Geography of the Fertile Crescent

Fertile Crescent is an arc of rich farmland in Southwest Asia, between the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea.

The two rivers that help agriculture here are the Tigris and Euphrates River. Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia

Environmental Challenges

Flooding of the rivers were unpredictable. Little to no rainfall.

No natural barriers to protect them from invaders.

Limited natural resources- stone, wood, metal.

Solutions

To provide water, irrigation ditches were built.

For defense, they built city walls with mud brick.

Traded with people in their region for products they lacked.

Sumerians Create City-StatesCity-states function like an

independent country.In the beginning, temple priest

ruled city-states.In times of war, however, a

strong fighter and leader ruled.Dynasties, or rulers from the

same family, emerge.

Sumerian CultureAs populations grow and trade

expands, thoughts and ideas are exchanged.

Religiously, Sumerians believed different gods controlled various forces of nature.

Bleak outlook on the afterlife.Epic of Gilgamesh is written.

Enlil- god of clouds/air

One of the Earliest Works of Literature

Sumerian SocietyPriest and kings.Wealthy merchants.Workers who labored in the field

and workshops. Majority.Slaves- From wars or debts.Woman could pursue most

occupation and had some rights.Wealthy men were educated.

Sumerian Science and Technology.

Invented the wheel, sail, and plow.

First to use bronze.Developed the number

system in base 60. Measures time.

Building and construction.

First Empire BuildersSargon creates the world's first

empire combining northern and southern Mesopotamia.

Weak city-states could not fend off attacks from people in their area.

Afterward, Amorites establish an empire. Babylon the capital.

Sargon of Akkad

Amorites or Babylonians Reach their peak under

Hammurabi.Established a single, uniform

code to unify his empire.282 laws that dealt with

community issues. Eye for an eye concept.Fall to nomadic warriors.

Hammurabi

Geography of EgyptHome to the longest river

in the world- Nile River.The Nile's floods were

predictable. Flow northward.

Cataracts, churning rapids, provided a barrier by water.

Desert provide barriers.

Nile River

Environmental ChallengesEven though floods were

predictable, flood waters were not.

Starvation and flooding. The desert was a great natural

barrier, but it also isolated the Egyptians.

Come into contact with Mesopotamia around 3200 B.C.

Egypt Unites Into KingdomDivided between Upper and

Lower Egypt.Narmer or Menes united

Upper and Lower Egypt.Creates a double crown.Established capital at

Memphis.Spans 2,600 years.

Narmer or Menes

Egyptian RulersEgyptian rulers were

considered representatives of the gods or god-kings called pharaohs.

Ruled in life and death.Was the center of religion

and government.

Pyramids

Egyptian ReligionWorshiped over 2,000 gods

and goddesses.Believed in an afterlife and

planned their burials. This included mummification.

Book of the Dead help to guide the soul in the afterlike.

Egyptian Afterlife

Egyptian Society

Pharaoh.Government officials.Artisans/ merchants.Farmers/ laborers. Largest.Slaves.Woman had rights.Social mobility.

Egyptian Achievements

Writing system-Hieroglyphics.Paper like substance-Papyrus.Developed a calendar system.First to check a persons pulse.Splints for broken bones.Treated fevers.

Papyrus Hieroglyphics

Chariot Riders Invade EgyptPower of the Pharaohs decline

during the Old Kingdom.The Middle Kingdom would be

taken over by the Hyksos.New Kingdom would be the

most successful kingdom in Egyptian history.

Indian Geography

India is part of the subcontinent of South Asia.

Flat and fertile plain is formed by the Indus and Ganges Rivers.

Desert and plateau.Country is a peninsula

Monsoons or Seasonal Winds

Environmental ChallengesFloods of the Indus River

were unpredictable.Had to cope with wet and dry

seasons of the monsoons.Mountains and desert isolate

India. Protects them.

First Arrivals in the Indus Valley

Not sure how human settlement began here.

People may have came by way of Khyber- Pass.

Most evidence found in Harappan.

Planned Cities

Cities laid out on a grid system.Fortified area called a citadel.Buildings made of oven-baked

brick.Plumbing and sewage system.

Mohenjo-Daro

Indus Trade and CultureUniform housing.Clay and wooden toys.Few weapons have been

found.Worship mother goddess and

cattle.Stamps and seals have been

found in Sumer.

Indus Seal Indus Toy

Indus Valley Decline

River shift or overuse of the soil.

Earthquake.Do not know because we

can not translate their language.

Geography of China

Deserts and mountains make up 2/3 of China.

Almost all land that is suitable for farming lies on a plain were the Huang Hu and Yantze Rivers. China's heartland.

China's Geography

Environmental Challenges

Huang He floods were unpredictable.

Natural barriers did not protect China from being invaded from the north or west.

Great Flood of 1887

First Dynasties and Cities

Shang becomes the first dynasty of China around 1500 B.C.

Anyang, one of the capitals, was built of wood.

Cities were surrounded by earthen walls.

Peking Man-1.7 B.C.

Shang Social ClassesKingNobles Peasants.Social classes sharply

divided.Peasants use inferior tools.

Chinese SocietyFamily was most

important.Woman had few rights.Spirits of family brought

good or bad fortune.Worshiped many gods.Shang Di.

Oracle Bones

Shang Advances

Written language. Silk cloth.Bronze working.Those who were skilled crafts

people made up a different social class. Weapons, jewelry, and religious items.

Zhou Replaces Shang

Change in dynasty does not bring a new culture.

Justify their authority under the Mandate of Heaven.

This starts a succession of dynasties called the dynastic cycle.

Dynastic Cycle

Zhou FeudalismFeudalism is a political system

in which land that belongs to the king is exchanged for loyalty and military service.

Controlled a large area.Towns grow into cities.Nobles fight each other. Grow

stronger.

Zhou Technology and Trade

Roads and canals.Coined money.Cast iron. Create weapons

and tools

Warring States

Nomads from the north sack the Zhou capital of Hao.

Rule as a weak dynasty in Luoyang for 500 years.

Lords fought over lords for power.

Traditional values are lost.