FIRST CIVILIZATIONS Middle East Egypt India China Central America Peru.

FIRST CIVILIZATIONS

Middle East

EgyptIndia

China

Central America

Peru

DEFINITION

• Large urban settlements (ie., cities)• Varied and complex social structure• Highly organized government

• Complex religious belief system presided over by professional priests

• Writing system

MESOPOTAMIA

• Means “Land Between Two Rivers”– Tigris on the northwest– Euphrates on the

southeast• Southern most region of

Mesopotamia was called “Sumer”– Characterized by small,

Neolithic farming villages until 3500 BC

Mesopotamia

Sumer

RISE OF SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION• Population explosion around

3500 BC caused the eventual appearance of twelve city-states in the region– Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Nippur, Kish,

Eridu, etc.• City-state includes large, urban

center, surrounded by walls, as well as surrounding countryside– Each had their own ruler,

army, patron god, and set of laws

– Like tiny independent countries

CUNEIFORM WRITINGMeans “wedge-shaped”

“Written” on clay tablets with wooden stylus

Thousands of different characters which evolved over time. Most stood for objects but others represented abstract concepts

Very difficult to master—took years and years of specialized training. Cuneiform writing was therefore not “democratic”—only a small elite had mastered and used it

Motivation for inventing this system was the need to keep commercial records

OTHER SUMERIAN ACHIEVEMENTS• Brick architecture• Bronze tools and weapons• Engaged in trade with places as

far away as Africa and Asia• First money• First schools (trained scribes and

priests)• First Literature– Epic poem– Wisdom literature

• Medicinal drugs• Accurate lunar calendar

GILGAMESH

AKKAD

Akkad was inhabited by a people who had migrated

there from Arabia around 5000 BC. Lived a Neolithic lifestyle and had some trade contacts

with Sumer

Around 2300 BC they were united under the rule of a warrior-chieftain named

Sargon, who then led them in a successful invasion of

Sumer—he took over all the city-states there in a little

over a year

Using Sumer as his power base, he then conquered rest of Mesopotamia and

the Mediterranean coast of the Middle East—creating

world’s first empire

CULTURAL MISSIONARY

• Once he had taken over Sumer, Sargon and his people absorbed Sumerian civilization and became civilized themselves– They then spread their adopted

culture into new Middle Eastern regions when they conquered new territory

– Sargon was thus an unintentional cultural missionary• Spread achievements of the

Sumerians into new regions

POLITICAL EVOLUTION

• Sargon’s empire collapsed a few decades after his death in 2130 BC– In the aftermath, the

Sumerian city-state of Ur briefly dominated the region

OLD BABYLONIAN EMPIRE

• Ur’s dominance came to an end when the city-state of Babylon seized control over most of the region– Around 1800 BC– City-state controlled by the Amorites• Tribe from Arabia that had moved into Mesopotamia earlier

– Most famous ruler was Hammurabi– Created the “Old Babylonian Empire”

SUMERIAN LEGACY• During the centuries that followed, the Old Babylonian

Empire would also collapse, setting a pattern of rising and falling empires that would characterize the region for the next 3000 years– The original city-states of Sumer would be incorporated

into these empires and in the process, the Sumerian language and the Sumerians themselves would blend into the various new groups who settled in Mesopotamia• But the cultural legacy that had created would

endure to provide the foundation for a Mesopotamian civilization that would dominate the Middle East for the next 3000 years

RELIGION

• Mesopotamians were polytheistic– Believed in numerous

gods and goddesses, each with a special function

• Gods were often cruel, vindictive, petty, and unpredictable– So Mesopotamians

went to great lengths to keep them appeased

Mespotamian God: Marduk

ZIGGURAT

• Never made an important decision without first consulting the gods– Through priests who consulted the stars or engaged in augury

• Built huge temple in center of city for patron god– Called a Ziggurat– Believed that god actually lived in it– Also served as economic center, since ziggurat priests controlled

all the land in city-state and administered it in the god’s name

MESOPOTAMIAN RULERS

• Mesopotamian rulers were never priests– Although they needed

the support of priests to stay in power

• They served as military leaders and political administrators– Part of administrative

responsibility was to enforce the law

HAMMURABI’S CODE• One of earliest written law codes

• Women were legally subservient to men

• Women and children were completely under the power of the male head of the family

• Based on legal principle of “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth”– Therefore very brutal in terms of punishments

• Degree of inequality built into the code– Status affected punishment

MESOPOTAMIAN SCIENCE

• Devised multiplication and division tables and formulas for finding cube and cube root

• Measured circles by dividing them into 360 degrees

• Developed science of astronomy– Carefully observed and

recorded positions of planets and stars

MESOPOTAMIAN MEDICINE

• Believed illness was caused by demons entering the body of afflicted person– Devised a number of ways to

drive the demon out and thus “cure” the patient• Chants and magic spells

• Also believed that horrible tasting concoctions would drive the demon out– Some had some real

medicinal value

THE NILE RIVER

• Key to civilization in ancient Egypt was Nile River– Abundant and

reliable source of water for agriculture

– Flooded every year• Leaving behind a

rich layer of silt which fertilized crops

BIRTH OF THE OLD KINGDOM• In 2900 BC, a tribal chieftain from

southern Egypt united all the villages along the Nile under his rule– Zoser– Began period known as the “Old

Kingdom”• 2900-2100 BC

• Old Kingdom endured for 800 years until civil wars and economic burden of building and maintaining pyramids destroyed prosperity and unity– Plunged region into anarchy

MIDDLE KINGDOM

• Around 2000 BC, strong rulers emerged who restored united rule and order– Created Middle Kingdom

• 2000-1800 BC• Cultural life and economic

prosperity revived• For first time, trade links

established with outside world– Palestine, Syria, and Crete

HYKSOS INVASION

• Entered Egypt around 1800 BC• Took control of northern Egypt

and held it for 100 years– Shattered unity and ended

Middle Kingdom• “Warrior-pharoah” Ahmose I

drove Hyksos out around 1600 BC– Restored unity to Nile valley– Started New Kingdom• 1600-1100 BC

RELIGION

• Egyptians were also polytheistic– Gods took various

forms:• Animals– Crocodiles and

cats• Forces of nature–Nile River

• Half human/half animal

PHARAOH• Believed pharaoh was a god– At first he was seen as the human

incarnation of Horus – Later also associated with Amon-

Re and Osiris• All-powerful– But he was expected to use his

power to care for his people• His laws and commands were

supposed to preserve ma’at (harmony and justice)• Often portrayed as a shepherd– Protecting his people

AFTERLIFE• Pyramids, mummification, and tomb art

all related to strong belief in the afterlife– Writing system (hieroglyphics) was

invented to preserve prayers for the dead on tomb walls

• At first, it was believed that only pharaoh and his family could achieve afterlife– In time, access to afterlife became

more “democratic” as upper class and then commoners claimed that they too could enter it

• Afterlife was viewed to contain the same pleasures that people enjoyed on earth but without the pain

MUMMIES

SCIENCE• Demonstrated amazing engineering skills in

building the pyramids

• Invented an effective system of mathematics

• Developed accurate 365-day solar calendar

• Doctors still believed demons caused illness but they could nonetheless correctly diagnose a large number of illnesses– Also understood that unclean conditions

caused infection– Had some knowledge of anatomy

NEW KINGDOM• Ahmose I’s war of liberation again

Hyksos l gave rise to an intense militarism– Led to creation of an empire

with the conquest of Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria

• Conquests changed Egypt– Greatly enriched country– Led to creation of professional

army– Increased power of priests– Accelerated commercial and

cultural contacts with other regions

HATSHEPSUT

• Females prohibited from being pharaoh

• She nonetheless dressed like a man and ruled New Kingdom for 20 years– Ruled through her

weak son• Very warlike and

aggressive

AKHENATON

• Tried to replace traditional Egyptian polytheism with the worship of a single god, Aton– Represented by symbol of the

sun– monotheism

• Even built new capital devoted exclusively to Aton and ordered all statues and temples to old gods destroyed– Even made it a capital crime to

worship old gods in any manner

FAILURE

Akhenaton’s attempt to impose monotheistic on a traditionally polytheistic people was resisted by both the masses and priests

He died under mysterious circumstances in 1353 BCMost likely murdered by his wife, Nefertiti

Replaced by his nephew, Tutankhamon, who restored traditional polytheistic religion and tried to obliterate all references to Akhenaton and his god

THE ENDEgypt plagued by invasions by nomads from the Lybian Desert and the so-called “Sea-Peoples” after the death of Akhenaton

Also became involved in a war with the Hittites over Syria and Palestine

war was a draw but it dramatically weakened both empires

As a result of these problems, Egypt declined and abandoned its empire

period of greatness was over by 1100 BC

POWER VACUUM

• Collapse of New Kingdom, Hittite, and other empires at approximately the same time created a temporary power vacuum in the Middle East– Allowed several small

states to establish themselves and prosper for a while

– One was the Kingdom of Israel

THE PHOENCIANS

• Set up string of city-states along Mediterranean coast of Middle East– Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, Berytus

• Sent merchant expeditions throughout the Mediterranean Basin– Spreading Middle Eastern civilization to new areas– Established trading posts in these new regions• Some evolved into prosperous and powerful city-states, ie.,

Carthage

PHOENCIAN ALPHABET• Simplified cuneiform writing system by

reducing it down to 29 symbols– Each standing for a sound– Motivated by their desire to simplify

their record-keeping• Made literacy more “democratic” by

opening up the opportunity for writing to people who otherwise did not have the time and money to master cuneiform writing

• Would be adopted and modified by both the Greeks and Romans– Direct ancestor of our alphabet

ASSYRIANS

• Assyrians were originally a tribe from Arabia who settled in northern Mesopotamia around 1100 BC– Extremely aggressive– Conquered all of

Middle East and Egypt by 900 BC

NASTY GUYS• Assyrians terrorized subjects into

obedience– Routinely employed brutal

terror: mass executions, mass mutilations, torture, and massive destruction of farmland and cities• Policy worked for a long time

but it planted deep and intense resentments in the hearts of their subjects– Remained outwardly

obedient while waiting for Assyrians to weaken in order to get revenge

THE END

• Two Assyrian subject peoples allied together, rose up and annihilated the Assyrians in 626 BC– Medes (from Iran)– Chaldeans (lived in and

around the old city-state of Babylon)

• Assyrian capital of Nineveh was leveled and Assyrian power was permanently destroyed

CHALDEAN EMPIRE

• Chaldeans then created empire, headquartered in Babylon– Called the “New Babylonian

Empire”– Reached its peak during the

reign of Nebuchadnezzar• Turned Babylon into most

magnificent city in the ancient world– Hanging Gardens– Ishtar Gate

BABYLON

Ishtar GateHanging Gardens

PERSIANS

• Chaldean Empire weakened after Nebuchadnezzar’s death and was over-run by the Persians– Indo-European people,

originally from southern Russia

– Led by Cyrus the Great– Created largest empire

in the world up until that time

PERSIAN EMPIRE

PERSIAN ACHIEVEMENTS

• Provided unity to the Middle East for 200 years• Developed efficient administrative system– Satraphies

• Built numerous roads• Created “pony express” type postal system• Tolerated different religions and customs

ZOROASTERIANISM

• Founded by Zoroaster• Taught that there were two gods

who been battling each other since the beginning of time– One was the God of Light and

Goodness, Ahrura Mazda– Other was God of Darkness

and Evil, Ahriman• Human beings had to pick a side

in this struggle, and they did so through their actions

DAY OF JUDGMENT• Ahrura-Mazda will eventually win

the struggle– And this victory will inaugurate

a “Day of Judgment” • All people who supported

Ahrura-Mazda will be rewarded and all those who supported Ahriman punished

• Zoroasterianism stressed ethical behavior before all else– Influenced such later ethically-

based religions as Christianity and Islam

SUMMARY• Middle Eastern civilizations demonstrated enormous creativity and

intelligence– Built magnificent cities, organized governments, performed

sophisticated mathematics, built massive public monuments, engaged in international trade, established schools, advanced the level of technology, and invented writing

• But these civilizations also introduced negative aspects– Inequality, slavery, and the routine use of war to obtain political

goals• Introduction and development of civilization was a mixed blessing– Brought amazing benefits but also introduced problems that

remain unresolved today