Section1:Sumer

1. Fertile Crescent• Land between Persian GulfAnd Mediterranean (SeeMap)

• Fertile = land is good forgrowing crops (Flooding)

• Crescent= “C”recent shape• Location, Location, Location.

2. Mesopotamia• Meso-Potamia “LandBetween Rivers”

• Between Tigris andEuphrates

• Primarily Modern Day Iraq• Two rivers flood annuallyleaving rich soil

3. Sumer (Sumerians)• Civilization inSouthernMesopotamia• Began around

3300BC• Begins the Bronzeage• Bartering economicsystem.

4. 3 Sumerian problems• 1. Unpredictable Flooding• 2. No Natural Barriers• 3. Limited Naturalresources

5. 3 Sumerian Solutions• 1. Creates irrigationsystem

• 2. Build walls• 3. Develop trade relations

Bartering economicsystem.

• Trade leads to CulturalDiffusion: Sharing ofcultures

6. City-State• City operating asindependent state

• Has a Ziggurat, majorreligious temple

• Priest appeal to Godsfrom Ziggurat

• Sumer city-states Ur, Uruk, Kish, Lagash, etc

7. Sumerian Rulership• Priest were first rulers• Warriors become leader intime of conflicts

• Eventually Warriors holdpower

• Priest still remain verypowerful

• Dynasties, one familyrules, arise

8. Sumerian Religion• Polytheist: belief in morethan many gods

• Believe Humans exist toserve the gods

• Gods control all aspects oflife

• Gods behave like humans.• Gloomy afterlife as ghostservants.

9. Sumerian Social Class• 1st: King, Priest, Landowners

• 2nd: Wealthy Merchants• 3rd: Slaves• Women havemany rights

10. Sumerian Technology• Wheel, Sail, Plow• First to use Bronze• Writing system, Cuneiform Sylibic/idiogriphic• Base 60 numbersystem

11. Fall of Sumer rise of Sargon• Divide and Conquer

(City-state infighting)• Sargon of Akkadconquers Sumer• Moses?• Sargon Creates first

“Empire” • Empire, 1 rulercontrols multiplestates.• Sargon Dynasty lastover 82 years ? Or 56 years?

12. Fall of Sargon rise of Babylon• In 2000BC Elamites defeatSumerians

• Amorites conquer SouthernMesopotamia

• Under the leadership ofHammurabi, the city of Babylonconquers Mesopotamia.

13. Hammurabi• Creates massive Babylonianempire

• Hammurabi creates retributionstyle of Code of laws Whichspreads across entire empire. Laws such as Eye-for-an-Eye

• Hammurabi get sick and givesthe throne to his son.

• Eventually the Assyriansconquer the the Babylonians

Section2:AncientEgypt(Kemet)

1. The Nile• 4,100 mile River in Egypt• Floods yearly on schedule• Flows from South to North• “Upper Nile” in the South• Deserts provide Naturalbarriers

• Problem 1 Nile = Lightflood

• Problem 2 Nile = Heavyflood

• River flows North, Windsblow south.

2. Narmer• 3000BC Unites Upperand lower Egypt• First “Pharoah”

(perse) of Egypt• Creates EgyptianEmpire/Dynasty• Egypt was a Theocracy

= Government• Ruled by Religion• Pharaoh = Egyptianleader, believed To bea god.

3. Pyramids

• Made of massive stoneblocks weighing 2-15 TONS.

• Served as large tombs forthe pharaoh.

• Took over 20 years tobuild. And over 100k men.

• Pharaohs believe inafterlife, Pyramids filledWith things they mayneed.

• Pyramids often robbed.• Took a lot of trial anderror before we get to thepyramids of Giza orignallymade of Mud bricks

4. Egyptian Religion• Egyptians werepolytheistic• The primaryPantheon (Family ofgods) is a tale Osiris, Horus, Isis, and Seth

5 AfterLife:• Egyptians believed in

life after deathAndyou are judged byyour actions• Book of the Deadsays heart has to beas light as a feather.

6. Mummification: • Egyptian process ofpreserving the bodyAfter death.

8. Hieroglyphics• Egyptian writingsystems usingpictures• Heiratic script formore commonneeds

9. Rosetta Stone • used to decipherlanguag

10. Papyrus: “Paper” sheets madefrom papyrus reeds

11. Akhenaton• First example ofmonotheism• Married nephortitee• Son, King Tut’s tombdiscovered entact.

12. Hyksos• Foreigners take overEgyptian• Government 1630-

1523.

IndusValleyCivilizations

1. Indus Valley Civilization• Arose near the Indusriver• Area known asmodern day Pakistan• Natural Barriersprotect them: Mountains to theNorth / Deserts tothe east

2. Environmental Challenges• Monsoons: Seasonalwinds.• Winter winds dry, summer windsflooding• Flooding twice ayear but canunpredictable:• Over flooding / Drought

3. Planned Cities• Brick cities built ongrid-like structures• Creating Plumbingsystem• Massive civilizationarea (trade area)• Two Large citiesHarappa &MohenjoDaro

4. Unknown culture• Seemed veryegalitarian• No Rosetta stone• 1750BC Unexplaineddemise• 1500 Aryans enterarea…

AncientChina

1. Rivers• Civilization begins inEastern chinabetween two riversHuang He (YellowRiver) in the Northand Yangzi river in theSouth.• Many major Chinesecities still located inthis region• Yellow river can floodviolently and destroyentire villages

2. Natural Barriers• Mountains in theWest• Ocean in the East• Geographic isolationleads to lackinvasions• Geographic IsolationLeads to lack oftrade.

3. Xia Dynasty• 2000BC First Dynastyin china however, verylimited archeologicalaccounts.• Leader is Yu, whobecomes leader afterdevelopingmethod tocontrol• Yellow river flooding.• Manymythical/hystericalaccounts of Yu, including 13yearjourney.

4. Shang Dynasty• 1700BC ShangDynasty replaces XIa• First Dynasty toleave written records• Writing style similarto Modern Chinese

5. Culture• Chinese viewedChina as center ofworld• Group > Individual• Family essentialsocial institution.• Women expected toObey all men, evensons.• King and WarriorNobles own all land.

6. Religious Belief• Spirit Ancestorsbelieved to haveinfluence over life• Priest use oraclebones for divination

7. Zhou Dynasty • Takes control in 1000BC• “Mandate of Heaven” used as justification tooverthrow Shang Dynasty

• Dynastic Cycle continues, rise and fall of dynasties.

• Builds Roads Canals• Creates coins as currency• Begin heavily utilizing Irontools

• Utilizes Feudalism: Systemwhere king gives land tonobles.

• Zho Dynasty ends in256BC after series ofnomadic sacks