Download Chapter 2, Section 3

Chapter 2, Section 3
New Centers of Civilization
I. The Role of Nomadic People
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An ancient civilization in central Asia
flourished 4000 years ago
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The people built with mud-brick, used bronze
tools, built irrigation works, and probably had
writing
Pastoral Nomads- groups that hunted and
gathered, did small farming, and domesticated
animals
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They moved along routes to pasture their animals
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Indo-Europeans-People who spoke languages
derived from the same parent language
Indo-Europeans were one of the most
important groups of pastoral nomads
One Indo-European group in modern day
Turkey formed the Hittite kingdom
The Hittites
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Their empire lasted from 1600-1200 B.C.E.
Their empire was in western Asia and its
capitol was Hattusha
They were the first Indo-Europeans to use Iron
II. The Phoenicians
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Phoenicians lived on the Mediterranean Coast in the
area of Palestine
Phoenicians were wealthy traders because they lived
on the sea and were excellent ship builders
Phonecians set up colonies as far away as Great
Britain and Carthage
They are most well known for the alphabet with 22
letters, our modern alphabet is based on the
Phoenican alphabet
III. The Children of Israel
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Israelites- Semitic people who lived in
Palestine (also known as Hebrews because of
their Hebrew language)
Established a kingdom called Israel
Their capitol was Jerusalem
King Solomon- ruled from 970-930 B.C.E.
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He is most well known for building the Temple in
Jerusalem
The Temple was seen as the center of Judaism
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After Solomon, the kingdom divided into two
parts the northern and the southern kingdoms
The southern kingdom was called Judah
The northern kingdom was conquered in 722
B.C.E. by the Assyrians and the people there
were scattered
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These people became known as the “ten lost
tribes” of Israel because they lost their Hebrew
identity
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In 586 B.C.E. the kingdom of Judah was
conquered by the Assyrians
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Most of Jerusalem was destroyed (including the
Temple of Solomon)
Later, the people were permitted to return and
rebuild the temple
When the temple was rebuilt, the people
became known as the Jews
The Jewish Religion
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The Jews believe in one God, Yahweh, which
makes them monotheistic
Their Covenant is an agreement between God
and the Jewish people.
It is fulfilled by obeying the laws of the
Hebrew Bible and the Ten Commandments
Religious teachers called prophets were sent
by God
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Isaiah is one of the most famous Jewish prophets
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The religion of the Hebrews was very unique
Most religions of that time and place were
polytheistic
Because the religion was written down, every
person (not just priests) had access to the
religious knowledge
The Jews refused to accept the Gods or
Goddesses of their neighbors