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Ancient Sumer Info Sheet Within the Fertile Crescent lies a region that the ancient Greeks later named Mesopotamia, which means ‘between the rivers’. This is the area of land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which flow from the highlands of modern day Turkey through Iraq and into the Persian Gulf. Around 3300 BCE, the world’s first civilization developed in southeastern Mesopotamia, in a region called Sumer. Control of the Tigris and Euphrates was key to developments in Mesopotamia. The rivers frequently rose in terrifying floods that washed away topsoil and destroyed mud-brick villages. To survive and protect their farmland, villagers along the riverbanks had to work together. Even during the dry season, the rivers had to be controlled in order to channel the waters into the fields. Temple priests or royal officials organized villagers to work together on projects such as building dikes to hold back floodwaters and irrigation ditches to carry water to their fields. The Sumerians had few natural resources, but they made the most of what they did have. They lacked building material such as timber or stone, so they built with clay and water. They used clay to make bricks, which were the building blocks for some of the world’s first cities. Trade brought riches to Sumerian cities. Traders sailed along the rivers to carry goods to distant regions. Archaeologists have found goods from as far away as Egypt and India in the rubble of Sumerian cities. Information from: Ellis & Esler, Prentice Hall: World History, pg. 30-31 Ancient Egypt Info Sheet Without the Nile, Egypt would be just the barren desert that surrounds the river. While the desert protected Egypt from invasion, it also limited where people could settle. Farming dotted the narrow band of land watered by the Nile. This strip of land was generally no more than 10 miles wide. Farmers took advantage of the fertile soil of the Nile Valley to grow wheat and flax. Every spring, the rains in the region send water racing down streams that feed the Nile. In ancient times, Egyptians eagerly awaited the annual flood. It soaked the land with life-giving water and deposited a layer of rich silt. People had to cooperate to control the Nile’s floods. They built dikes, reservoirs, and irrigation ditches to channel the rising river and store water for the dry season. Ancient Egypt had two distinct regions, Upper Egypt in the south and Lower Egypt in the north. Upper Egypt stretched from the Nile’s first cataract, or waterfall, to within 100 miles of the Mediterranean Sea. A delta is a triangular area of marshland formed by deposits of silt at the mouth of some rivers. Around 3100 BCE, Menes united the two regions. He founded Egypt’s first capital at Memphis, a site near where the Nile empties into its delta. The Nile was a highway linking the north and the south. They could send officials or armies to towns along the river. The Nile thus helped make Egypt one of the world’s first unified states. The river also served as a trade route. Egyptians merchants traveled up and down the river in sailboats and barges, exchanging products of Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean region. Information from: Ellis & Esler, Prentice Hall: World History, pg. 44-45 Ancient India Info Sheet Towering snow covered mountain ranges mark the northern border of the Indian subcontinent, including the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas. These mountains limited the contact ancient Indians had with other lands, leaving India’s distinct culture to develop on its own. However, the mountains were not a complete barrier. Steep passages through the Hindu Kush served as gateways to migrating and invading peoples for thousands of years. The Indian subcontinent is divided into three major zones: the fertile Gangetic Plain in the north, the dry Deccan plateau, and the coastal plains on either side of the Deccan. The Gangetic Plain lies just south of the Himalayas. This fertile region is watered by mighty rivers: the Indus, the Ganges, and the Brahmaputra. These rivers and their tributaries carry melting snow from the mountains to the plains, making agriculture possible. The Decca is a plateau, or raised area of level land, that juts into the Indian Ocean. It lacks the melting snows which causes parts of the region to be arid and agriculturally unproductive. The coastal plains are separated from the Deccan by low-lying mountain ranges. People used seas in this region for fishing and as highways for trade. A defining feature of life in India is the monsoons, or seasonal winds that regularly blow from a certain direction for part of the year. In October, the winter monsoon blows, bringing hot, dry air that withers crops. In mid-June, the summer monsoon blow, that pick up moisture from the Indian Ocean and drench the land with downpours. Each year the people welcome the rains for desperately needed water for crops. If the rains are late, famine and starvation may happen. However, if the rains are too heavy, rushing rivers will unleash deadly floods. Information from: Ellis & Esler, Prentice Hall: World History, pg. 68-69 Ancient China Info Sheet Long distances and physical barriers separated China from other regions. This isolation contributed to the Chinese belief that China was the center of the earth and the sole source of civilization. To the west and southwest were brutal deserts and high mountain ranges, which blocked easy movement of people. To the southeast, thick rainforests divided China from Southeast Asia. To the north awaited a forbidding desert and to the east lay the vast Pacific Ocean. Despite the barriers, the Chinese did have contact with the outside world. They traded with neighboring people and Chinese goods eventually reached the Middle East. More often, the Chinese encountered nomadic invaders, who were usually absorbed into the advanced Chinese civilization. As the Chinese expanded their empire, it came to include many regions. The heartland lay along the east coast and the valleys of the Huang River and the Chang River. In ancient times, these fertile farming lands supported the largest population. The rivers provided water for irrigation and served as transportation routes. Beyond the heartland are the outlying regions of Xinjiang and Mongolia. These regions have harsh climates and rugged terrain. They were occupied usually by nomads or subsistence farmers. China also exerted influence over the Himalayan region of Tibet. Chinese history began along the Huang River, where Neolithic people learned to farm. They needed to control the flow of the river through large water projects, which probably led to the rise of a strong central government. The Huang River got its name from the loess, or fine windblown yellow soil, that it carries eastward from Siberia and Mongolia. The river used to have the nickname of “the River of Sorrows.” This was because as loess settles to the river bottom, it raises the water level. Chinese peasants labored constantly to build and repair dikes to prevent the river form overflowing. If the dikes broke, floods would happen that could destroy crops and brought mass starvation. Information from: Ellis & Esler, Prentice Hall: World History, pg. 92-93 Ancient Greece Info Sheet Greece is part of the Balkan Peninsula. Mountains divide the peninsula into isolated valleys. Beyond the rugged coast, hundreds of rocky islands spread toward the horizon. The Greeks who farmed the valleys or settled on the scattered islands did not create a large empire such as that of the Egyptians or Persians. Instead, they built many small city-states, called a polis, cut off from one another by mountains or water. Each included a city and its surrounding countryside. Greeks fiercely defended the independence of their small city-states, and the endless rivalry frequently led to war. While mountains divided the Greeks, the seas provided a vital link to the world outside. With its hundreds of bays, the Greek coastline offered safe harbors for ships. The Greeks became skilled soldiers and carried cargoes of olive oil, wine, and marble to areas throughout the eastern Mediterranean. They returned with grains, which were vital because of unproductive farming on the peninsula, as well as with metals. They also returned with ideas, such as the Phoenician alphabet. The adapted Greek alphabet became the basis for later Western alphabets. By 750 BCE, rapid population growth forced many Greeks to leave their overcrowded valleys. With fertile land limited, the Greeks expanded overseas. Gradually, a scattering of Greek colonies took root around the Mediterranean from Spain to Egypt. Wherever they traveled, Greek settlers and traders carried their ideas and culture. Information from: Ellis & Esler, Prentice Hall: World History, pg. 118-119