilizations
(Besides the 4 Early River Valley
Civilizations – Mesopotamia, Egypt,
India, & China)
I. Kush (a.k.a. Nubia)
• Located in
East Africa
on the
southern
Nile River
(Upper
Nile)
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Kush
II. Phoenicia
A. Geography
1. Located on
the Eastern
Mediterranean
Coast; major
cities Tyre and
Carthage
B. Culture
1. Most advanced
seafarers of the
ancient world
2. Developed the first
alphabet
3. Used coin currency
China
1. Classical China was on
the Huang He River
2. Geographically Isolated
by the Gobi Desert &
Himalayan Mountains in
the West
B) Early Dynasties
• Ruled by a
succession of
families called
dynasties
• Mandate of Heaven:
– If they ruled poorly,
the gods removed
them from power
C) The Great Wall
• Built by Qin Shi
Huangdi as a line of
defense against
invasions
• Was invaded before
construction by
migrants from the
north
D) The Silk Road
• Promoted trade and contact between China
and other cultures as far away as Rome!
E) Contributions by Classical China
1. Civil Service System (govt.)
2. Paper
E) Contributions by Classical China
4. Silk
3. Porcelain
1) Confucianism
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
People are naturally good
Respect elders
Follow code of politeness
Emphasis on education
Ancestor worship
2) Taoism
1. Be humble
2. Live simply
3. Find inner peace
4. Live in harmony
with nature
Founder: Lao Tzu
Yin and Yang
• In both philosophies, yin and yang represent
how opposite forces are interconnected in the
natural world