Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus River Valley, Chaina

1. Unit 1 Notes

2. Day 1 - Mesopotamia

3. Mesopotamia (Fertile Crescent)
Area between the Tigris River and Euphrates River
– unpredictable flooding
– no natural boundaries
– limited natural resources
– women had rights
•3 General Areas
– Assyria
– Akkad
– Sumer

4. Government
• City-States – a city with political and
economical control over the surrounding
countryside
– Surrounded by walls

5. Ziggurat
• Most prominent
building in the
city and was
dedicated to the
chief god or
goddess

6. Religion
• Polytheistic – belief in many Gods
• Theocracy – government by divine authority
– Sumerians believed that the gods ruled the cities
– Kings ruled the cites and derived their power from
the gods

7. Economy and Society
• Mesopotamians were well known for their
metal work and woolen textiles
• They traded with other civilizations such as
India and Egypt for fish, barley, and wheat

8. First Empire
• Sargon of Akkad
– From Akkad; a city-state north of Sumer
– Long adopted most Sumerian aspects
– Created 1st Empire: brings together several
peoples, nations, or previously independent states
under control of one ruler.

9. Hammurabi’s Code
• The Code of Hammurabi is one
of the oldest known set of laws
in human history.
• Based on a system of strict
justice
• Penalties for breaking these
laws were severe and varied
based on your social class
• “An Eye for an Eye”
• Men have more rights than
women

10. Cuneiform
• Cuneiform scriptis one of the earliest
known systems of writing distinguished by
its wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets.
• Primarily used for record keeping
– Scribes
– Teachers

11. Cuneiform

12. Cuneiform

13. • The Epic of Gilgamesh,
an epic poem from
Mesopotamia is
considered the world's
first truly great work of
literature.
The Epic of Gilgamesh

14. Mesopotamia
A. Government: city-states
• like independent countries
B. Accomplishments:
1. Hammurabi’s Code
2. The Wheel
3. Cuneiform
4. Ziggurats
C. Religion: polytheism
• belief in more than one god
• Theocracy – government by divine authority
D. Decline: overtaken by new groups/breaks up

15. Judaism
• The first monotheistic religion forms in
Mesopotamia – Judaism

16. Judaism Develops
• Palestine: trade crossroads for many peoples
• Canaan: “Promised Land” of the Hebrews (Jews)
• Abraham
1. “Father” of the Hebrew people
2. Torah: first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible
3. Monotheism: belief in ONE god
4. Covenant: promise between God and Abraham

17. Judaism Develops
• The Exodus – Israelites
escape from slavery in
Egypt
• Moses – led the Israelites
out of Egypt and delivered
the ten commandments
• Ten Commandments – Set
of laws delivered to Moses
by God

18. Day 2 - Egypt

19. Egypt
• Along Nile River
• Natural Desert Barriers
• Upper and Lower Egypt
– Upper is south
– Lower is north, near Med. Sea, includes delta (100 miles
before Med. Sea, broad, marshy, triangle area, of silt at
river mouth.)
• Hierarchy of classes
• Women had rights

20. Egypt - Government
• Ruled by Pharaohs
– Pharaohs received there authority to
rule from the Gods
• Pharaohs were considered living
Gods
• Ruled with Absolute Power
• Vizier - leading government official
in ancient Egypt

21. Egypt - Religion
• Polytheistic
– Land Gods
• Osiris and Isis
– Sun Gods
• Emperor – Son of Re

22. Egyptian History
• Divided into three eras
– Old Kingdom (2700 BCE – 2200 BCE)
– Middle Kingdom (2050 BCE – 1652 BCE)
– New Kingdom (1567 BCE – 1085 BCE)
• Begins around 3100 BCE
– Menes unites the upper and lower kingdom
creates first dynasty

23. Old Kingdom
• Era of prosperity and splendor
• Pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom
– Built as burial grounds for Pharaohs
– Stocked with everything that they would need in the afterlife
• Sphinx – guards the Great Pyramids of Giza
– Body of a Lion
– Head of a Human
• Mummification – slowly drying a body to prevent
decomposition

24. Middle Kingdom - (2050 BCE – 1652 BCE)
• Considered the “Golden Age”
• Expanded the Empire
– Sent troops to Palestine and Syria
• Pharaohs were no longer seen as Gods but
Shepherds
• Projects included:
– Connecting Nile and Red Sea
– Drained Swamplands to create more farm land

25. Empires Develop
New Kingdom of Egypt
1. Hyksos ruled Egypt from 1640 -1570 B.C.
2. During this time, Hebrews settled Egypt
3. Series of rulers began to restore power (kicked
the Hyksos out!)
• Hebrews stayed and were forced into slavery in Egypt

26. New Kingdom - (1567 BCE – 1085 BCE)
• Most Powerful –
Militaristic
• Hatshepsut 1st Women
Pharaoh
• Thutmose III – Led 17
military campaigns,
expanding into
Mesopotamia
• King Tutankhamen
• Ramses II
• Cleopatra

27. Hieroglyphics
• Created around 3000 BCE
• Used pictures and abstract forms – Highly
specific

28. New Kingdom Declines
• Egypt suffered invasions from “Sea Peoples”,
tribes of Palestine, and Libyan raids.
• Egyptian Empire broke apart

29. Egypt
A. Government: Theocracy/Pharaohs
– Rule is based on religion; run God-kings
B. Religion: Polytheistic
C. Accomplishments:
– Hieroglyphics: picture writing
– Pyramids
– Calendar
– System of numbers/geometry (engineers and architects)
– Medicine
D. Decline: Pharaohs lose power

30. Day 3 – Indus River Valley

31. Sea People
Phoenicians:
• Most powerful sea traders along with the Minoans
• Alphabet is their greatest legacy - Phonics

32. Phoenician Alphabet
• Phoenicians
simplified their
writing by using 22
different signs to
represent the
sounds of their
speech
• Eventually passed
on to the Greeks
and eventually the
Romans – which we
still use today

33. Indo-Europeans Migrate
• Indo-Europeans: group of nomadic peoples; came from the
Steppes; ancestors of many modern languages
• Hittite Empire: lived in Anatolia, excelled in technology of war
(esp. chariots)
– 1st civilization to use Iron
• Aryans: lived between the Caspian and Aral Seas
– Vedas: four collections of prayers, magical spells, and instructions for
performing rituals
– Castes: social system of Aryans

34. Empires Develop
Assyrian Empire
• Through war, and use of iron
weapons, created empire
• Glorified military strength
• Peak of empire included all of the
Fertile Crescent and Egypt
• Laid waste to conquered lands
• Eventually falls to Chaldeans who
make Babylon their capital.

35. Empires Develop
Persian Empire – Unified by Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE
• Over took the Babylonians and took complete control of
Mesopotamia
• Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem
• Based on tolerance and diplomacy (instead of war)
• Cyrus: King who was a military genius; controlled land from the Indus
River to Anatolia
• Kind towards conquered peoples
• Allowed NO looting and burning
• Honored local customs
• Allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem

36. Empires Develop
• His successors would expand the Empire form the Indus River
all the way into Europe and Greece and as far south as Egypt
• Darius would help strengthen the gov’t by dividing the land into
20 provinces to govern with satraps (ruled locally)
• Roads and coins promoted trade that helped hold the empire
together. (Royal Road)

37. Decline of the Persians
• The empire weakens over time because of
internal struggle over the thrown.
• Six of the nine rulers after Darius were
murdered over competition for the throne
• Eventually Alexander the Great defeats the
Persians and takes control of their lands.

38. Persian Religion
Zoroaster: Persian prophet
who founded Zoroastrianism
• Taught belief in one god
• Earth is a battleground with a
great struggle between good
and evil
• Ahuramazda (the “Wise Lord”)
was supreme but not
unopposed
• Shares concept of Satan and
angels with Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam.
• Writings were written down in
the Zend Avesta the sacred
book of Zoroastrianism

39. Indus River Valley
• Indian Subcontinent
• Surrounded by mountains: Hindu Kush, Karakorum,
and Himalayan ranges
• Between Indus and Ganges Rivers
• Monsoons: seasonal winds from mid-June to Oct.
winds shift and blow east (from SW) bring rains

40. Indus River Valley
• Cities were carefully planned on a grid like
pattern
– Broad streets running North and South, while
smaller streets ran East and West
– Cities were divided into large walled
neighborhoods
– Had an advanced drainage system where waste
water was taken out of the city by underground
drains and carried to sewer pits outside the city
walls

41. Indus River Valley
• Government – Theocracy
– Religion and political power were closely linked
(the royal palace and the Holy Temple were the
same building)

42. The Aryans
• The Aryans came to the Indus River Valley
from the Steppes Region and conquered the
region.
– They brought with them new farming techniques
– The Aryans had no written language but
eventually developed the a writing system known
as Sanskrit around 1000 BCE
– The Conquest of the Aryans also brought the
Caste System to India

43. The Caste System
• The Caste System was
a set of rigid social
categories that
determined not only a
person’s occupation
and economic
potential but also his
or her position in
society

44. Hinduism
• a collection of beliefs; seeks to achieve moksha:
liberation from desires and suffering
– Teach from Vedas (became Upanishads once written
down)
– Reincarnation: individual soul or spirit is born again until
achieves moksha
– Karma: good or bad deeds
• Strengthened caste system
– Dhrma – divine law, requires people to do their duties
– Brahman: world soul seen in 3 main gods

45. • Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha
Gautama (Buddha: enlightened one)
• Went out seeking the cure for human
suffering
– Became an ascetic
– Eventually turned to the ideas of meditation
– While sitting under a tree the Buddha reached
enlightenment as the meaning of life
– Spent the rest of his life preaching his message
Buddhism

46. Buddhism
• Achieving wisdom is a key step to achieving
Nirvana or ultimate reality
• Four Noble Truths:
1. Life is filled with suffering and sorrow
2. The cause of all suffering is people’s selfish desire
for the temporary pleasures of this world
3. The way to end all suffering is to end all desires
4. The way to overcome such desires and attain
enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path,
which is called the Middle Way b/t desires and
self-denial

47. Buddhism
• Eightfold Path: guide to behavior mastered
one step at a time, over many lifetimes
• Originated in India, spread worldwide
• Siddhartha accepted the ideas of
Reincarnation but rejected the ideas of the
Caste System
• TRADE played a crucial role in the spread of
Buddhism.

48. Mauryan Dynasty
• Founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 324 BCE
• He helped drive out the foreign forces and
established the capital along the Ganges river
• Divided the Empire into providences that were
ruled by Governors
• VERY PARANIOD!!!!

49. Ashoka
• Grandson of Chandragupta
• Considered the greatest ruler
of the Mauryan empire
• Converts to Buddhism and used these ideas to
rule
• After his death the empire declines into a
period of chaos

50. Indus River Valley
A. Government: Theocracy
B. Religion: Hinduism
C. Accomplishments:
• Language—Sanskirt
• City-planning/grids
D. Decline: earthquakes and floods alter Indus
River; trade became impossible

51. Day 4 - China

52. China
• Natural Barriers isolate China
 Yellow Sea, Pacific Ocean, East China Sea (East), Mt ranges
and deserts dominate 2/3 of its land mass, Taklimakan
Desert and Plateau of Tibet (West), Himalayas (SW), Gobi
Desert and Mongolian Plateau (North)—No trade
• Huang He River (Yellow River) and Chiang Jiang River
(Yangtze)
• Family more important than individual
• Women have no rights; considered inferior
• Hierarchy of classes

53. The Shang Dynasty
• 2nd Dynasty in Chinese history (1750 – 1122 BCE)
• Mostly a farming civilization ruled by the
aristocracy
• Built huge city walls – ruled by Kings
• Practiced Ancestor worship – the practice of
burning replicas of physical objects to accompany
the departed on their journey to the
afterlife

54. The Zhou Dynasty
• Began as a revolt against the Shang rulers
• Zhou rule would last for almost 900 years
• Still ruled by a king
– Mandate of Heaven – it was believed that order
was kept in the universe through the King, thus he
ruled over all humanity

55. Zhou Dynasty
• The King was not a representative of Heaven
• It was the King’s duty to rule the proper
“Way” called the Dao.
• If a natural disaster occurred or crops failed
the King could be overthrown and replaced
• Led to a “right of revolution” mentality
– Only way to determine who the proper King was,
was to fight.

56. Life during the Zhou
• Trade was very prominent during this time
• New Technologies
– Irrigation was introduced into farming
– Canals were built to control the flow of water
– Improved farming method allowed the Zhou
dynasty to grow to 50 Million people
– The most important crop grown in China was Silk
• The making a silk was a highly regarded secret

57. The Family
• The family is the basic economic and social unit
• Filial piety – it was the duty of the family to put
the needs of the elder males in front of their
own

58. The Fall of the Zhou
• The empire was divided into territories to
more easily rule
• Some of the territories became to powerful
and it led to Civil War
• In 403 BCE a the “Period of Warring States”
breaks out
– Iron is introduced
– Calvary units
– Crossbow

59. Confucius
• China’s first teacher – up until the 20th century
school children studied the saying of Confucius
• He was upset by the violence and moral decay
• Traveled around China trying to convince
political leaders to follow his ways
• Established Confucianism
– The system of Confucian
ideas

60. Confucianism
• His whole mission became how to restore order
in China
• His interest were not spiritual but political/ethical
• Two elements of Confucianism
– Dao or duty – people had to put the interest of the
family ahead of their own
– Everyone should be governed by the Five Constant
• Parent – Child
• Husband – Wife
• Sibling – Younger Sibling
• Older Friend – Younger Friend
• Ruler - Subject

61. Other Philosophies
– Daoism: philosophy of Laozi; taught that people
should be guided by an invisible force known as the
Dao.
• Tries to set proper way of living for the people
– Legalism: proposed that humans were evil by nature
and they could only be controlled by harsh laws and
stiff punishments.
• Believed that a strong leader was needed to create an
ideal society

62. Qin Dynasty
• Created a new dynasty in 221 BCE
• Drastically changed Chinese Philosophy – adopted
Legalism as the gov’t’s official policy
• Created a gov’t where that was constantly checked
for corruption
• Created a single monetary system and built roads
connecting the Empire

63. The Great Wall of China
• The great wall was built to keep out invaders
from the North (Mongolians)

64. China
1. Government: Monarchy (Dynasties)
– Rule by one
– Mandate of Heaven
2. Accomplishments:
– Chinese characters (written language)
– Roads and canals
– Coined money
– Cast iron weapons (not seen elsewhere until
middle ages)
3. Religion: polytheism
– family spirits consulted supreme gods
4. Decline: Nomads attack and kill monarch
– Enter “period of warring states”