1. Chapter 4 First Age of Empires
1570 BC – 200 BC

2. Egyptians & Nubians Nomadic Invaders Rule Egypt
Hyksos ruled Egypt from 1640 to 1570 BC
Had chariots
Hebrews Migrate to Egypt
Arrived around 1650 BC
Expulsion Slavery
By 1600 BC, the Egyptians grew strong
Under Queen Ahhotep & Pharaoh Kamos
Drove Hyksos out

3. The New Kingdom in EgyptBC
Built an empire: control of several peoples or states under one ruler
Hatshepsut's Prosperous Rule
began rule in 1472 BC
Encouraged trade instead of war
major trade expedition to Punt (Somalia)
Thutmose the Empire Builder
Stepson-may have murdered Hatshepsut
Thutmose III armies took Syria & n part of Euphrates
Pushed into Nubia
Conquered an empire
no longer isolated

4. The New Kingdom Egyptians & Hittites Age of Builders
Conflict over Syria & Palestine
Battle at Kadesh-1285 BC
Peace treaty
became allies
Age of Builders
Hidden tombs in desert cliffs
Valley of Kings near Thebes
Ramses built monumental statues/temples
tomb found in of his 52 sons buried with him

5. The Empire Declines Invasions by “Sea People”-1208 Empire Fades
Palestinian revolts & Libyan invaders
Empire Fades
never recovered power/ prestige
Libyans ruled- 950 to 730 BC
Adopted Egyptian culture
Nubians did too

6. Kushites Conquer Nile Egypt dominated Nubia & Kush for centuries
Conquered Egypt
Interaction of Nubia & Egypt
Forced rule on Nubia during New Kingdom
Heavily influenced Nubia
Nubian princes lived in Egypt- adopted their culture
Regained independence around 1200 BCE

8. Kushites Piankhi Captures Egypt-751 BCC overthrew Libyan pharaoh
United Nile River valley
Began 25th dynasty of Egypt
Erected monument in Kush to celebrate
Assyrians conquered Egypt- 671 BCE-ended dynasty

10. Golden Age of Meroë Kushite royal family moved to Meroë Wealth of Kush
Traded with Africa, India, Arabia
Plentiful rainfall & iron supplies
The Decline of Meroë
Declined around 250 to 150 BC
Another city, Aksum, dominated their trade

11. The Assyrians Mighty Military Machine
Learned to fight while defending their land
Most feared/hated empire in region
Foot soldiers, chariots, iron weapons, cavalry
Treated People poorly
Burned cities, tortured/killed captives, heavy taxes
Deported entire populations
One king, Sennacherib, claimed to destroy 89 cities and 820 villages
Military Organization and Conquest
Nineveh the capital
Start conquering 900 BC
Well equipped with iron weapons
Tiglath-pileser & Ashurbanipal led campaigns

12. The Assyrians Empire Expands
Conquered Syria, Palestine, Babylonia, Anatolia, and Egypt
Assyrian Rule
Peaked around 650 BC
Royal Roads
Divided empire into provinces w/ local rulers
Well organized military
State of the art technology
Ruled through fear/terror
Left markers so others wouldn’t revolt
Destroyed cities-exiled people who refused to pay tribute
Burned cities, hung skin on walls, piled skulls
Built large library at Nineveh

13. Empire Crumbles Enemies formed alliance- conquered Nineveh in 612 BC
Babylon reborn under Chaldeans
Started a revival for Babylon
Built into a monumental city
Reached height under King Nebuchadnezzar II ( )
Extended empire
Deported Jews
Built Hanging Gardens
Loved astronomy & maps
Poor harvest & slow trade hurt them

14. The Persians Rise of Persia Cyrus I. was founder
Modern day Iran
Cyrus I. was founder
Conquered the Medes in 540s
Swept down from mountains of Iran in 539 BC
Cyrus II conquered Babylon
Allowed Jews to return to homeland in 538 BCE-allowed to rebuild temple
Eventually took over Mesopotamia, Syria, Canaan, Phoenicia, Lydia, and Greek city-states of Asia Minor (Ionia)
Tolerant to others cultures
Allowed to retain their own language, religions, and customs
Killed in battle on eastern border

15. Persian Rule Cambyses and Darius
Conquered Egypt in 525 BC
Ruled harshly, unlike his father
Died eight years later, revolts erupted
Darius seized the throne with the help of the Ten Thousand Immortals in 522 BC
Spent the next three years putting down revolts
Then began conquering Afghanistan
Empire went from the Nile to the Indus River, 3,000 miles with 50 million people

17. Persian Rule Divided it into provinces or satraps
Military officials & tax collectors were “eyes & ears” of king
People paid tribute & soldiers
Crushed rebellion quickly
Brought artisans from all over empire to build Persepolis
Encouraged trade: used coins
Royal Road- 1,677 miles - stops every 14 miles with food, water, horses
Messengers could travel in 7 days

18. Persian Legacy: Zoroastrianism
Before 500s BCE, polytheistic
570 BCE, Zoroaster reformed religion
Strict moral code
Struggle between good & evil-human choice
Ahura Mazda: good, Ahriman: Bad
achings linked to glorifying kings
Pomp & pageantry
Zoroaster influenced Judaism, Christianity, Islam: heaven, hell, Last Judgment
Political Order
Tolerance & good govt. brought order & stability to the region

19. Unification of China Confucius and the Social Order
Born Kongfuzi in 551 BC
Confucius Urges Harmony
Good govt. & social harmony achieved if people used ethics
Reciprocity
Golden Rule
Five Relationships
For moral behavior
Learn by example
Stressed filial piety
Family a mini society
After his death, 479 BC, work collected into The Analects
Confucian Ideas About Govt.
Education could transform anyone into a gentleman
Laid the groundwork for bureaucracy
A trained civil service

20. Legalism Rejected Confucianism Strict laws/harsh punishments Hanfeizi
Humans evil by nature
Favored by Qin Emperor
Helped unify China
Too harsh, never used again

21. A. Confucius cont. Harmony w/ nature 4. Taoist Ideas 5. Yin and Yang
Laozi, 500s BC
Could be a Taoists and Confucianists
Govt. vs. individual
5. Yin and Yang
Two opposing forces
Yin: cool, dark, female, submissive
Yang: warm, light, male, aggressive
Need balance

22. The Qin Dynasty Local lords revolted against the Zhou 1. A New Emperor
By 221 BC, Qin wiped out the Zhou
Qin Shi Huangdi
United the area under a strong, central govt.
Attacked invaders north of the Huang He and pushed as far south as Vietnam
36 Military districts, standardized coins, laws, and writing
Commanded all nobles live in his capital
Uprooted 120,000 families
Forced labor for roads and canals
Legalists murdered hundreds of Confucian scholars to prevent criticism
Burned useless books

24. B. The Qin cont. 2. A Program of Centralization 3. Great Wall of China
Built a network of 4,000 miles of roads
Trade boomed
Set standards throughout China for writing, law, currency, and weights and measures
3. Great Wall of China
300,000 troops worked to build the 4,000 mile wall
Keep Mongolians out
Thousands died
4. The Fall of the Qin
Cruel tyrant
210 BC, Qin died, so did the dynasty
Peasants rebelled against the son
By 202 BC, the Han Dynasty replaced the Qin