Welcome to the Ancient

Civilizations 70’s Dance Party!

Ancient Civilizations 70’s Dance Party!

• We need 2 Big Groups and 2 small groups (The Movers & the Shakers) within the big group.

• Form 2 lines that face each other.• Movers share ONE question from their list and

discuss the answer with their partner across the isle. Repeat this process with the Shakers. (3.5 Mins)

• When time is up, the movers slide down one position or (boogie down one position). Shakers stay in place or Shake your groove thang!

• The Mover at the end of the line should boogie down between the rows to the other end.

Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.

Why River Valleys?•1. Offered rich soils for agriculture

•2. Tended to be located in places that could offer protection from nomadic invaders

The Fertile Crescent

• Arc of land between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea in Southwest Asia

One land…Two Rivers• Mesopotamia means =

“land between the rivers”–Tigris River and

Euphrates River• Both rivers flooded once

a year and left thick bed of silt.–Silt: rich, new soil

farmers could plant and harvest enormous quantities of wheat and barley

Religion & PoliticsPower of the Priests• Sumer’s earliest

governments were controlled by temple priests–Farmers believed they

needed blessings for success of their crops

–Priests were the middle man for the Gods

–Priests demanded portion of farmer crops as tax

Political

• Later followed

Hereditary rulers:

when the power is

passed down to

family members

Sargon

City-state- an independent city

and it’s surrounding land. • For example Washington D. C. or Vatican

City in Rome.

MESOPOTAMIAN

CIVILIZATIONSS

LOCATION TITLES IMPORTANT LEADERS

SUMER SOUTHERN PART OF

MESOPOTAMIA

FIRST CIVILIZATIO

N OF THE WORLD

UR – NAMMU

AKKAD SOUTHERN PART OF

MESOPOTAMIA

FIRST EMPIRE OF THE WORLD

SARGON I

BABYLONIA CENTRAL PART OF

MESOPOTAMIA

OLD BABYLONIAN

EMPIRE

HAMMURABI

ASSYRIA NORTHERN PART OF

MESOPOTAMIA

SCOURGE OF GODS

ASSURNASIRPALASHURBANIPAL

CHALDEA CENTRAL PART OF

MESOPOTAMIA

NEW BABYLONIAN

EMPIRE

NEBUCHADNEZZAR

Sargon of Akkad:The World’s First Empire

[Akkadians]

Sargon of Akkad:The World’s First Empire

[Akkadians]

Babylonian Empire

They overtook Sumerians around 2000 B.C.And they built capital, Babylon, on Euphrates

river

The Babylonian Empires

The Babylonian Empires

The most famous king of Babylonian Empire was Hammurabi [1792-1750 B.C.]

Famous Code of Law“the punishment

fits the crime” and “eye for an eye”

He took all the laws of the region’s city-states and unified them into one code. This helped unify the region.

Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C.

E.] CodeHammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 B. C.

E.] Code

Economy• Metal tools and weapons (bronze, iron)

• Increasing agricultural surplus (better tools, plows, irrigation)

• Increasing trade along rivers – traded with Egypt

• Development of the world’s first cities

• Specialization of labor

Religion• Polytheistic: Belief in Many

Gods (3,000!!!)• Gods could be angered at

any moment and to keep them happy Sumerians:–Built impressive ziggurats

or temples to sacrifice food, wine and animals

–Souls of the dead wandered in the land of no return

MORE ZIGGURATS!!!

Sumerian Society

Kings and Priests

Wealthy merchants

Ordinary Sumerian people

Slaves

Women• Could hold property• Join lower ranks of

priesthood• There were few women

scribes–Scholars think that girls

were not allowed to attend schools

IntellectualEpic of Gilgamesh• Myths and

legends recorded in this long poem

• One of the earliest works of literature in the world

GilgameshGilgamesh

•The Mesopotamians believed that the dead descended to a gloomy underworld.

•This Epic contains a different account of the “Great Flood”.

“Gilgamesh, whither are you wandering?

Life, which you look for, you will never find.

For when the gods created man, they let

Death be his share, and withheld life

In their own hands”

AchievementsScience and

Technology• Invented the wheel,

the sail, the plow• First to use bronze.• Developed system of

writing• Built irrigation

systems, buildings, surveyed flooded fields.

AchievementsScience and

Technology• Invented the wheel,

the sail, the plow• First to use bronze.• Developed system of

writing• Built irrigation

systems, buildings, surveyed flooded fields.

Egypt

Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.

Egypt Unites

• In the beginning, Egypt was separated into two kingdoms:–1. Lower Egypt–2. Upper Egypt

Lower Egypt

Upper Egypt

King Menes

• Established a capital, Memphis

• Established first Egyptian Dynasty

• Unites Upper and Lower Egypt

UnitedUnited lower and upper Egypt and wore a

crown that symbolized its united kingdom

Pharaohs• Egyptian kings = pharaohs• The Egyptians viewed their

pharaohs the same as the gods–KINGS WERE GODS

• Stood as center of religion as well as government and army

• Type of Government = Theocracy

Trade• By 3200 BC, Egyptians were

trading with the Mesopotamians• Also traded up and down the Nile

–Gold–Ivory–Cattle–Granite blocks

Religion• Polytheistic• 2,000 gods and

goddesses• Built huge temples

to honor gods• Believed in

afterlife–Osiris – god of the

dead

Video Link

Social• Very different from the city-

states of Mesopotamia• Egypt’s united kingdom

allowed–High degree of unity–Stability–Cultural continuity (staying the same)

Life in Egyptian SocietyPharaoh

Royal Advisor

Priests

Traders/Merchants

Slaves

Ordinary Citizens

Intellectual

• Developed writing = hieroglyphics–Pictographic writing system

• Developed written numbers for recording taxes–Addition, subtraction

Achievements• Knowledge in math = skillful

engineers–Pyramids–Palaces

• Egyptian Architects first to use stone columns in homes, palaces and temples

• 12 month, 365 day calendar from studying the stars–So accurate it was only 6 hours off from

today’s calendar year

Calendar/Time Piece

Geography• Nile River – 4,132 miles long, flows

northward • Every year in July the river flooded

REGULARLY leaving behind rich soil.

• The Nile is the longest river in the world!

• Forbidden Deserts on either side of the Nile = Natural barriers

Desert = Dry

Water = Fertile/Green