Download B. The Middle Kingdom

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