Do Now: 1.What major rivers are seen on this map? 2.Why is this region called “the Fertile Crescent”? 3.What civilizati ons were
Dec 16, 2015
Do Now:1. What major
rivers are seen on this map?
2. Why is this region called “the Fertile Crescent”?
3. What civilizations were located here?
RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS
MESOPOTAMIA
Essential Question: What were the important characteristics of the civilizationsin Mesopotamia?
Warm-Up Question:Why was the Neolithic Revolution such a big deal?Which of the 5 characteristics of civilizations do you think is most important?
RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONSThe discovery of farming during the Neolithic
Revolution allowed nomadic people to settle into villages and towns; these eventually became
civilizations
The world’s first civilizations all began in river valleys
The first civilization began in an area known
as Mesopotamia
ChinaIndus Valley
Ancient Egypt
Mesopotamia means “land between the rivers” and is often called the
“Fertile Crescent” or referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization”
The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flooded once per year, leaving behind fertile soil ideal for
farming (a perfect place to start a civilization)
The first civilization that developed in the “Fertile Crescent” of Mesopotamia
was the kingdom of Sumer
Surrounding deserts and the lack of natural barriers attracted outsiders to Mesopotamia and made the Sumerians vulnerable to attack; this led
to other kingdoms rising in Mesopotamia
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSADVANCED
CITIES: Sumerian city-states
were protected by high walls
At the city center was a temple called a ziggurat
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSSPECIALIZED WORKERS:
At the top of society were priests, and then kings
In the middle were skilled workers, like merchants
At the bottom, were common farmers and slaves
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS
(COMPLEX INSTITUTIONS) RELIGION:
Sumerians and Babylonians were polytheistic (many gods)
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS
(COMPLEX INSTITUTIONS) RELIGION:
The Hebrews in Palestine were the first monotheistic (single god) faith in history (Judaism)
The holy book of Judaism is the Torah; God gave Moses the Ten Commandments which serve as moral laws
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS
GOVERNMENT:Babylonian King
Hammurabi created the first legal code
Hammurabi’s Code had 282 laws based on justice and retaliation (for example: “an eye for an eye”)
The code had different punishments for the various levels of society
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS WRITING:
Sumerians made the world’s first writing called
cuneiform
WRITING:–Phoenicians
simplified cuneiform to a 22 letter alphabet
–Phoenician
merchants spread the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean world
–The alphabet influenced Greek, Latin, and English
LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS TECHNOLOGY:
Sumerian inventions include the wheel, sail, plow, and bronze metalwork
After thousands of years of civilization in river valleys, the world’s first empires appeared
River valley civilizations were complex societies with advanced technologies, cities, workers, writing, and
institutions (religions and governments)
Like river valley civilizations, empires
were advanced societies with well-organized,
centralized governments The difference is that empires conquer and rule over a variety of
formerly independent people
“EMPIRE” defined: a group of several
different nations or people united and ruled over by a monarch (like
an emperor or king)
The nations that are ruled over obey and
serve the mother country of the empire
In the first ancient empire we learn about, the mother country of the empire was Persia
Major Empires Persian Empire
Mauryan and Gupta Empires in India
Han Dynasty in China
Mesopotamia: River Valley to Empire
The fertile soil and lack of
natural boundaries (like
mountains) in Mesopotamia
led to the Mesopotamian
civilizations being the target
of frequent invasions and
conquests
One of the most important ancient empires was Persia (present-day Iran)
The Persians grew into a powerful empire under Kings Cyrus and Darius
The “10,000 Immortals”: Persia’s elite fighting force
With a powerful army, the Persians conquered Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India
Persia’s religion was Zoroastrianism (based on the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster)
This religion viewed life as a struggle between good and evil; the Persians
believed in Heaven and Hell as consequences for how they lived their lives
Zoroastrianism influenced the views of the afterlife in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
The Persian Empire at its Height How did the Persians control such a massive empire?
PERSIA’S SYSTEM OF CONTROLPersia controlled their lands in a variety of ways
Persian kings were tolerant; they
allowed conquered people to keep their
languages and religions
This kept the conquered people content and less
likely to rebel
PERSIA’S SYSTEM OF CONTROLRather than
destroying or looting
conquered cities, King
Cyrus would show respect
for local customsAs the mother country of the empire, the
Persians were definitely in chargeHowever, life was tolerable under Persian rule, so this made most conquered people content
THE PERSIAN EMPIRE AT THE HEIGHT OF ITS POWER
King Darius divided the empire into twenty provinces, each one was ruled
by a satrap (local governor)
Satraps served as the “eyes and ears” of the Persian
kings in their respective provinces
They collected taxes from
the people of the provinces and informed
the king of any uprisings
PERSIA’S SYSTEM OF CONTROL
PERSIA’S ORGANIZED EMPIREThe Persians built a network of roads in order to collect taxes, improve communication, and facilitate trade throughout their empire
PERSIA’S ORGANIZED EMPIRE
The Persians used metal coins with standardized values to help promote trade