Mesopotamia Geography Desert Between Persian Gulf and Mediterranean

Mesopotamia

Geography Desert Between Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea in S. W. Asia Fertile Crescent – land in this area that provides for some of S. W. Asia’s best farming Fertile Plains (Eastern) – Tigris / Euphrates Rivers Mesopotamia = between rivers Rivers flooded Mesopotamia – left silt behind Wheat / barley = growth of villages

Environmental Challenges First famers in S. Meso. Sumerians (3500 BC) arrive Good soil attracted settlers 3 Disadvantages Unpredictable flooding + little / no rainfall Small region + a lot of people = defenseless Limited natural resources

Overcoming Challenges Irrigation ditches Built city walls Traded with mountain people Required organization, cooperation, leadership Laws to decide distribution of land water Beginning of organized gov’t

City States Advanced cities Specialized workers Complex institutions Record keeping Advanced technology Each city developed its own gov’t (with own rulers) = city state

Characteristics Gov’t controlled by priests Middle man to Gods Ziggurat used for many purposes Demanded % of crops War = elected commander Sometimes became Monarch after Passed power to kin Multiple family rulers = dynasty Grew prosperous from surplus of crops Long distance trade (including new ideas/religion) also known as cultural diffusion

Sumerian Culture Religion Polytheistic (3, 000 + gods) Gods had human qualities (humans were servants) Sacrifice to keep gods happy Life Women – could pursue most occupations, hold property, join lower ranks of priesthood Priest/Kings = highest power, then wealth merchants, then slaves Could not attend upper class schools Science/Technology Invented the wheel, sail, plow 1 st to use Bronze and developed writing system (cuneiform) Arithmetic and Geometry , number system in base 60 (minute/circle) Arches, columns, ramps, pyramid-shape designs

First Empire Builders Sumerian city-states constantly at war with each other Sargon of Akkad (Akkadians) Defeated Sumer World’s 1 st Empire (What is an empire) Collapse due to internal fighting, invasions, and severe famine

Babylonian Empire Nomadic warriors (Amorites) invaded Mesopotamia Took control – established capital of Babylon Reached peak during reign of Hammurabi Code/Laws (Hammurabi’s Code) Would unify diverse people Engraved in stone 282 specific laws 2 centuries after Hammurabi – empire fell to nomadic warriors

Indus Civilizations

Geography of South Asia Mountains – Hindu Kush, Karakorum, Himalayas Creates subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh) Indus and Ganges Rivers Indus Ganges Plain (Around rivers) Deccan – narrow border of lush tropical land in southern India Monsoons

Challenges Unpredictable floods and change of river course Monsoons brought wet/dry seasons

Emergence of Civilization Writing has not been deciphered Area larger than Mesopotamia and Egypt Not sure where people came from Arrived by sea from Africa? Passed through Khyber Pass in Hindu Kush mountains? Built pyramids in their cities Sophisticated city planning (buildings/streets) Precise grid system, fortified Citadels, residential areas Plumbing and sewage systems Strong central government

Culture/Trade No major social divisions Prosperous society (clay/wooden toys) Nonessential items Little warfare Shiva (major Indian God) Mother goddess, fertility images, worship of cattle Long distance trade Traded with the Sumerian civilization

End to the Indus Civilization Quality of building decreased Cities began to fall Indus River changed course? Overused the land Major catastrophe? Unburied bodies (attack, natural disaster? ) Aryans?

River Dynasties in China

Geography Natural barriers Pacific Ocean (East) Taklimakan Desert + Plateau of Tibet (West) Himalaya Mountains (Southwest) Gobi Desert + Mongolian Plateau (North) 2 Rivers run through this area Huang He + Yangtze Mountain ranges + deserts = 2/3 of China’s land 90% of remaining farmable land is between Huang He + Yangtze Rivers Chinese thought people living elsewhere were “barbarians” Thought China was center of civilized world

Challenges Huang He provided yellowish silt (loess) Good and bad Earned nickname “China’s Sorrow” (Killed 1 Mil + people) Flooding of whole villages Isolation caused less dependence on trade Did not completely protect them from invasion

Civilizations Emerge No written records from this time = unknown events (educated guess) China’s first dynasty = Xia Dynasty Led by Yu -> developed flood-control and irrigation projects Shang Dynasty = 1 st family to leave written records Built elaborate palaces and tombs

Early Cities Anyang = one of oldest and most important Built mainly of wood Upper class lived within city walls / lower did not Constantly at war Chariot becomes major war time tool Dynasty ruled by warrior-nobles Peasants = lowest class Had limited farming tools Bronze was too “precious” for tools

Origins of Chinese Culture Group > Individual Lives based to serve family + king/emperor Respect for one’s parents = most important virtue Men controlled property and decision making Women seen as inferior Girls (13 – 16) had arranged marriage Improved status by bearing children

Religious Beliefs Believed spirits of family had the power to bring good fortune or disaster Made sacrifices to honor dead relatives Conversed with Gods through dead relatives Made contact through oracle bones Inscribed questions in bones Cracked the bone and interpreted what they saw

Development of Writing Each character in the language stands for an idea not a sound No connection between written and spoken language Chinese unified under one system of writing Disadvantage = had to memorize a lot of symbols 10 k + to be true scholar

Zhou People Overthrew Shang dynasty around 1027 B. C. Adopted much of Shang culture Mandate of Heaven Ruler of Shang dynasty was so terrible, Gods had taken it away and given it to the Zhou People

Feudalism Political system in which nobles, or lords, are granted the use of lands that legally belong to the king In return nobles owed loyalty and military service to the king and protection to the people who lived on their estates

Technology and Trade Zhou built roads and canals to supply the large growing cities Introduced coin money Civil servant class emerged = ran daily operations of city Use of iron for weapons and agricultural tools

Pyramids on the Nile

Egyptian geography Nile River (longest in world) Flooding- fertile black mud Wheat and barley – irrigation

Upper/Lower Egypt Domain ended at cataracts Riverboats could not pass Upper Egypt (South) Lower Egypt (North) Nile provided transportation Environmental Challenges Nile low = crops and growing decreased Nile high = flooding villages Desert = protection and segragation

Kingdom Menes united Egypt Kings = gods aka Pharaohs Theocracy – Pharaoh headed religion, gov’t, and army King’s ruled after death (ka = external spirit) Pyramids = kings resting place (bigger than palace) Massive public works programs, great gov’t and leadership from Pharaoh

Egyptian Culture Religion / Life Polytheistic Ra = Sun god, Horus = god of light, Isis = ideal mother/wife, Osiris = god of death Life after death Heart weighed less than feather Mummification, Coffin inside tomb, personal items

Egyptian Society King, Queen, Royal Family Wealthy Land Owners, Gov’t Officials, Priests, Army Commanders Middle Class (Merchants, Artisans) Lower Class (Peasant Farmers, Unskilled Laborers) ****Could gain higher status through marriage or success in their jobs **** - Highest service (Must be able to read and write)

Egyptian Writing / Technology Crude pictographs Developed into Hieroglyphics Papyrus = Reeds that grew in marshy delta Split, dampened, pressed, repeat Number system for collecting taxes Geometry for property and flood surveying Calendar 365 days, 12 months, 30 days in a month , 5 days for holidays and feasting Knew how to check for heartbeat, splint broken bones, surgery

Invasion End of Old Kingdom after Pharaohs lost power Weakness and turmoil Strong Pharaohs regained control during Middle Kingdom (restored law and order) Invaded by the Hyksos (Asian nomads) Egypt fell to Hyksos