1570 BC-200 BC

 Asiatic invaders, called Hyksos  Followed the Middle Kingdom and ruled from about 1640 to 1570 BC.  During this time, the Hebrews also settled in Egypt  Many believed they were invited by the Hyksos, because they were ethnically similar  Eventually, the Pharaoh’s regained their power and expelled the Hyksos from Egypt  Hebrews remained, but were enslaved

 Followed the reign of the Hyksos  BC  Pharaohs sought to strengthen Egypt by building an empire  Wealthier and more powerful than ever before

 Hatshepsut  Declared herself pharaoh, because her stepson was too young at the time  Encouraged trade, rather than waging war  Thutmose III  Hatshepsut’s stepson (may have murdered her to assume leadership)  Much more warlike ruler  Made Egypt a mighty empire  Ramses II  Made peace treaty with Hittites that lasted a century  Great builder of the New Kingdom

 Other strong civilizations challenged Egypt’s power  Attacked by land and sea  Never recovered its previous power  Broke into numerous small Kingdoms

 Had prior contact with Egypt during the New Kingdom  Had adopted many Egyptian customs and beliefs  As the New Kingdom declined, the Kushites felt they could guard Egyptian values  Their rule was short-lived, as Egypt soon fell to the Assyrians, warlike people from Southwest Asia

 Came from the northern part of Mesopotamia  Easy for others to attack because land was flat and open  Developed warlike behavior in response to those actions

 Highly advanced military organization  Very disciplined  Showed no mercy to those they conquered  State-of-the-art weaponry  Used iron  Soldiers covered themselves in stiff leather and metal armor  Engineers designed floating structures used to support bridges during warfare  Dug beneath city walls to weaken defenses

 Conquered many lands  Their system of management involved local governors reporting to a central authority  Additional military campaigns brought taxes and tribute to the treasury

 612 BC  Combined army of Medes and Chaldeans burned and leveled the capital of Nineveh  Babylon then became the capital, under Chaldean rule  Nebuchadnezzar restored the city

 Migrated from Central Europe and southern Russia to the mountains and plateaus east of the Fertile Crescent  Fertile farmland and a wealth of minerals  Copper, lead, gold, silver  Traded minerals and came into contact with neighbors to east and west  At first there were many kingdoms, but two powers emerged  The Medes and the Persians  Soon, the Persians dominated the Medes

 After Cyrus died, his son Cambyses was named ruler  Conquered Egypt and expanded the rule of the Persian Empire  He was not as tolerant as his father and rebellion broke out across the Empire  Cambyses’s successor, Darius, seized the throne and spent three years trying to end revolts  Eventually brought peace and stability to empire and began conquest  Was very successful in expanding empire.

 Conceived by Darius  Provinces  20 in the Persian empire  Similar to the homelands of different groups of people who lived under empire  Spoke own language, practiced own religion, followed many of own laws  Satraps  Governor of provinces

 King of Persia  Conquered several neighboring kingdoms  Military genius  Very kind and tolerant towards conquered people  Believed in honoring customs and traditions of people that he conquered

 Excellent systems of roads  Allowed quick communication  Metal coins  Standard value  Circulated throughout empire

 Confucius was China’s most influential scholar  Lived when Zhou dynasty was in decline  Wanted to restore order and moral living in China

 Confucius believed that government could be restored if five basic relationships were formed  Ruler and subject  Father and son  Husband and wife  Older and younger brother  Friend and friend

Respect for parents and ancestors, in life and after death

 Thought that education could transform individuals  Laid the groundwork for the foundation of a bureaucracy, a trained civil service, who would run the government

 Daoism  Chinese thinker named Laozi  Natural order was important  Universal force called Dao guided all things  Legalism  Highly efficient and powerful government key to restoring order  Us law and civil order  Believed in very harsh punishment for those that violated the law  I Ching  Book of oracles who solved ethical problems  Yin and Yang  Represented natural rythms in life  Yin: Cold, dark, soft, mysterious  Yang: Warm, bright, hard, clear  Symbol represents harmony of Yin and Yang

 Employed legalist ideas  Qin ruler assumed the name Shi Huangdi, which means “First Emperor”  Halted internal battles, defeated invaders, crushed resistance to his rule  Doubled China’s size  Established an autocracy by murdering Confucian scholars and burning “useless” books

 Highway network  Standards in writing, law, currency and weight  Irrigation projects that increased farm production  Built Great Wall of China (defensive wall)  Constructed by peasants  Had to work for free, or were put to death

Lasted a short time Shi Huangdi’s son was not a powerful leader Peasants soon rebelled and the Han Dynasty came to power.