ANCIENT RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS

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ANCIENT RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS
I. Geography of the Fertile Crescent A.
The Middle East is known as the
Crossroads of the World - strategic
location to waterways
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Mesopotamians Music Video
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
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Early Civilizations

• Çatal Hüyuk, Aleppo and Jericho were all
  Neolithic Age settlements
• They were located in the Middle East

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FERTILE CRESCENT
B. The name Fertile Crescent refers to the
rich soil there - people began to settle there
in 4500 BCE C. The Important Rivers - Tigris
River - Euphrates -Mesopotamia is known as the
Land Between Two Rivers
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The Euphrates River.YOU
CUNEIFORM
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SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
II. Sumerian Civilization - small civilization
in Mesopotamia -natural resources are
limited a. to help they dug irrigation
ditches b. built structures using sun
dried clay
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Sumerian Civilization
A) A System of Hierarchy - Had a social class
system 1. Priests and Rulers 2. Scribes and
Artisans 3. Peasant farmers B) Religion -
Polytheistic - Priests ran the cities from
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Sumerian Religion
- cont inside their temples - temples called
ziggurats 1. People believed in an after-
life. 2. People offered sacrifices to their
gods. C) Learning - had writing
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ZIGGURAT
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Mesopotamian Artifacts
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Sumerian Learning
-cont Used a form of writing called
cuneiform - means wedge shaped D) Sumerian
Inventions 1. The wheel 2. The sail 3.
Began the Bronze Age
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Expansion and Laws
I. The Same as Sumeria - sometimes called Sumer
- Expanded to the Babylonian Empire
II. King Hammurabi - 1790 BC - Unified
the region of Mesopotamia
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Hammurabi
III. Hammurabis Code - He compiled 300 laws
and had them written for his citizens to
read - The First written law code A) Eye
for an Eye laws - harsh punishments
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Hammurabis Code
- B) Civil Law - This branch of law
deals with private rights 1. Property
inheritance 2. Marriage/Divorce 3. Taxes
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ANCIENT EGYPT
I. Location Northern Africa A. Depended on
the control of river waters - Nile River -
Egypt called The Gift of the Nile
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THE NILE EGYPT THE GIFT OF THE NILE
Rich in the reddish-grey silt and thus forming
Africas most fertile soil, it is no wonder that
Egypt is called the Gift of the Nile.
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ANCIENT EGYPT
- The Nile River deposits SILT into the soil
in Northeastern Africa A) Two Regions of
Egypt - Upper Egypt South - Lower Egypt
North
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TWO Egypts??
- In 3100 BC they were united by King
Menes II. A Three Part History A) The Old
Kingdom 1. Kings - called Pharaohs
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A Three Part History
2. Achievements- The Pyramids - These were
built as tombs for dead pharaohs -
they were seen as gods on earth
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THE PYRAMIDS
THE GREAT PYRAMIDS AT GIZA
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The Old Kingdom
- The pyramids were built by Hebrew
slaves - in Egypt slavery was accepted -
they had a strict class system
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The Middle Kingdom
B. The Middle Kingdom - The Old Kingdom
collapsed -After more than 100 yrs later it
was reunited C. The New Kingdom - the largest
Egyptian kingdom - reached all the way to
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The New Kingdom
the Euphrates River -expanded the borders 1.
Rulers- a. ruler who encouraged
trade - a female pharaoh - name Hatshepsut
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The New Kingdom
b. Ruler who conquered new lands - Ramses
II - most powerful pharaoh -
made statues of himself
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MUSIC BREAK Michael Jackson
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Spread of Ideas from Egypt
III. Ancient Egyptians spread ideas -
through trade - through war - spread culture
to the Nubia -called Kush
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MAP OF NUBIA/KUSH
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OTHER GROUPS
- In the region of the Middle East -Other
groups I. Phoenicians a) Settled along the
Mediterranean Coast - in the Fertile
Crecsent b) Sea traders
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OTHER GROUPS
c) developed the alphabet - OUR alphabet is
based on it -Phoenicians -hooked on
phonics II. Kush Nubia - located along the
Nile
ABC
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OTHER GROUPS
adopted some cultural traits from the
Egyptians a) traded along the Nile b) Conquered
Egypt ruled for hundreds of years
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Judaism The Hebrews or Jews
Judaism The Religion of the Ancient Jews A)
Founder Abraham Father Abraham had many
sons B) Holy Book Torah C) Beliefs One
God Yahweh or Jehovah
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Judaism Beliefs

• The Ten Commandments
• Moses collected them on Mt.
• Sinai

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Jewish Beliefs
Jews believe that God loves and cares for His
people - There will be a MESSIAH -Messiah
savior of the Jewish people - Jews DO NOT
believe that Jesus was the Messiah
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Video Clip
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MOSES , Joshua and Judges
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Ancient Chinese River Valley

• Extremely isolated from other groups
• -far from the Middle East
• -separated from India
• a) Gobi Desert
• b) Himalayas Mts.
• B) Most of the land was NOT
• suitable for farming

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Ancient Chinese River Valley
-TWO RIVERS supported the whole
population a) The Yang-zi (Yangtze) b) The
Huang He (Ho) - also called the Yellow
River
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THE SHANG
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The Center of the Earth

• II. The Chinese thought that they
• were the only advanced
• society
• Called themselves the Middle
• Kingdom
• III. Strict Class System-Social
• Classes Nobles, Merchants, peasant farmers

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Achievements

• Dynasties The Shang
• Zhou
• - Achievements Silk making,
• Calligraphy, Oracle Bones,
• Books

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THE ZHOU
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THE DYNASTIES OF CHINA - ZHOU
I. Confucius Chinas Greatest Teacher A.
Lived during the Zhou Dynasty (551 BCE) B.
Book The Analects II. Confucius Teachings
Taught that there were FIVE essential
relationships in society 1. Ruler/Ruled 2.
Father/Son 3. Husband/Wife 4. Older
Brother/Younger Brother 5. Friend/Friend
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Mulan MUSIC BREAK
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CONFUCIUS TEACHINGS
III. Confucius taught that children should
honor, and respect their parents - called
Filliality
IV. Confucius teachings gained more popularity
after his death
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Daoism
I. Lao Zi Daoism/Taoism - the opposite of
Confucianism A. Laozi lived during the 6th
century BCE 500s (same as Confucius) B.
Daoism Taught that natural order was more
important than ORDER and HONOR
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THE DYNASTIES OF CHINA

• He suggested observing nature
• to see natural order
• - The Dao The Way of nature
• He found arguments over good bad
• to be pointless
• 3. Urged people to withdraw from the rigidity of
  Chinese society

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MULAN - MUSIC BREAK
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QIN (Chin)
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THE DYNASTIES OF CHINA
III. The Qin Dynasty - took over after
the fall of the Zhou Dynasty - Unified
China in the 3rd Century A. Shi Huangdi First
Emperor 1. Unified China 2. Ordered
peasants to build the Great Wall of China -
For protection from the Huns (Mongolia)
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THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

• Shi Huangdis Great Wall was meant to keep
  invaders out of China

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Legalism Chinese Philosophies
Legalism Harsh Rules A) Founder Hanfezi B)
Emphasized HARSH and strict laws - stark
contrast to Confucianism Daoism C) Harsh
punishments are necessary to maintain order

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Han The Golden Age
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THE DYNASTIES OF CHINA

• The Han Dynasty The Golden
• Age
• - 202 BCE to 220 CE
• A. Replaced rival kingdoms
• B. Centralized Government
• C. Built roads and walls defense

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THE DYNASTIES OF CHINA
D. Conquered many people bordering
China (Korea included) E. Chinese became a
common written language F. Ongoing
conflict with nomads - Mongolians G. Empire
fell apart -restored by Tang Dynasty in 618
CE
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Indus River Valley Civilization
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Origins

• Religion The Oldest of the
• Five Major Religions
• - Hinduism
• A) Location The religion we
• know as Hinduism began in
• the Indus Valley
• - after the arrival of the

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HINDUISM
Aryans to the Indus Valley -CULTURAL
DIFFUSION - the TWO traditions mixed to
create Hinduism B) Hinduism is Polytheistic It
has many gods with many functions
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Hinduism is Birthed
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Hindu Gods
- The important gods are a) Brahma-The Creator
b) Vishnu-The Preserver c) Shiva-The
Destroyer - each god takes on many forms have
families
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The Hindu Caste System
C) Strict Social System In Hinduism, the
people are separated by levels of job -
they can not intermarry or socialize - The
lowest are called or UNTOUCHABLES
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Hinduism
The Hindu god - Shiva
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Ancient Indian Life
II. Family Life The Ideal Family -The Joint
Family a) All relatives lived in one
house - The oldest male ran the home
(patriarchal) b) Property belonged to all
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Indian Family Life
-Marriage rituals A Proper Wedding a)
Brides family provided a dowry paid for
the wedding - Dowry Payment to the
grooms family
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Womens Lives
III. Womens Lives Strict Rules A) Women with
Power - Early on in Indian culture women
had more power B) As history progressed they
became 1. restricted to the home
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Womens Lives
2. Had to cover from head to foot 3.
Thought to have shakti -Shakti means
creative power - husbands had to
control their wives
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Village Life
4. A womans life was devoted to a)
marriage b) devotion c) raising children -
When the husband died the wife had to jump
into the funeral fire -then she would be
virtuous or sati
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The Indian Empires
IV. The Maurya Dynasty A) Chandragupta- The 1st
king - First gained power in the Ganges
Valley - he conquered most of India by
321 BC
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The MAURYA DYNASTY
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The Maurya Dynasty
- Their rule lasted until 185 BC B) Maurya
Government - well organized bureaucracy -
effective but HARSH - secret police killed
people
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The Best Maurya Ruler
C) The Best Maurya Ruler-Asoka - grandson of
Chandragupta 1. Conquered the Deccan plateau
- he found that war was bloody
2. After the war, he became a Buddhist
he rejected violence
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The Best Mauryan Ruler
3. Asoka sent out missionaries to spread
Buddhism across Asia
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The GUPTA DYNASTY
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The Gupta Dynasty

• V. The Gupta Dynasty enjoyed a golden age
• A period of great cultural
• achievements trade and arts
• flourished

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Advances In Learning-Gupta
A) During the Gupta period there were many Hindu
and Buddhist learning centers - developed the
decimal system - developed our numeral
system (spread west by the Arabs)
6.0
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Architecture-The Gupta Dynasty

• B) The Buddhists built splendid
• STUPAS Dome shaped shrines

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Buddhism Develops

• As a reaction to the strictness of Hinduism
• Founded by Siddhartha Gautama in India
• Modern day Nepal
• Focuses on the Four Noble Truths
• Universal Suffering
• Suffering caused by worldly desires
• The way to end suffering is to end desire
• The Eightfold Path to enlightenment is the way to
  end desire