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Ancient Civilizations
Mesopotamia & Ancient Egypt are the earliest known civilizations.
Mesopotamia
“The Land between the Rivers”
Mesopotamia
“The Land between the Rivers”
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FYI: Ziggurats were
the most prominent
structures in
Mesopotamian cities.
They were “stepped”
with a temple at the
very top. Some were
as much as 150 feet
tall. Ziggurats were
religious centers and
the community was
proud of them.
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Located between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
First cities & schools
Part of the Fertile Crescent
First irrigation systems and first plow
12 month calendar
Practiced polytheism
First people to write down laws and keep written
records
Wrote the first story (the “Epic of Gilgamesh”)
The ideas of 60-minutes = one hour, 60 seconds = one
minute, & 360 degrees in a circle
Began the “Eye for an Eye” policy (Code of
Hammurabi)
Legendary “Hanging Gardens”
Ancient Egypt
The Nile River
Valley
Ancient Egypt
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FYI: Currently, there
are 110 pyramids
found in Egypt.
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Began in the Nile River Valley
The Nile is the world’s longest river (4,160 miles)
Depended on the river for survival
Ruled by pharaohs
Created mummies for the dead
Built large tombs called pyramids
Wrote in hieroglyphics
Created a number system based on 10
Used fractions in math
Developed geometry
Great advances in medicine (splints, bandages,
compresses)
Taken over by Greece & Rome
Similarities between
Mesopotamia & Ancient Egypt
FYI: The Rosetta Stone
is considered the key to
modern deciphering of
ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphics. It was
discovered in 1799 by
Napoleon’s army but it
was soon put in British
hands when Napoleon
was defeated in 1801.
The stone is inscribed
with a decree written
three times: in
hieroglyphic (suitable
for a priestly decree),
demotic (the native
script used for daily
purposes), and Greek
(the language of the
administration).
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Developed near rivers
Had written languages
Worshipped many gods
Three World Religions
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Judaism
Founded in
1800 B.C.
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Originated in Israel
Abraham, Moses, & the Torah (the
Hebrew bible)
Worship one God
Believe God knows everything and has
complete power
Believe Israelites are God’s chosen
people
Follow the Ten Commandments and the
laws of the Torah
Christianity
Founded in
A.D. 30
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Originated in modern-day Israel
Jesus & the Bible
Worship only one God
Believe that the Messiah (Jesus) will
bring salvation
Two most important rites:
 Baptism
 The
Lord’s Supper
Islam
Founded in
A.D. 622
Followers of
the teachings
of Muhammed
became
known as
Muslims, which
means “a
person who
submits”.
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Originated in modern-day Saudi
Arabia
Muhammed & the Quran
Worship one true god (Allah)
Believe all people are brothers & sisters
in a community established by God
Follow laws of the Quran
Worship in Arabic
Similarities among these Religions
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They all worship only one God
 Debate
about whether or not this is the
same “god” for all three religions
 Different Holy men represent each
religion