Chapter 3 North Africa and Southwest Asia Early Cultures.

Chapter 3Chapter 3North Africa and Southwest North Africa and Southwest

Asia Asia Early CulturesEarly Cultures

Section 3.1Section 3.1Mesopotamia and Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient

Egypt Egypt (pages 82–86)(pages 82–86)

Did you know???Did you know???

One of the most important technological achievements of the Sumerians was the invention of the wheel. Before wheeled carts were invented, goods were carried by boats or donkeys. The first wheels were made from solid wood, but eventually spokes were designed to reduce the weight.

I. Mesopotamia (pages 82–84)I. Mesopotamia (pages 82–84)

A. Civilization is a term historians use to describe a culture that has reached a certain level of development. This development includes a system of writing, building cities, and specialized workers.


B. One of the first civilizations grew in the fertile crescent of land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Its name was Mesopotamia, and it was what is now Syria and Iraq.


C. Around 4500 B.C. wandering peoples settled in large numbers here and began farming. They created a 12-month calendar, based on the phases of the moon, and they created the plow.


D. Some of the villages and towns became city-states, which were made up of the city and farmland around it.


E. The city-state was a theocracy—it was ruled by an individual who was both the religious leader and the king.


F. The earliest of the city-states rose in an area called Sumer. The Sumerians created a form of writing known as cuneiform.


G. Around 2300 B.C. the warlike kingdom of Akkad conquered Sumer and several other city-states to create the first empire, or group of states under one ruler.


H. Hammurabi’s Code was an attempt to bring some justice and fairness to the idea of law.


I. Among the most important traders were the Phoenicians, who were located mainly in what is now Lebanon. The Phoenicians developed an alphabet that gave rise to the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin alphabets still in use today.

Discussion QuestionDiscussion Question

How did the Babylonians contribute to the field of mathematics?


(The Babylonians contributed to the field of mathematics by developing a number system based on 60. From them, we have borrowed the 60-minute hour, 60-second minute, and 360-degree circle. They also used a clock controlled by drops of water to tell time.)

II. Ancient Egypt (pages 84–86)II. Ancient Egypt (pages 84–86)

A. Like Mesopotamia, Egypt grew out of a river valley—the Nile, the longest river in the world.


B. The two kingdoms of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt were united in 3100 B.C. under a great ruler called a pharaoh.


C. Egyptians had a polytheistic religion, meaning they worshipped many gods.


D. Egyptians believed in life after death. To preserve the body for the next life, it was embalmed, or preserved immediately after death, as a mummy.

King TutKing Tut

Ramses IIRamses II


E. The biggest tombs belonged to the pharaohs and were called pyramids.


F. Hieroglyphics is a form of picture writing with about 800 signs. In 1820, the Rosetta Stone provided the key that cracked the code for hieroglyphics.


G. Egypt expanded as far as Mesopotamia in the north and southward to the present-day Sudan.


H. Along with trade goods, the Egyptians spread ideas and accomplishments.


Even in ancient times, how were people and nations able to dominate one another?


(Even then, people and nations that could use technology were able to dominate, or control, other cultures.)

Section 3.2Section 3.2Religions of the Middle Religions of the Middle

East (pages 88–93)East (pages 88–93)

Did you know????Did you know????

The Quran, the holy book of Islam, is believed to be the exact and precise word of God, revealed to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel over a period of approximately 23 years. Although the Quran has been translated into many languages, only the original Arabic is considered the literal word of Allah.

I. Judaism (pages 88–90)I. Judaism (pages 88–90)

A. Judaism was first practiced by a small group of people from Mesopotamia called Hebrews. The followers of Judaism today are known as Jews. Their holy book is the Torah.


B. The Jews believe that they are God’s chosen people and will remain so for as long as they follow God’s laws. The most well-known of these laws are the Ten Commandments.


C. Israel became an important and prosperous state under its first three kings— Saul, David, and Solomon.


D. Eventually, the Jewish people spread to many countries throughout the world. Jewish scholars, writers, artists, and scientists have greatly increased the world’s knowledge.


E. Because they follow their own religion and customs, Jews have sometimes been viewed suspiciously. Some governments have used Jewish communities as a scapegoat, or someone to blame for their troubles. In the 1940s, more than 6 million Jews were murdered in Europe during the Holocaust.


F. The United Nations voted in 1947 to create a Jewish state in Palestine.


From whom do the Jewish people believe they are descended?


(According to Jewish belief, the Hebrew people are descended from Abraham and Sarah, who first worshipped the one god, or Yahweh.)

II. Christianity (pages 90–92)II. Christianity (pages 90–92)

A. Christianity is made up of people, called Christians, who are followers of Jesus Christ.


B. Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God and that he was the Messiah that the Jews were awaiting.


C. The holy book of the Christians is the Bible.


D. The disciples of Jesus spread His teachings across the Roman world and beyond. They were often persecuted until the emperor Constantine the Great became a Christian and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.


E. The most famous universities of Europe were begun by Christian scholars.


What is Easter?


(Easter, believed to be the day that God raised Jesus from the dead, is the most important day of the Christian calendar.)

III. Islam (pages 92–93)III. Islam (pages 92–93)

A. The followers of Islam are called Muslims, or Moslems.


B. Muslims believe that Muhammad is the last and greatest prophet of Allah, or God.


C. The Muslim holy book is the Quran (Koran).


D. The Quran describes the five pillars of faith, or the five obligations all Muslims must fulfill.


E. The Muslim calendar begins in A.D. 622, the year of the Hijrah, when Muhammad was forced to flee for safety from Makkah to Madinah. Since the time of Muhammad, the Islamic faith has spread widely.


F. Under Islam, knowledge in art, architecture, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, geography, history, and other fields was greatly increased.


What is Ramadan?


(Ramadan is the month, according to Muslim beliefs, in which God began to reveal the Quran to Muhammad. Muslims observe Ramadan by fasting and refraining from any acts that take their attention away from God.)

The EndThe End

Chapter 3 North Africa and Southwest Asia Early Cultures.

Documents

mesopotamia pages

ancient egypt pages

lower egypt

kingdoms of upper egypt

system of writing

field of mathematics

discussion question

longest river