Ancient Civilizations Egypt and Mesopotamia Egypt Geography 550

Ancient Civilizations: Egypt and Mesopotamia

Egypt • Geography • 550 miles long, 15 miles on both sides of Nile • Nile floods once a year leaving rich soil • Early Government • Needed to control flooding and for irrigation • Build dams, reservoirs, and canals • Eventually formed two kingdoms • Upper and Lower Egypt • 3100 BC Menes united the two • He was first Pharaoh

Egyptian Life • Absolute Monarchy/ Theocracy • Pharaoh was the gods’ representative on Earth • Made laws, built canals and public buildings, set taxes, • Assisted by nobles and priests in a bureaucracy • Class System • Nobles, Priests • Lower classes • Peasants and slaves • Could not participate in government • Religion • Polytheistic • Preserved bodies with mummification • Pharaohs in Pyramids

Contributions of Egypt • Architecture and Engineering • Pyramids, temples with columns • Art • Cheerful and colorful frescoes, huge statues, gold jewelry, pottery • Hieroglyphic writing • Began as pictographs • First “paper” called papyrus • Translated with Rosetta stone which has Hieroglyphic and Greek writing on it • Science • 365 day year • Set bones, prescribed drugs, understood much about the body because of mummification

Mesopotamia • The “land between the rivers” • Also known as the Fertile Crescent • Located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

People of Mesopotamia • Sumerians • Organization • Independent city-states around 3500 BC • ruled by a king • often warred with each other • Contributions • Cuneiform writing • Used a reed stylus on clay to make wedge shaped symbols • System of numbers based on 60 • We use this today with telling time • Architecture • Sumerians built pyramid like temples called Ziggurats

Babylonians • King Hammurabi Took over Sumer around 1900 BC became Babylonian Empire • Contributions: • Code of Hammurabi • One of the earliest written law codes • “Eye for an eye” punishment • Lower class/women punished more severely than upper class/ men (unequal) • Astronomy • Believed stars affected their lives BUT learned to predict eclipses and recognize planets • Religious literature • Epic of Gilgamesh: one of the earliest creation stories • Describes creation of man and woman and building an ark before a great flood

Hebrews • History • 1400 BC Semitic speaking people from Arabian Desert settled in Palestine • Driven out of their land by Assyrians, exiled to Babylon (Persians later allowed them back to Palestine) • Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt, received Ten Commandments from God • Jewish Diaspora, driven from their homeland in exile • Contributions • Monotheism • Old Testament • High moral principles • Ten Commandments • “what is hateful unto thee do not do unto others” • Covenant of Abraham • “father” of Judaism • Made a covenant (agreement) with God • Hebrew will worship no other God • Hebrews are God’s chosen people

Phoenicians • 1200 BC, Semitic Speaking people from North of Palestine • Skilled shipbuilders and navigators • Traded throughout Mediterranean and to Europe and Africa • Contributions • “Missionaries of Civilization” • Brought Mediterranean culture and products to less advanced regions • Traded Purple Dye made from crushed snail shells • Alphabet • Based on sound with 22 letters; Phonetic Alphabet • Eventually becomes the alphabet we use

Assyrians • 800 BC, Semitic Speaking People from Northern Mesopotamia • First to have iron weapons • siege towers, and battering rams • Used terror and cruelty • Took over from Tigris to Egypt • Contributions • Library at Nineveh • Remains of documents have given us much information about ancient Middle East • Military roads to move troops quickly