Western Asia (the Middle East) and Egypt

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Western Asia (the Middle East) and Egypt
Standard The student will demonstrate an
understanding of life in the classical
civilizations and the contributions that
these civilizations have made to the modern
world.

• 3500-500 B.C.

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Civilization begins in Mesopotamia

• Chapter 2 Section 1

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Civilization Begins in Mesopotamia

• Between the Tigris and Euphrates river
• In the fertile crescent
• Rich soil and abundant crops
• 3 Major groups of people living there
• Assyria
• Akkad
• Sumer (creators of the 1st Mesopotamian
  civilization)

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City-States of Ancient Mesopotamia Sumerian
Cities

• City-states
• City with political economic control over the
  surrounding countryside
• Surrounded by walls
• Defense
• Mud bricks
• Built some of the largest brick buildings in the
  world
• Created the arch and the dome

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Bell Quiz Students will have 10 mins to use
notes.

• 1. What two rivers did civilization begin between
  ?
• 2. What is the fertile crescent?
• 3,4,5. Name the three major group of people that
  lived in this region.
• 6. What is a city-state?
• 7. What help provide for the defense of these
  city-states?
• 8. What did built some of the largest building
  in the world?
• 9. How were arches and does created?
• 10. What is this a picture of ?

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City-states of Ancient Mesopotamia Gods,
Goddesses, and Rulers

• Temples
• Massive structures built on a ziggurat (stepped
  tower)
• Believed gods and goddesses owned the cities
• Theocracy government ruled by divine authority
• Priests priestesses had a ton of power
• Believed kings were granted their power from the
  gods

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City-states of Ancient Mesopotamia Economy and
Society

• Economy based mostly on farming
• Trade and industry also became important
• Metalwork, textiles, and pottery
• Imported copper, tin, and timber
• Exported fish, wool, barley, wheat and metal
  goods

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City-states of Ancient Mesopotamia Economy and
Society

• Contained three major social groups
• Nobles
• Royal and priestly officials
• Commoners
• Worked for palace and temple estates
• Farmers
• Merchants
• Fishermen
• Craftsmen
• 90 were farmers
• slaves

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The Code of Hammurabi

• Based on a system of strict justice
• Severe penalties for criminals-varied across
  social classes
• Believed in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a
  tooth
• Public officials jobs were taken extremely
  seriously
• Fined for not finding murders
• Had to replace stolen goods if burglars were not
  located
• Patriarchal society
• Dominated by men
• Women had far fewer privileges and rights in
  marriage than men

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The Importance of Religion

• Polytheistic

• Believed in many gods
• Identified almost 3,000 gods and goddesses
• Believed humans were created to do manual labor
• Inferior to the gods

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The Creativity Technology

• Writing and Literature
• Cuneiform
• Wedge-shaped system of writing
• Sundial
• Keep time
• Wagon wheel
• Transport goods

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Egyptian Civilization The Gift of the Nile
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The Impact of Geography

• Nile River
• Longest river in the world
• Over 4,000 miles
• Yearly flooding
• The miracle of the
• Nile- leaves a deposit
• of mud creating rich
• soil
• Surplus of food
• Travel transport

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Importance of Religion

• Polytheistic
• Believed in multiple gods and goddesses
• 2 major groups
• Sun gods and land gods

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The Old Kingdom

• 2700-2200 B.C.
• Prosperity and splendor
• Led by a pharaoh
• Divine power/right
• Absolute power (complete/unlimited rule of their
  people)
• Bureaucracy
• Administrative organization with officials and
  regular procedures

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The Old Kingdom (continued)

• Built as part of a large complex of buildings
  dedicated to the dead
• Large pyramid pharaoh
• Smaller pyramids family members
• mastabas pharaohs officials
• Believed humans had two bodies
• Physical
• Spiritual
• If the tomb was properly prepared, the believed
  the spirit would leave the body and return
• Mummification
• Process of slowly drying a dead body to prevent
  it from rotting

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The Middle Kingdom

• 2050-1652 B.C.
• Began expanding its territory
• Pharaoh portrayed as the shepherd of his people
• Expected to build public works and provide for
  the public welfare

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The New Kingdom

• 1567-1085 B.C.
• Massive wealth emerged in Egypt
• Built new, enormous temples
• 1st female pharaoh named Hatshepsut
• King Tutankhamen/ King Tut

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Society in Ancient Egypt

• Structure
• God/king at the top
• Pharaoh surrounded by upper class nobles and
  priests
• Merchants, artisans, scribes, and tax collectors
• Peasants -worked the land

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Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

• Very positive outlook toward life on Earth
• Married young
• Girls at 12
• Boys at 14
• Monogamy (marriage to one person) was typical
  however polygamy was sometimes accepted
• Husband was the master of the home, but wives
  were very respected
• Women in charge of the household and education
• Women maintained their inheritance
• Some women even owned businesses

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Writing and Education

• Hieroglyphics
• System of writing employed by the Egyptians
• Used pictures and more abstract forms
• Written on temple walls and in tombs
• Hieratic script
• Simplified form, used for business transactions,
  record keeping, and other daily needs

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Writing and Education

• Age 10 boys of the upper class went to schools
  run by scribes
• Students learned to read and write by copying
  texts
• Extremely strict discipline
• Girls remained at home and learned housekeeping
  skills from their mothers

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Achievements in Art and Science

• Egyptians developed a 365 day calendar based on
  the bright star Sirius
• Sirius rises in the sun just before the annual
  flooding of the Nile River
• Practice of embalming led to medical expertise in
  human anatomy
• Archaeologists have recovered directions from
  doctors for using splints, bandages, and
  compresses for treating fractures, wounds, and
  disease

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• New Centers of Civilization

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The Role of Nomadic People

• Nomadic people depend on hunting and gathering,
  herding and sometime farming for their survival.
• Were often viewed as hostile and barbaric
• Nomads traded animals, grains, and vegetables
• Indo- Europeans( 2000 BCE)
• Moved to areas such as Europe, India, and Western
  Asia
• Created the empire of Hittites, which weakened
  the power of the Egyptians

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The Phoenicians

• Lived in the area of Palestine along the
  Mediterranean coast.
• Rose after the downfall of the Hittites and fa