Ancient Civilizations - dbalmshistory Civilizations ... needed blessings for ... man for the Gods...

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Welcome to the

Ancient Civilizations

70’s Dance Party!

Ancient Civilizations

70’s Dance Party! • We need 2 Big Groups and 2 small groups (The

Movers & the Shakers) within the big group.

• Form 2 lines that face each other.

• Movers share ONE question from their list and

discuss the answer with their partner across the isle.

Repeat this process with the Shakers. (3.5 Mins)

• When time is up, the movers slide down one

position or (boogie down one position). Shakers stay

in place or Shake your groove thang!

• The Mover at the end of the line should boogie

down between the rows to the other end.

Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.

Why River Valleys?

1. Offered rich soils for agriculture

2. Tended to be located in places that could offer protection from nomadic invaders

The Fertile Crescent

• Arc of land

between the

Persian Gulf

and the

Mediterranean

Sea in

Southwest

Asia

One land…Two Rivers • Mesopotamia means =

“land between the rivers”

–Tigris River and Euphrates River

• Both rivers flooded once a year and left thick bed of silt.

–Silt: rich, new soil farmers could plant and harvest enormous quantities of wheat and barley

Religion & Politics Power of the Priests

• Sumer’s earliest governments were controlled by temple priests

– Farmers believed they needed blessings for success of their crops

– Priests were the middle man for the Gods

– Priests demanded portion of farmer crops as tax

Political Systems

• Later followed

Hereditary rulers:

when the power is

passed down to

family members

Sargon

City-state- an independent city and it’s

surrounding land.

• For example Washington D. C. or Vatican City in

Rome.

Political Systems

MESOPOTAMIAN CITY STATES

LOCATION TITLES IMPORTANT LEADERS

SUMER SOUTHERN PART OF

MESOPOTAMIA

FIRST CIVILIZATION

OF THE WORLD

UR – NAMMU

AKKAD SOUTHERN PART OF

MESOPOTAMIA

FIRST EMPIRE OF THE WORLD

SARGON I

BABYLONIA CENTRAL PART OF

MESOPOTAMIA

OLD BABYLONIAN

EMPIRE

HAMMURABI

ASSYRIA NORTHERN PART OF

MESOPOTAMIA

SCOURGE OF GODS

ASSURNASIRPAL ASHURBANIPAL

CHALDEA CENTRAL PART OF

MESOPOTAMIA

NEW BABYLONIAN

EMPIRE

NEBUCHADNEZZAR

Sargon of Akkad: The World’s First Empire

[Akkadians]

Sargon of Akkad: The World’s First Empire

[Akkadians]

Babylonian Empire

They overtook Sumerians around 2000 B.C.

And they built capital, Babylon, on Euphrates river

The Babylonian Empires The Babylonian Empires

The most famous king of Babylonian Empire was Hammurabi [1792-1750 B.C.]

Famous Code of Law “the punishment

fits the crime” and “eye for an eye”

He took all the laws of the region’s city-states and unified them into one code. This helped unify the region.

Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.]

Code

Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.]

Code

Economy • Metal tools and weapons (bronze, iron came later…)

• Increasing agricultural surplus (better tools, plows, irrigation)

• Increasing trade along rivers – traded with Egypt

• Development of the world’s first cities

• Specialization of labor

Religion • Polytheistic: Belief in Many

Gods (3,000!!!)

• Gods could be angered at any moment and to keep them happy Sumerians:

– Built impressive ziggurats or temples to sacrifice food, wine and animals

– Souls of the dead wandered in the land of no return

MORE

ZIGGURATS!!!

Social Structure

Kings and Priests

Wealthy merchants

Ordinary Sumerian people

Slaves

Social Structure - Women

• Could hold property

• Join lower ranks of priesthood

• There were few women scribes

– Scholars think that girls were not allowed to attend schools

Achievements - Intellectual

Epic of Gilgamesh

• Myths and

legends recorded

in this long poem

• One of the

earliest works of

literature in the

world

Gilgamesh Gilgamesh

•The Mesopotamians

believed that the dead

descended to a

gloomy underworld.

•This Epic contains a

different account of

the “Great Flood”.

Achievements Science and

Technology

• Invented the wheel, the sail, the plow

• First to use bronze.

• Developed system of writing

• Built irrigation systems, buildings, surveyed flooded fields.

Achievements Science and

Technology

• Invented the wheel, the sail, the plow

• First to use bronze.

• Developed system of writing

• Built irrigation systems, buildings, surveyed flooded fields.

Egypt

Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.

Geography - Egypt Unites

• In the

beginning,

Egypt was

separated into

two kingdoms:

–1. Lower Egypt

–2. Upper Egypt

Lower Egypt

Upper Egypt

King Menes

• Established a capital,

Memphis

• Established first

Egyptian Dynasty

• Unites Upper and

Lower Egypt

United United lower and upper Egypt and wore a

crown that symbolized its united kingdom

Political Structure - Pharaohs

• Egyptian kings = pharaohs

• The Egyptians viewed their

pharaohs the same as the gods

–KINGS WERE GODS

• Stood as center of religion as well

as government and army

• Type of Government = Theocracy

Trade • By 3200 BC, Egyptians were

trading with the Mesopotamians

• Also traded up and down the Nile

–Gold

–Ivory

–Cattle

–Granite blocks

Religion • Polytheistic

• 2,000 gods and goddesses

• Built huge temples to honor gods

• Believed in afterlife

–Osiris – god of the dead

Social Structure

• Very different from the city-states of Mesopotamia

• Egypt’s united kingdom allowed

–High degree of unity

–Stability

–Cultural continuity (staying the same)

Life in Egyptian Society

Pharaoh

Royal Advisor

Priests

Traders/Merchants

Slaves

Ordinary Citizens

Advancements - Intellectual

• Developed writing = hieroglyphics

–Pictographic writing system

• Developed written numbers for recording taxes

–Addition, subtraction

Achievements • Knowledge in math = skillful engineers

– Pyramids

– Palaces

• Egyptian Architects first to use stone columns in homes, palaces and temples

• 12 month, 365 day calendar from studying the stars

– So accurate it was only 6 hours off from today’s calendar year

Calendar/

Time

Piece

The Rosetta Stone

This

Not This

Geography • Nile River – 4,132 miles long, flows

northward

• Every year in July the river flooded REGULARLY leaving behind rich soil.

• The Nile is the longest river in the world!

• Forbidden Deserts on either side of the Nile = Natural barriers

Desert = Dry

Water = Fertile/Green

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