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UNIT 1: THE BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION Chapter 2: The First Civilizations Section 1: Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile I. The Land: Its Geography & Importance without the Nile River, the land could not have supported the great civilization that appeared in Egypt (fertile valley) A. The Nile River the Nile is the longest river in the world, stretching about 4,160 miles o White Nile – Lake Victoria o Blue Nile – Ethiopian highlands the Nile flows from south to north, eventually branching into a fan-shaped delta & emptying into the southern Mediterranean Sea along most of its course, the Nile provided a natural transportation route the ancient Egyptians built their civilization along a 750-mile stretch of the Nile, roughly between the first great cataract & the delta flow upstream and winds downstream the Nile has an annual cycle of months-long flooding (3 months) B. Other Natural Advantages the Nile Valley provided fertile soil for farming & mineral deposits such as granite, sandstone, & limestone the Nile provided a route for trade & travel the deserts & seas surrounding the Nile Valley provided a natural protection against invaders the Isthmus of Suez provided a route for trade & for the exchange of ideas between the Egyptians & their neighbors to the east II. Early Steps Toward Civilization mining metals, making alloys & pottery, & writing are indications that Egyptians were creating a civilization hieroglyphics - form of ancient writing developed by Nile River valley people by about 3000 B.C, used more than 600 signs, pictures, or symbols to represent words and sounds papyrus - kind of paper made by Egyptians from the stem of a plant with the same name Rosetta Stone - black basalt stone found in 1799 that bears an inscription in hieroglyphics, demotic characters, & Greek; gave the first clue to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics o all 3 said the same thing III. The Egyptian Kingdoms the kingdom of Lower Egypt lay to the north of the Nile River delta; the kingdom of Upper Egypt lay farther south, away from the Mediterranean Sea Menes - king of Upper Egypt who, sometime after 3200 B.C., unified all of Egypt into one kingdom dynasty - family of rulers whose right to rule is hereditary o ends when family is driven form power or when no family member is left to take over pharaoh - “Great House”; Egyptian ruler’s title; held absolute or unlimited power historians divide the time span from Menes’ rule until almost 300 B.C. into 3 kingdoms o Old Kingdom (c. 2680 B.C.—c. 2180 B.C.) o Middle Kingdom (c. 2050 B.C.—c. 1650 B.C.) o New Kingdom (c. 1570 B.C.—c. 1080 B.C.) A. The Old Kingdom Egyptians of the Old Kingdom built the Great Sphinx & the largest pyramids 2 social classes existed in the Old Kingdom: Social Class Members Upper class Pharaohs, the royal family, priests, scribes, & government officials Lower class Peasants & farmers – served in army, worked on building projects (irrigation canals and pyramids) for more than 100 years after the end of the Old Kingdom, civil wars divided Egypt during a period called the First Intermediate Period B. The Middle Kingdom known as the Egyptian “golden age,” the Middle Kingdom was marked by stability & prosperity in about 1650 B.C. much of Egypt fell under the rule of the Hyksos – meaning foreigners, ushering in a Second Intermediate Period C. The New Kingdom base at the city of Thebes empire - form of government that unites different territories & peoples under one ruler Hatshepsut - the first known female pharaoh Thutmose III – Hatshepsut’s stepson; brought Egypt to the height of its power through conquest and trade Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton)– tried to bring about social and religious change o could not change religious beliefs polytheism - belief that many gods exist monotheism - belief in one god D. Egypt’s Decline Ramses II (Ramses the Great) - strong pharaoh who kept the Egyptian empire together & ordered the construction of many temples & monuments rule by Egyptians ended in c.a. 300 B.C., with invasions from the Assyrians, Nubians, and Persians Section 2: Egyptian Life & Culture I. The Achievements of Ancient Egypt ancient Egyptians lived in a stable world based on the dependability of the annual Nile floods & Egypt’s geographic isolation A. Architecture & the Arts the Egyptians built the pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs o there are about 80 pyramids still around today historians believe the pyramid engineers built ramps & levers to be used by workers to move the heavy stones, each weighing about 5,000 pounds Egyptians made sculptures, & buildings were decorated with paintings of everyday life B. Science, Math, & Medicine early Egyptians invented a lunar calendar; however, this calendar did not fill a full year later Egyptians created a calendar based on a bright star that appeared right before the Nile floods, a time equal to 365 days the Egyptians used a number system based on 10, similar to the decimal system used today o they also used fractions, whole numbers, and geometry they Egyptians used their knowledge of anatomy, herbs, & medicines to treat illnesses & to preserve bodies after death II. Education & Religion scribes - Egyptian clerks who read or wrote for those who could not do so for themselves; worked for the government religious instruction formed an important part of Egyptian education A. The Gods sacred animals - cats, bulls, crocodiles, & scarab beetles most important god - Amon (Amon-Re), the creator; he was identified with the sun Osiris judged people after death; he was identified with the Nile (death and rebirth) Isis was the goddess of the royal throne; she was the wife of Osiris B. The Afterlife during judgment in the afterlife, a person’s heart was weighed against a sacred feather symbolizing truth if the scale balanced, the heart had told the truth & could enter a place of eternal happiness; if the scale did not balance, the heart was thrown to the Eater of the Dead mummification – process of preserving the body with chemicals after death (thought to be necessary for the afterlife) o first the body is cleaned o second the organs are removed (first part to decompose) liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines heart – left in body as it is the center of intelligence and feeling brain – removed through the nose with a hook o third the body is dried out o fourth – after 40 days the body is washed again and rubbed with oils o fifth – the body is filled with dry materials, sometimes the organs are returned; otherwise they are placed in canopic jars to guard the organs o Imsety – human-headed god looks after the liver Hapy – the baboon-headed god looks after the lungs Duamutef – the jackal-headed god looks after the stomach Qebehsenuef – the falcon-headed god looks after the intestines sixth – and last the body is wrapped in linen workers placed the mummy in a tomb stocked with objects considered necessary for use in the afterlife o the more objects you had, the more important you were III. Society & Economy Egyptian social classes were rigidly divided (hard to change class, but could improve status) women ranked as the equals of their husbands in social & business affairs A. Farming wheat & barley were the chief grain crops; flax & cotton were also grown peasants kept only part of their crop & gave the rest to the pharaoh for rent & taxes B. Trade the government tightly controlled trade caravans - groups of people traveling together for safety over long distances caravans traveled from Egypt to western Asia & deep into Africa while Egyptian ships sailed the Mediterranean & Red Seas & traveled the African coast Section 3: Sumerian Civilization I. The Land: Its Geography & Importance not geographically protected like Egypt – wave after wave of invaders the Fertile Crescent is a strip of fertile land that begins at the Isthmus of Suez & arcs through southwestern Asia to the Persian Gulf the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers are major geographical features of the Fertile Crescent (or Mesopotamia) the flooding of the Tigris & Euphrates cannot be easily predicted o must build canals and dikes to irrigate fields and return water to the rivers after flooding dry lands & mountains surrounded the Fertile Crescent, but tribes of wandering herders often invaded the valley, conquered it, & established empires o story of repeated migration and conquest II. Sumer & Its Achievements the lower part of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley was called Sumer developed pictographs – picture writing; one of the earliest known forms of writing A. Sumerian Writing cuneiform - Sumerian writing made by pressing a wedge-shaped tool (called a stylus) into clay tablets (about 600 signs) o developed from pictographic writing B. Architecture & Science arch – curved structure over an opening, is one of the strongest forms in building o built rounded roofs Ziggurats - Sumerian temples made of sun-dried brick the Sumerians may have been the first people to develop & use the wheel in mathematics, Sumerians used a number system based on 60 o circle 360 degrees o each degree was 60 minutes o each minute 60 seconds the Sumerians also created a lunar calendar (added a month every few years to stay accurate) III. Sumerian Society city-state - form of government that includes a town or city & the surrounding land controlled by it major Sumerian city-states - Ur, Erech, & Kish A. Government & Society Kings (war leaders), high priests, & nobles Lower priests, merchants, & scholars Peasant farmers Slaves B. Farming & Trade Sumerian farmers grew dates, grains, & vegetables, & raised domestic animals Sumerian farmers grew enough food to allow many people to work as artisans & traders C. Education & Religion only upper-class boys attended school where they learned to write & spell by copying religious books & songs (also learned drawing and arithmetic) the Sumerians were polytheistic; their gods were identified with forces of nature & heavenly bodies while the Sumerians believed in an afterlife, they did not believe in rewards & punishments after death o believed in a kind of shadowy lower world o http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/vajda/ling201/images/sumerian_cuneiform.jpg Section 4: Empires of the Fertile Crescent I. The Akkadians in about 2330 B.C. he Akkadians attacked & conquered the quarreling Sumerians; the Akkadian Empire lasted about 150 years until the Babylonians came to power Sargon – most powerful Akkadian king II. The Babylonians Hammurabi - trong Babylonian ruler who conquered most of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley & compiled a code of law bearing his name A. Code of Hammurabi collection of 282 laws concerning all aspects of Babylonian life while punishment was harsh (“an eye for an eye”) under the law, status had its privileges B. Babylonian Culture most Babylonians farmed, kept domesticated animals, & grew a wide variety of crops the Babylonians were also active traders Babylonian women had some legal & economic rights including property rights o although husbands could divorce their wives, but wives could not divorce their husbands C. Religion Babylonians adopted many Sumerian religious beliefs, such as the belief in a shadowy life after death Babylonian religious practices centered around a successful earthly life believed priests could foretell (predict) the future – had power and wealth III. Other Conquerors while some conquerors adopted the culture of the people they conquered, others kept their own cultural values A. The Hittites the Hittites were a warlike people who invaded the Tigris-Euphrates Valley from Asia Minor in the 1600s B.C. the Hittites were among the first people to smelt iron, but their most important achievement was in the area of law & government - only major crimes received the death penalty the Hittites remained a powerful force until about 1200 B.C. B. The Assyrians the Assyrians from northern Mesopotamia expanded their power across the Fertile Crescent & into Egypt between about 900 B.C. & about 650 B.C. at its height, the Assyrian Empire included all of Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, & the Nile Valley the Assyrians were the first to use cavalry – soldiers on horseback used terror to control enemies o enslaved people o deported people to other regions the Assyrians were one of the first to effectively govern a large empire o Assyrian king had absolute or total power the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, was the home of a great library o double wall built around city – 70 feet high, 7.5 miles long, sometimes 148 feet wide civil was had weakened the Assyrian Empire, leaving it vulnerable to the 621 B.C. attack by the Chaldeans & Medes; Nineveh was captured & destroyed C. The Chaldeans the Chaldeans took control of much of the territory that the Assyrians had ruled Nebuchadnezzar - under his leadership, the Chaldeans conquered most of the Fertile Crescent, & Babylon became a large & wealthy city again; he is best remembered for creating the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the Seven Wonders of the World) skilled astronomers – kept careful record of star and planet movement and could predict solar and lunar eclipses the Chaldean Empire fell within 30 years of Nebuchadnezzar’s death IV. The Persians Cyrus the Great – rebelled against the Medes controlling the Pesians and captured Babylon the Persian Empire stretched between the Indus River & parts of southeastern Europe ruled the mightiest empire in history up to that time A. Government the early Persian kings were effective rulers as well as great generals, allowing conquered peoples to keep their own religions & laws appointing secret agents known as “the King’s Eyes and Ears” kept the king informed the Persian road system helped to link the sprawling empire together o Royal Road B. Persian Religion perhaps the greatest cultural contribution of the Persians concerned religion Zoroaster – (Zarathushtra) great Persian prophet whose teachings centered on the belief of a universal struggle between good & evil & the idea of final judgment o possible influences on Judaism and Christianity C. The Decline of the Persians the Persian Empire began to lose strength because of poor leadership & was, finally, conquered by Alexander the Great’s Greek forces in 331 B.C Section 5: The Phoenicians & the Lydians I. The Phoenicians the peoples in the western end of the Fertile Crescent (today the nations of Israel, Lebanon, & Syria) did not create large empires, but they still had a great influence on the modern world o also known as Phoenicia loose union of city-states each with a different king the Phoenicians were great sea traders A. Phoenician Trade in time the Phoenicians became the greatest traders in the ancient world o used ships with sails and oars Phoenicia reached its peak as a great sea trading power in the centuries after 1000 B.C. with colonies established throughout the Mediterranean o Carthage in North Africa; each colony became a center of trade lumber was an important natural resource the Phoenicians invented the art of glassblowing; Sidon became the home of a well-known glass industry shellfish called murex were used to make a purple dye that came to be known as royal purple, that was favored by the rich and royal; Sidon & Tyre became the centers of the dyeing trade B. Phoenician Culture government and customs resembled the Egyptians and Babylonians the Phoenicians believed in an afterlife, but their efforts were focused on winning the favor of one of the many gods they worshiped Phoenician alphabet - alphabet developed by the Phoenicians that became the model for later Western alphabets o spread of the alphabet shows how commerce aids cultural diffusion II. Lydians in ancient times the western portion of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) was called Lydia Lydians are remembered as the first people to use coined money barter - exchange of one good or service for another commodities - goods that have value, especially relating to barter economies money economy - economic system based on the use of money as a measure of value & a unit of account Section 6: The Origins of Judaism I. The Hebrews Canaan, south of Phoenicia, was inhabited by a series of people including the Hebrews, ancestors of modern Jews Abraham - the founder of the Hebrew people Twelve Tribes of Israel – tribes established by Jacob, Abraham’s grandson A. The Exodus the Hebrews left Canaan & traveled west into Egypt, probably to escape drought & famine; eventually the Hebrews fell from favor in Egypt & suffered greatly as slaves for 400 years Exodus - escape of the Hebrews from Egypt which was led by Moses B. The Ten Commandments as the Bible tells it, Moses climbed to the top of Mount Sinai & received the Ten Commandments, or the moral laws of the Hebrew god, Yahweh covenant - solemn agreement to follow the commandments Moses announced that Canaan was a land promised to his ancestors C. The Founding of Israel the Hebrews remained a loose confederation of tribes bound together in part by the need to maintain a strong central shrine for the Ark of the Covenant (the container of Moses’s tablets) Judges – leaders who ruled the various tribes establishing a homeland in Canaan proved difficult for the Hebrews in a struggle that lasted more than 200 years (fought with the Canaanites and Philistines) Saul – first king of the united kingdom of tribes David - Saul’s successor as king of Israel; made Jerusalem a capital & religious center under the rule of Solomon, Israel reached the height of its wealth & power in the late 900s B.C. the Israelite kingdom split in 2 following struggles for political power; the resulting 2 kingdoms, Israel (north) & Judah (south), lacked the strength to withstand invasions from the east II. The Development of Judaism A. Law & Ethics the first 5 books of the Old Testament (called the Torah) contain the Hebrew code of laws, including the Ten Commandments while this law demanded an “eye for an eye,” it also reflected the belief that all people deserved kindness & respect prophets’ messages often formed the basis for Jewish moral & ethical behavior B. Religion initially viewed as a god to be feared, Yahweh slowly became viewed as a god who gave worshippers free will & as a god who lived in the hearts of worshippers Hebrews viewed Yahweh as a spiritual force & viewed earthly political rulers as having no claims to divinity ethical monotheism - religion believing in one god, emphasizing ethics Judeo-Christian ethics - values first established by the Hebrews that contribute greatly to Western civilization