Chapter 2 Ancient Middle East and Egypt

Chapter 2Ancient Middle East and Egypt

3200 B.C.- 500 B.C.

Fertile Crescent

• From Persian Gulf to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea

• Mesopotamia= between two rivers• Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flow from

modern day Turkey into Iraq• Catastrophic floods occurred in ancient

Sumer• The Epic of Gilgamesh • Villagers had to work together to protect

themselves and their farmland from the violent flooding

Building Cities

• Lack natural resources like timber and stone

• Made houses and other structures out of clay bricks

• Merchants traveled far to sell their wares

• Sumerians may have been the first people to use wheeled vehicles

Sumerian Civilization Takes Shape• 12 separate city-states• Rule by war leaders/hereditary rule• In charge of public works, warfare,

enforced laws, employed scribes, chief servant of the gods

• Hierarchy- system of ranking• Upper class- ruling family, leading officials,

and high priests• Middle class- lesser priests, scribes,

merchants and artisans• Lower class- peasants farmers and slaves

• What were women’s roles in Sumerian society?

• What was the Sumerian view of the afterlife?

Section 2Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders• The Fertile Crescent was a very

appealing place for nomadic peoples and ambitious warriors

• Some came through Mesopotamia to pillage and some to settle

Sargon and the Akkadians

• Ruler of Akkad 2300 B.C.• Invaded city-states of Sumer• Built first known empire• Only lasted until his death

Hammurabi and Babylon

• 1790 B.C.• King of Babylon• Brought much of Mesopotamia under

his empire• Code of Hammurabi

• Law code• Codify- arrange and set down into writing• Most enduring legacy

Types of Law

• Civil Law• Deals with private rights and matters

• Business contracts• Property inheritance• Taxes• Marriage• Divorce• A Husband had legal authority over his wife, and a

legal duty to support her• A Father had unlimited authority over his children

• Criminal Law• Offenses against others

• Robbery• Assault• Murder• “eye for an eye”

Other Accomplishments of Hammurabi

• Public works such as irrigation, well-trained army, temple repairs

• Unified his empire through religion• Marduk became the chief god of

Babylon over all other Sumerian gods

Hittites

• 1400 B.C.• Secret of ironworking• Empire collapsed around 1400 B.C.

• Ironworking spread

Refine the horse-drawn chariot p. 39

Assyrians

• 1350 B.C. started their empire, 1100 B.C. spread across Mesopotamia

• Feared warriors• City of Nineveh- world’s first library• King Assurbanipal

• Collected cuneiform tablets from all over the Fertile Crescent

Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon

• Revived Babylon• Stretched from the Mediterranean

to the Persian Gulf• Hanging Gardens• Seven Wonders of the Ancient

World

Persians

• Babylon fell to Cyrus the Great• Asia minor to India- Turkey, Iran, Egypt,

Afghanistan and Pakistan• Policy of tolerance• Darius I

• Satraps and satrapy• Single law code• Traveled all over his empire• Produced common weights and measures• Barter economy vs. money economy

Zoroaster

• 600 B.C• Rejected old Persian gods• One god, Ahura Mazda, ruled the world• He was in constant struggle with

Ahriman, the prince of lies and evil• It was your job to decide with side to

support• Zoroaster taught that in the end Ahura

Mazda would win, and their would be a final judgment day

Phoenicians

• Sailors and traders• String of cities along the eastern Mediterranean

coast in modern day Lebanon and Syria• Some farming, but mostly relied manufacturing and

trade• Set up colonies in North Africa, Sicily, and Spain• Some made it as far as Britain• “Carriers of civilization”• Alphabet

• 22 symbols that stood for a consonant sound• Greeks added vowel sounds and symbols• This is where we get the words you are reading right now

Section 3Kingdom on the Nile

• Geography• Nile- longest river in the world. Flows from

south to north• Surrounded by dessert• Yearly flooding• Channeled water for the dry season• Upper Egypt- South• Lower Egypt- North• Cataract- waterfall• Delta- Triangular area of marshland• River used for trade and as a unifying force

Old Kingdom 2575 B.C.- 2130 B.C.

• Pharaohs- Egyptians kings/gods• Strong centralized state• Bureaucracy- a system of gov’t that

includes different job functions and levels of authority

• Vizier- chief minister• Ptah-hotep

• Vizier 2450 B.C.• Wrote Instructions of the Vizier Ptah-hotep

Great Pyramids are Built!

• Necropolis=cemeteries• Take out your packet and read

about the building of the pyramids!!

Middle Kingdom 1938 B.C.- 1630 B.C.

• Turbulent period• Power struggles, crop failures, debt• Nile not as predictable• Took over Nubia• More contact with peoples of the

Middle East and Crete• About 1700 B.C. Hyksos invaded

• Read Hyksos and Horses

New Kingdom 1539 B.C.- 1075 B.C.

• Age of conquest• Hatshepsut• Thutmose III• Ramses II

• Ruled 66 years• Built many monuments to himself• Fought with the Hittites- first signed

peace treaty

Decline

• 1100 B.C.• Invaded by Assyrians and Persians• 332 B.C. Greeks took over• 30 B.C. Rome took it from the Greeks

Section 4Egyptian Civilization

Religion

• Chief gods and goddesses• Sun god

• Old Kingdom called Re• Middle Kingdom called Amon-Re• Pharaohs received their right to rule

directly from Amon-Re

Osiris and Isis

• Osiris • God of the Dead and the Nile River• Isis was ideal female and wife of

Osiris

Akhenaton

• In 1380 B.C., Amenhotep IV challenged the priests of Amon-Re

• He worshipped only Aton, a minor god

• Many did not following him• Changes did not last beyond his

lifetime

Egyptian Views of the Afterlife• Pass a test to win eternal life• Osiris would judge the weight of your

heart against that of a feather• If your heart was heavier then you would

be fed to the Eater of the Dead• If your heart did not out-weight the

feather then you could enter the Happy Field of Food

• Book of the Dead was there as your guide

Mummification

• Egyptians believed that the afterlife would be much like life on Earth

• Buried the dead with everything they needed for eternity

• Mummification was used to preserve the body• Just for rulers and nobles, but

eventually ordinary Egyptians were mummified, including pets

Egyptian Society

• Mostly farmers and slaves• In the off-season men were

expected to serve the pharaoh• Women would tend to the children

and household

Changes

• Social classes more fluid because of warfare and trade

• Women enjoyed a higher status• Inherit property• Enter business deals• Buy and sell goods• Got to court• Obtain a divorce

Advances in Learning

• Hieroglyphics• Hieratic• Demotic• p. 54 in textbook• Rosetta StoneKnew about the human body b/c of

mummificationModern-day calendarGeometry

Arts and Literature

• Gods and pharaohs always larger than other figures in art

• Stiff standard poses• Not life-like• Literature included hymns,

prayers, proverbs, and love poems• The Tale of Sinuhe

Section 5The Roots of Judaism

Unique Belief System

• Monotheistic• Torah- first 5 books of the Bible plus

more• Talmud- laws and customs• Moses• David• Solomon• Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian

Captivity

Law and Morality

• Society was patriarchal• Women had few legal rights• Ten Commandments• Prophets• Strong code of ethics

Diaspora

• Means to spread out• Kept their traditions and ways of

life• Greatly influenced Christianity and

Islam