Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia3500 B.C. to 1700 B.C.

Location: Between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in present day Iraq.

Agriculture: Used irrigation to grow crops. This led to other professions such as potters, weavers, metal workers, warriors, and priests.

MesopotamiaGovernment: At first each city or city state had its own ruler. Later several city states were united under one ruler. Rulers were often priests. This type of government is called a theocracy.

Religion: They were polytheistic (many gods) and worshipped as many as 2,000 different gods.

Ziggurat

What might be some of the benefits and drawbacks to have a theocratic form of government?

Mesopotamia• Contributions:

– Architecture: stone and mud buildings such as the ziggurat and Hanging Gardens.

– Invented the wheel– Invented the sailboat– Irrigation– Made tools and weapons out of

copper and bronze– Invented a calendar– Created a number system based

on 60– Invented cuneiform writing– Developed a legal system called

the Code of Hammurabi

Which Mesopotamian contribution is the most important? Be prepared to defend you answer.

Code of Hammurabi

• Covers most things in daily life.

• Goal is to ensure justice and protect the weak.

• Treated nobles and commoners different.

• An “eye for and eye” legal system. Why is it important for a

society to have established and defined laws and rules?

Women in Mesopotamia

• Most women stayed at home and cooked, cleaned, raised the children and crushed the grain.

• Noble women could go to the market and buy goods, could complete legal matters in their husbands absence, and could own property. Some could engage in business and obtain a divorce.

Women praying;

University of Chicago

Egypt

Egypt3200 B.C. to 500 B.C.

• Location: Northeast Africa along the Nile River.

• Agriculture: Each year the Nile River floods making the surrounding land fertile. Egyptian farmers were able to grow an abundant amount of food to support the craftsmen, warriors, priests and nobles of the land. How is the location of Egypt

similar to and different from that of Mesopotamia?

Egypt

• Government: The Egyptian Pharaoh was an absolute monarch. This means his title was inherited from his father. He owned all the land, commanded the army, made laws, controlled irrigation and grain supplies, and defended Egypt from foreign invaders. He was considered one of the gods.

What are the benefits and drawbacks to this type of government?

Egypt

• Religion: The Egyptian religion was polytheistic and the Pharaoh was considered a god. They built pyramids to preserve their rulers body in the afterlife. They surrounded him with gold, jewels, and other items he might need in the afterlife. What economic effects

might the building of pyramids have had on Egyptian society?

Egypt• Contributions:

– Medicine: developed knowledge of the human body through embalming and surgery.

– Hieroglyphics: developed one of the earliest forms of writing using pictures and symbols.

– Architecture: built magnificent pyramids, temples, and palaces of stone.

– Art: decorated buildings with paintings and sculptures.

– Geometry: developed geometry to build projects such as the pyramids.

– Astronomy: by observing the stars, they developed a calendar based on 365 days.

Which Egyptian contribution is the most significant? Be prepared to justify your answer.

Ancient Hebrews

• Location: south of Phoenicia in present day Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan. Near Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.

• Religion: Monotheistic (belief in one God). Religion is called Judaism and became basis of Christianity and Islam.

• 10 Commandments: Biblical law given to the Hebrews by God. Forbade immoral behavior and idol worship.

What is the importance of the Hebrew religion?

India

India 324 B.C. to 550 A.D.

• Location: Along the Indus River Valley on the Indian subcontinent.

• Agriculture: Farmers grew barley, wheat, dates, and melons. A surplus of food allowed an advanced society to flourish. Cities included dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick protective walls. They were one of the 1st societies to have urban planning with houses connected to a public sewage system and a water supply. They also grew cotton to make clothing

India • Government: India was ruled by

monarchs. The kingdom thrived and even traded with China, Southeast Asia, and the Mediterranean.

• Religion: – Hinduism: belief in a supreme

being of many forms, a caste system, and reincarnation.

– Buddhism: philosophy based on the idea that achieving wisdom is the way to find nirvana (peace or harmony).

What are some ways that Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India are similar?

India • Contributions:

– Literature: Great historical epics were written during this time which told of great deeds by great warriors.

– Architecture: • The pillar: column used along roads

and to mark special places• The stupa: building for devotion and

religion• The Rock Chamber: rooms for monks

and ceremonies carved out of rock

– Science: Charted the stars and knew that the earth was round and rotated on an axis and revolved around the sun. Used algebra and introduced the concept of zero in mathematics.

pillar

stupa

China

China 1045 B.C. to 220 A.D.

• Location: Along the Huang He (Yellow River)

• Agriculture: The Yellow River flooded yearly and made the area very fertile. Millet (grain) and soybeans were the main crops. Chicken and pigs were also raised.

• Government: Monarchy; ruling families are called dynasties. In each dynasty the monarch had near absolute power.

China• Religion:

– Confucianism: philosophy that said the it is the duty of people to work hard to improve life on Earth.

– Daoism: philosophy that said the best way to act is to let nature take its course and not interfere in it.

– Legalism: philosophy that states that humans are evil by nature. Harsh and stiff punishments are needed to keep society in line. How is legalism

different from Confucianism and Daoism?

China• Contributions:

– Bronze weapons, tools, and crafts

– Silk textiles– System of writing with

symbols– Iron tools such as plows and

swords– Ships that were able to sail

as far away as Mediterranean Sea.

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