Chapter 1 The First Civilizations: The People of Western Asia and Egypt W

Chapter 1Chapter 1

The First Civilizations:The People of Western Asia and Egypt

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The Spread of Homo sapiens


1. It is estimated that the earth is as much as six billion years old. Creatures like human beings appeared in the last three to five million years. The earliest of these, called hominids, lived in Africa. Known as Australopithecus afarensis, these first hominids lived in East and South Africa. Unlike other animals, the hominids were capable of passing culture from one generation to the next. Australopithecine fossils have been found in Hadar, Ethiopia, where at least thirty-five individuals (one a female) date from between 3.0 and 3.5 million years of age. At Laetoli in northern Tanzania, fossil jaws, teeth, and footprints have been discovered that are 3.35 and 3.75 million years old. Younger, at 1.75 million years, are the fossil remains of a four-foot individual, called Homo habilis (“skillful man”), found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Significantly, crude tools were found near these remains.

2. About 1.5 million years ago the second stage of human development occurred with the appearance of Homo erectus ("upright human beings"). These hominids used more sophisticated tools than Australopithecus and were the first to leave Africa and move into both Europe and Asia. Homo erectus disappeared about 300,000 years ago.

3. Homo sapiens ("wise human being") made their appearance about 250,000 years ago. By about 100,000 B.C.E. two groups of Homo sapiens had developed -- Neanderthal and Homo sapiens sapiens ("wise human beings"). Remains of the Neanderthal (first found in the Neander Valley in Germany) have been discovered in both Europe and the Middle East. This specie has been dated between 100,000 and 30,000 B.C.E. They relied on a variety stone tools and in Europe, Neanderthals buried their dead. Neanderthals also made clothes from the skins of animals killed for food. Homo sapiens sapiens, on the other hand, appeared in Africa between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago. About 100,000 B.C.E., they began migrating out of Africa. By 30,000 B.C.E. the Homo sapiens sapiens had displaced the Neanderthals who became extinct. Interbreeding between the two races may have occurred.

4. The spread of Homo sapiens sapiens was a very slow process with people advancing beyond their old hunting grounds at a rate of two or three miles per generation. What drove these people to migrate is unknown but surely two factors may have been that of seeking a more certain food supply and pressure from competing groups for the same resource area, the loser moving on. Over tens of thousands of years these mobile Homo sapiens sapiens came to populate the world. By 10,000 B.C.E. the process was completed.

5. The last stage of world occupation by Homo sapiens sapiens came about 15,000 years ago when Asians made their way into North America. Driven by a search for a greater food supply or perhaps pursued by other groups, the first occupants crossed by way of Beringia connecting Siberia and America. This bridge may have been either land as a consequence of lower sea levels or ice due to the ice age. Some may have come by sea from Polynesia.

6. At Lascaux, in southern France, and Altamira, in northern Spain, cave paintings from the Paleolithic period (c. 15,000 B.C.E.) have been discovered. The paintings, which feature cattle and horses, were part of the mythic-religious rites of hunting.

Questions:1. How did the hominids develop and spread to populate the world?2. What distinguished the various hominids?


1. It is estimated that the earth is as much as six billion years old. Creatures like human beings appeared in the last three to five million years. The earliest of these, called hominids, lived in Africa. Known as Australopithecus afarensis, these first hominids lived in East and South Africa. Unlike other animals, the hominids were capable of passing culture from one generation to the next. Australopithecine fossils have been found in Hadar, Ethiopia, where at least thirty-five individuals (one a female) date from between 3.0 and 3.5 million years of age. At Laetoli in northern Tanzania, fossil jaws, teeth, and footprints have been discovered that are 3.35 and 3.75 million years old. Younger, at 1.75 million years, are the fossil remains of a four-foot individual, called Homo habilis (“skillful man”), found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Significantly, crude tools were found near these remains.

2. About 1.5 million years ago the second stage of human development occurred with the appearance of Homo erectus ("upright human beings"). These hominids used more sophisticated tools than Australopithecus and were the first to leave Africa and move into both Europe and Asia. Homo erectus disappeared about 300,000 years ago.

3. Homo sapiens ("wise human being") made their appearance about 250,000 years ago. By about 100,000 B.C.E. two groups of Homo sapiens had developed -- Neanderthal and Homo sapiens sapiens ("wise human beings"). Remains of the Neanderthal (first found in the Neander Valley in Germany) have been discovered in both Europe and the Middle East. This specie has been dated between 100,000 and 30,000 B.C.E. They relied on a variety stone tools and in Europe, Neanderthals buried their dead. Neanderthals also made clothes from the skins of animals killed for food. Homo sapiens sapiens, on the other hand, appeared in Africa between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago. About 100,000 B.C.E., they began migrating out of Africa. By 30,000 B.C.E. the Homo sapiens sapiens had displaced the Neanderthals who became extinct. Interbreeding between the two races may have occurred.

4. The spread of Homo sapiens sapiens was a very slow process with people advancing beyond their old hunting grounds at a rate of two or three miles per generation. What drove these people to migrate is unknown but surely two factors may have been that of seeking a more certain food supply and pressure from competing groups for the same resource area, the loser moving on. Over tens of thousands of years these mobile Homo sapiens sapiens came to populate the world. By 10,000 B.C.E. the process was completed.

5. The last stage of world occupation by Homo sapiens sapiens came about 15,000 years ago when Asians made their way into North America. Driven by a search for a greater food supply or perhaps pursued by other groups, the first occupants crossed by way of Beringia connecting Siberia and America. This bridge may have been either land as a consequence of lower sea levels or ice due to the ice age. Some may have come by sea from Polynesia.

6. At Lascaux, in southern France, and Altamira, in northern Spain, cave paintings from the Paleolithic period (c. 15,000 B.C.E.) have been discovered. The paintings, which feature cattle and horses, were part of the mythic-religious rites of hunting.

Questions:1. How did the hominids develop and spread to populate the world?2. What distinguished the various hominids?

The First Humans Australopithecines, c. 2-4 million years ago Homo erectus, c. 100,000-1.5 million years ago Homo sapiens

• Neanderthal, c. 100,000-30,000 B.C.E.• Homo sapiens sapiens, c. 200,000 B.C.E.

The Hunter-Gatherers of the Paleolithic Age Paleolithic Age, c. 2,500,000-10,000 B.C.E. Nomadic people

• Division of labor• Fire, 500,000 years ago• Cave paintings

The Development of Agriculture

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1. Throughout early hominid development, the people were hunters, fishers, and gatherers, but not producers of food. The division of labor was according to gender. Men were the hunters, fishers, tool and weapon makers, and warriors. Women, less mobile due to childbearing and accompanying responsibilities, smaller in stature, and with less strength, gathered nuts, berries, wove baskets, and made clothing. It was in their capacity as gatherers that women probably discovered how to plant and care for seeds.

2. The Age of Agriculture, during the Neolithic ("New Stone") Revolution, began following the end of the last ice age around 10,000 B.C.E. and would last to about 4000 B.C.E. The shift to agriculture was slow and probably lasted from about 10,000-7000 B.C.E. Accompanying the domestication of grains was also the gradual domestication of many animals such as dogs, pigs, cows, goats and sheep.

3. Between 8000 and 7000 B.C.E. agriculture appeared independently in five different areas: the Near East about 8000 B.C.E.; in China, Africa, and Mesoamerica about 4000 B.C.E.; and in India by at least 3600 B.C.E. In the Near East the revolution was centered on wheat, barley, and lentils. Wheat was also the standard in India. Millet and rice were cultivated in southern Asia and China. In Mesoamerica, beans, potatoes, and corn were domesticated. Millet and yams were key in western Africa.

4. The growing of crops led to the establishment of permanent settlements. One of the oldest known agricultural villages was Jericho in Palestine dating from about 8000 B.C.E. By 3000 B.C.E. when writing was invented, there were urban civilizations in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia, the Nile River in Egypt, the Indus River Valley in India, and the Yellow River basin of China. The Mesoamerican urban civilizations would develop in the first millennium C.E.

Questions:1. Examine the transition from hunting-gathering to agriculture.2. Why was there a sexual division and labor and what were the consequences of this?


1. Throughout early hominid development, the people were hunters, fishers, and gatherers, but not producers of food. The division of labor was according to gender. Men were the hunters, fishers, tool and weapon makers, and warriors. Women, less mobile due to childbearing and accompanying responsibilities, smaller in stature, and with less strength, gathered nuts, berries, wove baskets, and made clothing. It was in their capacity as gatherers that women probably discovered how to plant and care for seeds.

2. The Age of Agriculture, during the Neolithic ("New Stone") Revolution, began following the end of the last ice age around 10,000 B.C.E. and would last to about 4000 B.C.E. The shift to agriculture was slow and probably lasted from about 10,000-7000 B.C.E. Accompanying the domestication of grains was also the gradual domestication of many animals such as dogs, pigs, cows, goats and sheep.

3. Between 8000 and 7000 B.C.E. agriculture appeared independently in five different areas: the Near East about 8000 B.C.E.; in China, Africa, and Mesoamerica about 4000 B.C.E.; and in India by at least 3600 B.C.E. In the Near East the revolution was centered on wheat, barley, and lentils. Wheat was also the standard in India. Millet and rice were cultivated in southern Asia and China. In Mesoamerica, beans, potatoes, and corn were domesticated. Millet and yams were key in western Africa.

4. The growing of crops led to the establishment of permanent settlements. One of the oldest known agricultural villages was Jericho in Palestine dating from about 8000 B.C.E. By 3000 B.C.E. when writing was invented, there were urban civilizations in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia, the Nile River in Egypt, the Indus River Valley in India, and the Yellow River basin of China. The Mesoamerican urban civilizations would develop in the first millennium C.E.

Questions:1. Examine the transition from hunting-gathering to agriculture.2. Why was there a sexual division and labor and what were the consequences of this?

The Neolithic Revolution (c. 10,000-4000 B.C.E.) Neolithic Revolution

A Revolution in Agriculture Independent development

• Middle East, 8000 B.C.E.

• Balkans, 6500 B.C.E.

• France, Central Europe, and Coastal Mediterranean, 4000 B.C.E.

• Western Asia and Nile Valley of Egypt, 6000 B.C.E.

• Northwestern and Central India, 7000-5000 B.C.E.

• Southeast Asia and South China, 5000 B.C.E.

• North China, 6000 B.C.E.

• Mesoamerica, 7000-5000 B.C.E.

Consequences of the Neolithic Revolution Neolithic farms and villages

• Oldest in the Middle East

• Jericho, 8000 B.C.E.• Çatal Hüyük, 6700-5700 B.C.E.

– Walled city– 12 cultivated products– Religious shrines

Consequences• Settled in villages and towns• Trade• Specialization of crafts• Pottery and baskets• Flint blades• Change in relationship of men and women• Men work in the fields and herding animals• Women care for children and weaving cloth• Fixed dwellings and domestication of animals• Writing• Metalworking

Emergence of Civilization Characteristics of Civilization

Urban focus Distinct religious structure New political and military structures New social structure based on economic power The development of writing New and significant artistic and intellectual activity

Civilizations• Mesopotamia of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers• Valleys the Indus River• Yellow River in northern China• Central Asia• Supe River valley of Peru

Why civilization developed?• Challenge and response

• Material forces created specialization of labor• Management of water resources• Religion provided unity and purpose

Civilization in Mesopotamia City-States of Ancient Mesopotamia

Sumerian city-states, c. 3000-2350 B.C.E.• Walls• Temple atop a ziggurat• Gods ruled the cities• Kingship divine in origin• Economy was agricultural• Social groups

– Nobles– Commoners– Slaves

The Ancient Near East

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1. Protoneolithic culture developed independently in northern Syria and the Jordan Valley at Jericho near the Dead Sea in Palestine. Existing as early as by 8000 B.C.E., Jericho covered several acres by 7000 B.C.E. Massive fortified walls 6 feet 6 inches at the base and at some places 20 feet high surrounded the city. Enclosed within the wall were the houses of the two thousand inhabitants. In the north on the central plateau of Asia Minor above the Taurus Mountains was the Neolithic town of Çatal Hüyük which covered about thirty-two acres and housed about six thousand inhabitants living in one story mud-brick houses built around inner courtyards. Reaching its zenith between 6700 and 5700 B.C.E., the community apparently grew wealthy due to trade in obsidian that was used in jewelry, mirrors, or knives. With adequate rainfall and both plants and animals to domesticate, agriculture apparently began in these plains rather than the river valleys.

2. The headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are found in the mountains of Armenia (modern Turkey). The land between the two rivers is a rolling plateau broken by limestone suitable for pasturage. Beyond the Tigris are wooded hills and fertile, well-watered valleys. The Euphrates flows over a course of about 1675 miles while the Tigris winds for almost 1150 miles and joins the Euphrates about 120 miles from the Persian Gulf at the Shatt al-Arab. Subject to rains, tributaries, and the melting snow in the Zagros Mountains between April and May, the two rivers irregularly flood leaving deposits of rich alluvial silt in the swamps of the delta. Such conditions fostered the necessity for water management through irrigation and drainage canals. This required both population concentrations (cities) and organizational and bureaucratic controls. One of the earliest cities was Uruk near the Euphrates. It occupied an area of about a thousand acres and was surrounded by a six-mile long wall with defensive towers every thirty to thirty-five feet. The housing consisted of both the flats of peasants and larger dwellings of civil and religious officials.

3. Overland trade routes in Mesopotamia usually followed the Euphrates because the banks of the Tigris are frequently steep and difficult. The excellent location of Babylon allowed it to dominate the trade of Mesopotamia. Merchants followed the Tigris north to the lands of Assyria and Armenia while the Euphrates led northwest to Syria, Palestine, and the Mediterranean.

4. The early residents of Mesopotamia, the Sumerians, arrived at the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates around 4000 B.C.E. and by 3000 B.C.E. had created a number of independent city-states, most notably Ur, Uruk, and Lagash. Vulnerable due to the ease of invasion from the north and constant warring over land and water rights, Semites from Akkad conquered the area. By 1700 B.C.E., the Sumerian element was completely submerged due to the union of Mesopotamia by the Amorite (Semite) Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.E.) of Babylon.

5. The Hittites, Indo-Europeans, arrived in Asia Minor about 2700 B.C.E. By about 1750 B.C.E. the Hittite Empire had extended itself to Babylon where the dynasty of Hammurabi was extinguished. Hittite strength came from being the first in the Near East to master the technology of smelting iron. This gave them both a military and commercial advantage. The empire disappeared about 1200 B.C.E. in part due to the attack of marauders called the "Sea People."

Question:1. What physical and geographical characteristics might affect development of organized society?


1. Protoneolithic culture developed independently in northern Syria and the Jordan Valley at Jericho near the Dead Sea in Palestine. Existing as early as by 8000 B.C.E., Jericho covered several acres by 7000 B.C.E. Massive fortified walls 6 feet 6 inches at the base and at some places 20 feet high surrounded the city. Enclosed within the wall were the houses of the two thousand inhabitants. In the north on the central plateau of Asia Minor above the Taurus Mountains was the Neolithic town of Çatal Hüyük which covered about thirty-two acres and housed about six thousand inhabitants living in one story mud-brick houses built around inner courtyards. Reaching its zenith between 6700 and 5700 B.C.E., the community apparently grew wealthy due to trade in obsidian that was used in jewelry, mirrors, or knives. With adequate rainfall and both plants and animals to domesticate, agriculture apparently began in these plains rather than the river valleys.

2. The headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are found in the mountains of Armenia (modern Turkey). The land between the two rivers is a rolling plateau broken by limestone suitable for pasturage. Beyond the Tigris are wooded hills and fertile, well-watered valleys. The Euphrates flows over a course of about 1675 miles while the Tigris winds for almost 1150 miles and joins the Euphrates about 120 miles from the Persian Gulf at the Shatt al-Arab. Subject to rains, tributaries, and the melting snow in the Zagros Mountains between April and May, the two rivers irregularly flood leaving deposits of rich alluvial silt in the swamps of the delta. Such conditions fostered the necessity for water management through irrigation and drainage canals. This required both population concentrations (cities) and organizational and bureaucratic controls. One of the earliest cities was Uruk near the Euphrates. It occupied an area of about a thousand acres and was surrounded by a six-mile long wall with defensive towers every thirty to thirty-five feet. The housing consisted of both the flats of peasants and larger dwellings of civil and religious officials.

3. Overland trade routes in Mesopotamia usually followed the Euphrates because the banks of the Tigris are frequently steep and difficult. The excellent location of Babylon allowed it to dominate the trade of Mesopotamia. Merchants followed the Tigris north to the lands of Assyria and Armenia while the Euphrates led northwest to Syria, Palestine, and the Mediterranean.

4. The early residents of Mesopotamia, the Sumerians, arrived at the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates around 4000 B.C.E. and by 3000 B.C.E. had created a number of independent city-states, most notably Ur, Uruk, and Lagash. Vulnerable due to the ease of invasion from the north and constant warring over land and water rights, Semites from Akkad conquered the area. By 1700 B.C.E., the Sumerian element was completely submerged due to the union of Mesopotamia by the Amorite (Semite) Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.E.) of Babylon.

5. The Hittites, Indo-Europeans, arrived in Asia Minor about 2700 B.C.E. By about 1750 B.C.E. the Hittite Empire had extended itself to Babylon where the dynasty of Hammurabi was extinguished. Hittite strength came from being the first in the Near East to master the technology of smelting iron. This gave them both a military and commercial advantage. The empire disappeared about 1200 B.C.E. in part due to the attack of marauders called the "Sea People."

Question:1. What physical and geographical characteristics might affect development of organized society?

Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia• Akkadian Empire, c. 2340-2100 B.C.E.• Semitic people• Sargon around 2340 B.C.E. overran the Sumerian cities and

established an empire over most of Mesopotamia• Empire falls about 2100 B.C.E.• Amorites (Old Babylonians)

– Hammurabi in 1792 B.C.E. creates a new empire Code of Hammurabi

• Strict justice• Penalties according to class• Performance of work• Marriage and the family• Regulations of sexual relations

The Culture of Mesopotamia Importance of Religion

• Epic of Gilgamesh• Numerous gods and goddesses• Human relationships with the gods• Divination

Cultivation of New Arts and Sciences• Writing in the form of cuneiform (“wedge shaped”)

– Primarily for record keeping which means retention of knowledge– Communicate important ideas

• Math of Sumerians based on 60 using combinations of 6 and 10– Geometry to measure fields and erect buildings– Used 60 to chart the heavens– Calendar of 12 lunar months (extra month time to time)

Ancient Egypt and the Nile

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1. The Nile River flows north almost 4200 miles from its southernmost source in modern-day Burundi in central Africa. In ancient times, the arable portion of the Nile Valley extended about 800 miles upriver from the mouth. The river floods every spring from about June to the end of October over a narrow strip of land that is never more than thirteen miles wide. Catch basins built by the Egyptians trapped water over the soil that allowed the salt to settle. Because the color of the soil left by the flooding Nile is black, Egyptians called their country Kemet which means black.

2. At the Nile Delta about one hundred miles from the Mediterranean Sea, the river splits into a number of branches that flow to the sea. This territory, north of Memphis, is called Lower Egypt while the land upstream to the south along a narrow ten to twenty mile wide valley, is referred to as Upper Egypt. Like the delta of the Tigris and Euphrates, engineering works were required to make full use of the waters. Unlike the Tigris and Euphrates that required large population centers to help control the unpredictable rivers, massive intervention was not needed. For this reason, the population remained rural.

3. Granite and sandstone for building were mined near the First Cataract. Minerals came from the hills and deserts to the east. Nevertheless, Egypt lacked copper and timber that were acquired from Sinai and Palestine. The Nile Delta was the source of salt for Egypt

4. The Nile was reflected in the Egyptian creation myth which declared that before creation there was a watery void and then, just as the Nile recedes leaving little hillocks of mud, the primeval watery void subsided leaving an island hillock upon which sat the creator-god Atum who brought into existence all other beings and phenomena of the universe. (John A. Wilson, The Culture of Ancient Egypt, p. 59)

5. For administrative purposes, the Old Kingdom was divided into twenty-two provinces in Upper Egypt and twenty in Lower. After 2000 B.C.E., most pharaohs made Thebes their capital. The temples to Amon and tombs of the pharaohs and their queens were built into cliffs at nearby Luxor.

6. South of the delta is Memphis, the capital of the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 B.C.E.). North of the capital is Djoser's Pyramid, the first pyramid to be built, and Giza where the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx are located. These pyramids served as burial places for the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. The largest of the pyramids is Khufu (Cheops) dating from about 2540 B.C.E. Standing 481 feet high and 756 feet on each side, it covers thirteen acres and is composed of 2.3 million stone blocks averaging 2.5 tons each. The pyramid was covered with limestone blocks (subsequently removed for building Cairo). The four sides coincided closely to the four points of the compass.

7. During a religious struggle in which the worship of Aton was introduced and the temples of rival gods were closed, Amenhotep IV or Akhnaton (1367-1350 B.C.E.) sought to lessen the power of the priesthood of Amon-Re at the capital of Thebes by moving the center of government two hundred miles north to Akhetaton (near modern Tell-el-Amarna) where an immense temple to Aton was built.

Questions:1. What impact did the Nile have upon Egyptian civilization?2. Describe how the physical environment of Mesopotamia and Egypt differed and the manner in which this might contribute to the emergence of different civilizations.


1. The Nile River flows north almost 4200 miles from its southernmost source in modern-day Burundi in central Africa. In ancient times, the arable portion of the Nile Valley extended about 800 miles upriver from the mouth. The river floods every spring from about June to the end of October over a narrow strip of land that is never more than thirteen miles wide. Catch basins built by the Egyptians trapped water over the soil that allowed the salt to settle. Because the color of the soil left by the flooding Nile is black, Egyptians called their country Kemet which means black.

2. At the Nile Delta about one hundred miles from the Mediterranean Sea, the river splits into a number of branches that flow to the sea. This territory, north of Memphis, is called Lower Egypt while the land upstream to the south along a narrow ten to twenty mile wide valley, is referred to as Upper Egypt. Like the delta of the Tigris and Euphrates, engineering works were required to make full use of the waters. Unlike the Tigris and Euphrates that required large population centers to help control the unpredictable rivers, massive intervention was not needed. For this reason, the population remained rural.

3. Granite and sandstone for building were mined near the First Cataract. Minerals came from the hills and deserts to the east. Nevertheless, Egypt lacked copper and timber that were acquired from Sinai and Palestine. The Nile Delta was the source of salt for Egypt

4. The Nile was reflected in the Egyptian creation myth which declared that before creation there was a watery void and then, just as the Nile recedes leaving little hillocks of mud, the primeval watery void subsided leaving an island hillock upon which sat the creator-god Atum who brought into existence all other beings and phenomena of the universe. (John A. Wilson, The Culture of Ancient Egypt, p. 59)

5. For administrative purposes, the Old Kingdom was divided into twenty-two provinces in Upper Egypt and twenty in Lower. After 2000 B.C.E., most pharaohs made Thebes their capital. The temples to Amon and tombs of the pharaohs and their queens were built into cliffs at nearby Luxor.

6. South of the delta is Memphis, the capital of the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 B.C.E.). North of the capital is Djoser's Pyramid, the first pyramid to be built, and Giza where the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx are located. These pyramids served as burial places for the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. The largest of the pyramids is Khufu (Cheops) dating from about 2540 B.C.E. Standing 481 feet high and 756 feet on each side, it covers thirteen acres and is composed of 2.3 million stone blocks averaging 2.5 tons each. The pyramid was covered with limestone blocks (subsequently removed for building Cairo). The four sides coincided closely to the four points of the compass.

7. During a religious struggle in which the worship of Aton was introduced and the temples of rival gods were closed, Amenhotep IV or Akhnaton (1367-1350 B.C.E.) sought to lessen the power of the priesthood of Amon-Re at the capital of Thebes by moving the center of government two hundred miles north to Akhetaton (near modern Tell-el-Amarna) where an immense temple to Aton was built.

Questions:1. What impact did the Nile have upon Egyptian civilization?2. Describe how the physical environment of Mesopotamia and Egypt differed and the manner in which this might contribute to the emergence of different civilizations.

Egyptian Civilization The Importance of Geography

Nile River flows from central Africa Nile Delta Flooding in predictable Food surpluses Natural barriers create isolation

The Old and Middle Kingdom The Old Kingdom

• Upper and Lower Egypt united, 3100 B.C.E.• Old Kingdom, 2700-2200 B.C.E.

– Pyramids– Divine kingship– Ma’at– Bureaucracy

• Middle Kingdom, 2050-1650 B.C.E.– Stability– Concern of the pharaoh for the people

Society and Economy in Ancient Egypt• Pharaoh surrounded by an upper class of nobles• Merchant class and artisans• Most people worked the lands

– Taxes paid in the form of crops– Lived in small villages– Provided military service and forced labor for building projects

The Culture of Egypt Spiritual Life in Egyptian Society

• Polytheistic– Sun gods and land gods

• Morality

The Pyramids• Tombs• Great Pyramid

Art and Writing• Profile, semiprofile, frontal art• Hieroglyphics

Chaos and a New Order: the New Kingdom New Kingdom, 1550-1085 B.C.E. Hyksos

• Horse-drawn chariots • Egyptians learned bronze for making farm implements and weapons

Queen Hatshepsut (c. 1503-1480 B.C.E.) Amenhotep IV (Akhnaton, c. 1364-1347 B.C.E.)

• Aten “Sea People” drove the Egyptians out of Palestine Empire ends in 1085 B.C.E.

The Pyramid at Gizeh

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The Temple of Queen Hatesheput in the Valley of King

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Daily Life in Ancient Egypt: Family and Marriage• Monogamy• Women’s property and inheritance remained in her hands

New Centers of Civilization Megalithic structures, 4000 B.C.E.

The Impact of the Indo-Europeans From somewhere in the steppe region north of the Black Sea

or in southwestern Asia One group into Asia Minor and Anatolia around 1750 B.C.E.

coalesced with people of the Hittite kingdom• First to use iron • Hittites destroyed by another group of Indo-Europeans

The Phoenicians Palestine Ports of Byblos, Tyre, and Sidon Traders Alphabet

The Hebrews: The “Children of Israel”• Abraham migrated from Mesopotamia to Palestine• Draught causes many to migrate to Egypt• Left Egypt about thirteenth century B.C.E.• Twelve tribes• Philistines in Palestine

United Kingdom• Saul (c. 1020-1000 B.C.E.)• David (c. 1000-970 B.C.E.)• Solomon (c. 970-930 B.C.E.)

– Temple housed the Ark of the Covenant

The Divided Kingdom• Division into the kingdom of Israel with its capital at Samaria and Judah

with its capital at Jerusalem• Assyrians destroyed Samaria in 722 B.C.E. and overran the kingdom of Israel

– Deported the Hebrews to other parts of the empire

• Chaldeans defeated the Assyrians and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E.– Persians destroyed the Chaldean kingdom

Spiritual Dimensions of Israel• Yahweh

– Created nature but not in nature

• Covenant, law, the prophets

The Rise of New Empires The Assyrian Empire

Use of iron weapons, create an empire by 700 B.C.E. Ashurbanipal (669-626 B.C.E.)

Ancient Palestine and the Jewish Kingdoms

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1. Phoenicia was centrally located on the main trade routes between Egypt, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia. The first Phoenicians (Canaanites) established their urban centers at Sidon, Byblos, and Ugarit about 3000 B.C.E.

2. From the Hittites, the Phoenicians learned how to smelt iron and passed the techniques west to the Greeks and south to the African continent. The Phoenician urban civilization also served as a center for manufacturing, the skills of which were learned from the conquering Egyptians who in return were influenced by Phoenician cults and religious ideas.

3. Phoenician culture was influenced by Babylonian mythological stories of the beginning of the world, the birth of the gods, and the creation of humanity. It may have been through the Phoenicians that the Babylonian origin myths were passed to the Hebrews and Greeks.

3. The northern Phoenician coast is isolated by the Lebanon Range but approachable from the sea by a series of harbors at Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos. By about 2000 B.C.E., Byblos was supplying Egypt with timber from nearby forests. It also traded Egyptian papyrus which the Greeks called byblos after the city from which it came (biblia came to mean book in Greek). The port went into decline after 1100 B.C.E. as Tyre and Sidon became more powerful. Before 1100 B.C.E., Tyre was controlled by Egypt and traded with the people of Asia Minor and the Aegean.

4. Palestine is about 150 miles long and less than 10,000 square miles in area. The coast is harborless and except for the rich Plain of Esdraelon the land is barren limestone. Although the area had neither sufficient rainfall, means of irrigation, nor economic resources, its location on the chief trade routes from east to west was an invitation to migrating people from the deserts and the mountains. As Palestine became a battleground for stronger nations, the culture of the region came to reflect the influence of Babylon, Egypt, and the Hittites.

5. The name Hebrew may come from the ancient Semitic word abar meaning "to cross or pass over" and perhaps refers to the passage of Abraham and his followers into Canaan across the Syrian Desert from Ur.

6. The Semitic Israelites began their exodus from slavery in the Nile Delta about 1230 B.C. Crossing a series of shallow lakes, they drove south down to the barren, rock-strewn Sinai, the Wilderness of Zin. At Mt. Sinai their God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. About 1200 B.C.E. the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into Canaan where they came into conflict with the Philistines who were part of the Sea Peoples who had settled the coastal plain of Palestine. The wars forced the scattered Israelite tribes to unite under a king. Once the Philistines were defeated, Israelites split into two halves: in the north, Israel with its capital at Samaria, and in the south, Judah centered on Jerusalem.

Questions:1. What role did the Phoenicians play in cultural diffusion?2. How did the environment and contact with other people shape the Israelites?


1. Phoenicia was centrally located on the main trade routes between Egypt, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia. The first Phoenicians (Canaanites) established their urban centers at Sidon, Byblos, and Ugarit about 3000 B.C.E.

2. From the Hittites, the Phoenicians learned how to smelt iron and passed the techniques west to the Greeks and south to the African continent. The Phoenician urban civilization also served as a center for manufacturing, the skills of which were learned from the conquering Egyptians who in return were influenced by Phoenician cults and religious ideas.

3. Phoenician culture was influenced by Babylonian mythological stories of the beginning of the world, the birth of the gods, and the creation of humanity. It may have been through the Phoenicians that the Babylonian origin myths were passed to the Hebrews and Greeks.

3. The northern Phoenician coast is isolated by the Lebanon Range but approachable from the sea by a series of harbors at Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos. By about 2000 B.C.E., Byblos was supplying Egypt with timber from nearby forests. It also traded Egyptian papyrus which the Greeks called byblos after the city from which it came (biblia came to mean book in Greek). The port went into decline after 1100 B.C.E. as Tyre and Sidon became more powerful. Before 1100 B.C.E., Tyre was controlled by Egypt and traded with the people of Asia Minor and the Aegean.

4. Palestine is about 150 miles long and less than 10,000 square miles in area. The coast is harborless and except for the rich Plain of Esdraelon the land is barren limestone. Although the area had neither sufficient rainfall, means of irrigation, nor economic resources, its location on the chief trade routes from east to west was an invitation to migrating people from the deserts and the mountains. As Palestine became a battleground for stronger nations, the culture of the region came to reflect the influence of Babylon, Egypt, and the Hittites.

5. The name Hebrew may come from the ancient Semitic word abar meaning "to cross or pass over" and perhaps refers to the passage of Abraham and his followers into Canaan across the Syrian Desert from Ur.

6. The Semitic Israelites began their exodus from slavery in the Nile Delta about 1230 B.C. Crossing a series of shallow lakes, they drove south down to the barren, rock-strewn Sinai, the Wilderness of Zin. At Mt. Sinai their God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. About 1200 B.C.E. the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into Canaan where they came into conflict with the Philistines who were part of the Sea Peoples who had settled the coastal plain of Palestine. The wars forced the scattered Israelite tribes to unite under a king. Once the Philistines were defeated, Israelites split into two halves: in the north, Israel with its capital at Samaria, and in the south, Judah centered on Jerusalem.

Questions:1. What role did the Phoenicians play in cultural diffusion?2. How did the environment and contact with other people shape the Israelites?

Ruled by kings with absolute power System of communication Well organized army -- infantrymen and war chariots Use of terror

Assyrian Society and Culture Deportation tactics created a polyglot population Agriculture Trade Assimilated other cultures

The Persian Empire Babylon fell to the Persians in 539 B.C.E. Indo-European people Cyrus (559-530 B.C.E.)

• Empire stretched from Asia Minor in the west to western India in the east

The Assyrian and Persian Empires

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1. The Armenian highlands and the plains of Babylon bound the lands of ancient Assyria on the north and south. In the east, the Zagros Mountains lying just beyond the Tigris River hemmed in Assyria. These geographical roadblocks kept the Assyrians from ever permanently expanding north and east. To the west, however, the absence of natural boundaries and strong powers after the demise of the Hittite Empire permitted Assyrian expansion to the Mediterranean.

2. Mesopotamia and the surrounding lands were satisfactorily endowed but those of Assyria were not. Although iron deposits were present, the Assyrians had to seek other mineral resources from Armenia, Persia, central Asia Minor, the Danube region, and Egypt. Regular rainfall meant no large irrigation works were needed and as a result Assyria became a land of farming villages with few significant cities. Trade was generally carried out by foreigners. The aggressive nature of the Assyrians may have been due to threats from their war-like neighbors to the north and east and from Babylon to the south. These threats prompted political cohesion and militarism.

3. By 700 B.C.E., Assyria controlled Mesopotamia, parts of the Iranian plateau, parts of Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt down to Thebes. The Assyrian army used a variety of tactics including guerrilla and siege warfare as well as terror, especially laying waste the land of enemies by destroying dams, burning crops, cutting down trees, obliterating towns, and committing atrocities against the people. Prisoners were often deported from their lands to Assyria where they repopulated areas decimated by warfare. Over the course of three centuries some four to five million people were deported to Assyria resulting in a very racially and linguistically mixed people.

4. Babylonia became wealthy due to its location on the trade routes crossing Mesopotamia, a strong agriculture, and a developed textile and metals industry. An eight-mile wall, encircled by a moat filled from the Euphrates surrounded the capital of Babylon. The city was adorned with temples and palaces including the Hanging Garden, which consisted of terraces and an artificial mountain upon which was a lush garden irrigated by water piped to the top.

5. The original homeland of the Persians was Persis in the southwestern corner of modern Iran. The western coast along the Persian Gulf is narrow and harborless. Hemming in this hot arid region to the east are abrupt mountains rising to six thousand feet. Beyond the mountains is a high plateau broken by valleys, which are fertile and blessed with adequate rainfall. Here in a temperate climate a considerable population could be supported. Nevertheless, this was not the basis for an empire since there was no outlet to the sea and the only routes west were through the mountain roads to Susa and Babylon. The harshness of Persis is characteristic of all of Persia. High mountains that isolate the interior from the sea surround a vast central plateau, which extends from the Tigris-Euphrates valley in the west to the Indus valley in the east. On this broad plain lay scattered oases and two immense salt deserts (Dasht-i-Lut and Dasht-i-Kavir covering some 38,000 square miles) which physically form a barrier between the east and west. The Dasht-i-Kavir southeast of the Caspian Sea is mostly covered with salt instead of sand and is devoid of water or plant life. Facing the impossible desert, nomads migrating into Persia from central Asia and the steppes of Russia would turn east to India or west to Mesopotamia.

6. Darius (521-486 B.C.E.), after a year of civil war, began strengthening the empire. He built a canal linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean by way of the Nile, campaigned into western India extending Persian territory to the Indus River, and conquered Thrace making the Macedonian king a vassal. In 499 B.C.E., the Ionian Greek city states revolted and after receiving aid from mainland Greeks, invaded Lydia and burned the provincial capital of Sardis. The rebels were punished and Darius invaded the Greek mainland culminating in his defeat at the Marathon in 490 B.C.E.

Question:1. How did the geography of the Near East impact the character of the Assyrians?


1. The Armenian highlands and the plains of Babylon bound the lands of ancient Assyria on the north and south. In the east, the Zagros Mountains lying just beyond the Tigris River hemmed in Assyria. These geographical roadblocks kept the Assyrians from ever permanently expanding north and east. To the west, however, the absence of natural boundaries and strong powers after the demise of the Hittite Empire permitted Assyrian expansion to the Mediterranean.

2. Mesopotamia and the surrounding lands were satisfactorily endowed but those of Assyria were not. Although iron deposits were present, the Assyrians had to seek other mineral resources from Armenia, Persia, central Asia Minor, the Danube region, and Egypt. Regular rainfall meant no large irrigation works were needed and as a result Assyria became a land of farming villages with few significant cities. Trade was generally carried out by foreigners. The aggressive nature of the Assyrians may have been due to threats from their war-like neighbors to the north and east and from Babylon to the south. These threats prompted political cohesion and militarism.

3. By 700 B.C.E., Assyria controlled Mesopotamia, parts of the Iranian plateau, parts of Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt down to Thebes. The Assyrian army used a variety of tactics including guerrilla and siege warfare as well as terror, especially laying waste the land of enemies by destroying dams, burning crops, cutting down trees, obliterating towns, and committing atrocities against the people. Prisoners were often deported from their lands to Assyria where they repopulated areas decimated by warfare. Over the course of three centuries some four to five million people were deported to Assyria resulting in a very racially and linguistically mixed people.

4. Babylonia became wealthy due to its location on the trade routes crossing Mesopotamia, a strong agriculture, and a developed textile and metals industry. An eight-mile wall, encircled by a moat filled from the Euphrates surrounded the capital of Babylon. The city was adorned with temples and palaces including the Hanging Garden, which consisted of terraces and an artificial mountain upon which was a lush garden irrigated by water piped to the top.

5. The original homeland of the Persians was Persis in the southwestern corner of modern Iran. The western coast along the Persian Gulf is narrow and harborless. Hemming in this hot arid region to the east are abrupt mountains rising to six thousand feet. Beyond the mountains is a high plateau broken by valleys, which are fertile and blessed with adequate rainfall. Here in a temperate climate a considerable population could be supported. Nevertheless, this was not the basis for an empire since there was no outlet to the sea and the only routes west were through the mountain roads to Susa and Babylon. The harshness of Persis is characteristic of all of Persia. High mountains that isolate the interior from the sea surround a vast central plateau, which extends from the Tigris-Euphrates valley in the west to the Indus valley in the east. On this broad plain lay scattered oases and two immense salt deserts (Dasht-i-Lut and Dasht-i-Kavir covering some 38,000 square miles) which physically form a barrier between the east and west. The Dasht-i-Kavir southeast of the Caspian Sea is mostly covered with salt instead of sand and is devoid of water or plant life. Facing the impossible desert, nomads migrating into Persia from central Asia and the steppes of Russia would turn east to India or west to Mesopotamia.

6. Darius (521-486 B.C.E.), after a year of civil war, began strengthening the empire. He built a canal linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean by way of the Nile, campaigned into western India extending Persian territory to the Indus River, and conquered Thrace making the Macedonian king a vassal. In 499 B.C.E., the Ionian Greek city states revolted and after receiving aid from mainland Greeks, invaded Lydia and burned the provincial capital of Sardis. The rebels were punished and Darius invaded the Greek mainland culminating in his defeat at the Marathon in 490 B.C.E.

Question:1. How did the geography of the Near East impact the character of the Assyrians?

Assyrian Empire Ashurbanipal (669-626 B.C.E.) Iron weapons Horse-drawn war chariots Terror

Persian Empire Indo-European Cyrus (559-530 B.C.E) Cambyses (530-522 B.C.E.) Darius (521-486 B.C.E.)

Governing the Empire Divided into 20 provinces Satraps collected tribute, responsible for justice and security

System of communication Royal Road All subjects were the king’s servants Splendid palaces Professional army Cavalry and infantry

Persian Religion Zoroaster

• Zoroastrianism– Monotheism– Ahurmazda, the creator, gave all humans free will and the power to

chose between right and wrong– Each soul faced final evaluation

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Documents

Chapter 1 The First Civilizations: The People of Western Asia and Egypt W