1. City-States of Ancient Sumer 2.1
Chapter 2
City-States of Ancient Sumer
2.1

3. The Fertile Crescent
Was a region of the Middle East named for its rich soils and golden wheat fields
Lying within the Fertile Crescent is Mesopotamia
“Between the rivers”

5. Mesopotamia Lies between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Modern day Turkey through Iraq
First civilization was Sumer, located in southeastern Mesopotamia

6. Struggles Had to control flooding
Could completely wash away the topsoil and the mud- brick villages
The Epic of Gilgamesh describes a great flood that destroys the world
Archaeologists confirm that catastrophic floods occurred regularly

7. Sumerian Resources
Lacked timber and stone, so learned to build with clay and water
Used clay to make bricks and dried in the sun
Made the first wheeled vehicles

8. Civilization Takes Shape
Each city-state had a social hierarchy system of ranking groups
Highest level made up of ruling family, leading officials and priests
Middle class were scribes, merchants, and artisans
Lowest, and majority of people were peasant farmers

9. Sumerian Women Goddesses were highly honored in religious practice
Women held higher status in Sumer compared to other civilizations
Never had legal rights equal to men
Rulers’ wives had supervisory powers and some wrote songs about their husbands (Why would that be significant?)

10. Sumerian Religion

11. Religion Polytheistic
Thought the gods behaved like ordinary people, ate, drank, married, had families, etc
Felt highest duty was to keep them happy which ensured the safety of the city-state

12. Ziggurats

13. Ziggurats
Large, stepped platform thought to have been topped by a temple dedicated to the city’s chief god or goddess
Believed in afterlife
“The place where they live on dust, their food is mud, and they see no light, living in blackness, on the door and door-bolt, deeply settled dust”

14. Sumerians Invent Writing
Cuneiform

15. Cuneiform Scribes wrote by making wedge- shaped marks on clay tablets
Used to record economic exchanges, myths, prayers, laws, and business contracts
Had to go through many years of school to acquire these skills
Caned for making any mistakes

16. Lasting Legacy of Sumer
Cuneiform was adapted into different cultures
Established a number system based on dividing the hour into 60 minutes and the circle into 360 degrees
Studies the skies and recorded the movements of the planets and stars

17. Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders
Chapter 2: Section 2

18. First Empires
Sargon of Akkad
2300 BC
Invaded and Conquered Sumer

19. Sargon
Didn’t stop after conquering Sumer, expanded his territory and created the first empire known in history
Appointed local rulers, each of whom served as king of the land he oversaw
Did not last long; After Sargon’s death other invaders took over

20. Hammurabi

21. Hammurabi King of Babylon Took control of Mesopotamia in 1790 BC
Best known for his publication of a set of laws: Hammurabi’s Code

22. Hammurabi’s Code Wanted to ensure that everyone knew the law
Had Artisans carve nearly 300 laws on a stone pillar for all to see
First attempt by a ruler to codify, or arrange and set down in writing

23. Civil Law Dealt with private rights and matters
Examples include contracts, inheritances, taxes, marriage, and divorce
Designed to protect the powerless….Slaves and Women

24. Examples of Civil Law
For Women: If a woman is blameless for the problems between herself and her husband, she could leave the marriage
If she were at fault however, the law instructed that she be thrown into the river

25. Criminal Law
Deals with offenses against others, such as robbery, assault, or murder
Limited personal vengeance and encouraged order
May seem cruel based on today’s standards
Eye for an eye, If a house falls due to poor construction and kills the owner, the house’s builder could be put to death

26. Hittites

27. Hittites Conquered Mesopotamia in 1400 BC
Brought with them a major advancement, the knowledge of how to extract iron from ore
Their tools and weapons were harder and sharper
Wanted to keep this process a secret, but their secret got out as their empire collapsed

28. Assyrians

29. Assyrians Most feared Warriors Always involved in warfare
Encouraged a well planned society; Used riches from trade and war to pay for palaces

30. King Assurbanipal

31. King Assurbanipal
Founded the first library in Nineveh

32. Nebuchadnezzar

33. Nebuchadnezzar Revives Babylon
Defeated the Assyrians after Assurbanipal’s death
Oversaw the rebuilding of canals, temples, walls, and palaces of Babylon
Built a defensive moat and an 85 feet thick wall

34. Nebuchadnezzar's Wall Had 9 gates dedicated to important gods
Most famous was Ishtar Gate, made of bricks glazed bright blue
Covered in lions to represent Ishtar, dragons representing Marduk, and bulls representing Hadad

36. Hanging Gardens

37. Hanging Gardens One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Remains have not been found
Planted trees and plants on steps of a ziggurat
According to legend, he did it to please his wife who was homesick for the hills where she grew up

38. The Persians Would defeat and conquer Babylon in 539 BC
Leader was Cyrus the Great

39. Persian Empire Built the largest empire ever seen
Pursued policies of tolerance towards the people they conquered
Respected the customs of different people

40. Darius I
Unified the Empire

41. Accomplishments of Darius I
Set up a bureaucracy, or a system of government
Became a model for later rulers
Divided empire into provinces, called satrapy.
Headed by a governor called a satrap

42. More Accomplishments Adopted laws from the people he conquered
Drew up a single code of laws, like Hammurabi
Had hundreds of miles of roads built or repaired

43. Economy Set up a common set of weights and measures
Encouraged the use of coins
This transitioned a barter economy (one in which you trade for goods) into a money economy (where you use coins)

44. Religion Zoroaster Taught of ONE God Ahura Mazda
Constant battle with Ahriman
Prince of lies and evil
Had to choose

45. The Phoenicians

46. Phoenicians Known for being sailors and traders Made glass from sand
A purple dye from sea snails
Set up colonies

47. “Carriers of Civilization”
They spread civilization around the Mediterranean
Most significant contribution was their alphabet
Had a system of 22 symbols that stood for consonant sounds
Greeks would later add vowels, and that became OUR alphabet

48. Kingdom on the Nile
Chapter 2, Section 3

49. Geography of Egypt “Egypt is wholly the gift of the Nile”
Without the Nile River, Egypt would just be a desert

50. Annual Flooding The annual (yearly) flooding was a GOOD thing
It soaked the land with water and deposited silt
Still work to be done, had to build reservoirs and ditches to control the flooding

51. 2 Regions of Egypt Upper Egypt located in the south
Lower Egypt located in the north

52. United
Menes, the King of Upper Egypt, united the two regions in 3100 B.C.
Founded Egypt’s first capital, Memphis
Used the Nile as a highway to transport goods, officials, and armies between the north and south

53. Old Kingdom

54. Old Kingdom
2575 B.C. – 2130 B.C.
Egyptian Kings, later called pharaohs, organized a strong, centralized state
Pharaohs had absolute power
Egyptians believed that each pharaohs was a god

55. Bureaucracies Develop
System of government that includes departments and levels of authority
Each pharaoh depended on their vizier chief minister who supervised the government

56. Vizier Responsibilities
Tax collection
Farming
Irrigation systems
Scribes followed them around to carry out their instructions

57. Ptah-hotep Vizier Wrote a book Instructions of the Vizier Ptah-hotep
Emphasized being humble & honest
Obedient to superiors
Fair

58. Great Accomplishment Pyramids are built
Tombs considered to be a home where they would live for eternity
Preserved bodies
Buried with items they may need
Pharaoh began their tombs as soon as they came to power

60. Great Pyramids of Giza

61. The Middle Kingdom Very turbulent period 1938 B.C. – 1630 B.C.
The Nile did not flood as regularly as before
Lots of corruption and rebellion

62. Invasion The Hyksos invaded the Nile delta region
Little conflict between the Hyksos and the Egyptian people

63. Learned from Each Other
Egyptians were impressed by the horse-drawn war chariots of the Hyksos
Hyksos were impressed by Egyptian civilization
They adopted Egyptian customs, beliefs, and names

64. The New Kingdom 1539 B.C. 1075 B.C. Age of conquest
Powerful pharaohs created large empires

65. Hatshepsut

66. Hatshepsut Egypt’s first female ruler
Had all the rights and powers of a pharaoh
Her stepson, Thutmose II took over after her death and stretched Egypt’s borders to their greatest extent ever

67. Ramses II

68. Ramses II Pharaoh of the New Kingdom Ruled for 66 years
Best known for his boastful attitude
Bragged about his achievements on monuments and temples

69. First Peace Treaty Ramses II was in constant battle with the Hittites
Would eventually sign a peace treaty with one another

70. Egyptian Civilization
Section 2.4
Identify the role of Amon-Re in the daily lives of Egyptians
Infer what the structure of Egypt’s class system informs us about the importance of religion in Egyptian society
Discuss how Egyptian writing has helped historians understand the details of Egyptian medical practices

71. Egyptian Civilization
Religious beliefs about gods, values, and life after death affected the daily lives of Egyptians.
Much of what we know about Egyptian religion comes from inscriptions on monuments and paintings on the walls in tombs.

72. Chief Gods & Goddesses Main Egyptian god The sun god
Originally call “Ra”, morphed into “Amon-Re” by the Middle Kingdom.
Pharaohs received right to rule from him.

73. Other Important Gods & Goddesses
Most Egyptians related more to other gods & goddesses.
Osiris and Isis
Story touched human emotions of love and jealousy

74. Akhenaton- tries to reshape religion
Religious rebel who in 1380 b.c. devoted his life to the worship of another god, Aton
Akhenaton means “he who serves Aton”

75. Religious Reaction
He, along with his wife, Queen Nefertiti, attempted to make Aton the chief god of Egypt
Why did he do this?
Either to introduce a single god religion, or to make Aton the most important
Not very successful, Egyptians were fearful of abandoning Amon-Re

76. Egyptian Afterlife
Egyptians believed each soul must pass a test in order to enter the afterlife
Osiris
Plays big role

77. Osiris
Dead soul would be ferried across a lake of fire to the hall of Osiris
Osiris would then weigh the soul / heart against the “feather of truth”
Sinner are sent to the “eater of the dead”, a crocodile- like creature
Worthy souls enter the “Happy Field of Food”

78. Book of the Dead

79. What did it do?
The Book of the Dead contained spells, charms, and other useful hints for the dead to use in the afterlife
It was written on scrolls and placed in the tomb with the body

80. Mummification

81. Mummification The preservation of the dead
Brain was removed through the nostrils
Incisions were made on the body to remove organs
Body would then be filled with spices then wrapped in linen

82. Long Process Would take months to complete
Was a privilege at first, only for rulers and nobles
Eventually ordinary citizens were allowed as well

86. King Tut’s Tomb

87. King Tut’s Tomb Howard Carter discovered it in 1922
Had remained untouched for more than 3,000 years
Contained chariots, weapons, jewelry, toys, games, and food
And he was just a minor king….

89. Women of Egypt Held higher status compared to other civilizations
Ramses II, “The foot of an Egyptian woman may walk where it pleases her and no one may deny her”
Could inherit property, enter into business deals, go to court, and obtain divorces
Few knew how to read or write; Could not hold government jobs

90. Written Records

91. Hieroglyphics Picture writing Carved into stone and on temples
Ideograms pictures that symbolized an idea or action

92. Papyrus A paper-like writing material
Came from papyrus a plant that grew along the Nile
Much easier than chiseling into stone

93. The Rosetta Stone

94. Rosetta Stone Unlocked the secrets of Hieroglyphics
Discovered by Jean Champollion in early 1800s
Flat black stone with the same message carved in 3 different forms of writing
Hieroglyphics, Demotic (used in Egypt for documents for 1000 years), and Greek

95. Advances in Science Learned about human body through mummification
Could diagnose illness and symptoms
Developed a calender that had 12 months and 30 days each with 5 days added at end of year

96. Arts and Literature Statues, paintings in tombs, carvings on temples
Some human figures have animal heads
Oldest literature are hymns and prayers