Essential Questions: Why are rivers important in a civilization? Why is writing important?
I. Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile
A. The Land: Its Geography and Importance
1. Nile River
a. The Nile is the longest river in the world (4,160 miles)
b. The ancient Egyptians built their civilization along a 750-mile stretch of the Nile
c. The Nile�s south/north flow allowed the people to move goods upland
-In addition, prevailing winds blowing north/south made it possible for boats to sail southward
d. The river also aided farming
-water for crops and fertile soil
2. Other Natural Advantages
a. The river valley provided the perfect weather to grow a variety of crops
-sunny and frost free
b. The river was an excellent pathway for travel and trade, linking all parts of the Nile Valley
II. Early Steps Toward Civilization
A. Hunter gatherer groups moved into the Nile Valley in about 12,000 BC
B. Farming settlements began in the Neolithic Period in about 6000 BC
C. By about 3000 BC, the Nile River people had developed hieroglyphics or a form of writing.
1. More than 600 signs, pictures, symbols were used to represent words and sounds
2. At first, the Egyptians carved hieroglyphics into stone but eventually
transcribed words on papyrus � a plant cut into long thin slices and moistened together.
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Middle East (Ancient Kingdoms, cont.)
Essential Questions: How is a dynasty different from a democracy? What is an empire?
III. The Egyptian Kingdoms
A. Early History
1. After 3200 BC, Menes united all of Egypt into one kingdom
a. Prior to this, Egypt was made up of two kingdoms (Lower Egypt
and Upper Egypt
b. Menes created a dynasty or family of rulers
-These rulers were regarded as gods and later took the title of pharaoh
-Pharaohs had absolute or unlimited power
B. The Old Kingdom
1. Existed from about 2680 BC to about 2180 BC
a. Important developments in arts and science
-The Great Sphinx and pyramids
2. Two classes of society
a. Lower class (peasants and farmers)
b. Upper class or nobles (pharaoh, priests and royal family
-Toward the end of the Old Kingdom, the pharaohs grew weaker
C. The Middle Kingdom
1. Existed from about 2050 BC to about 1780 BC
a. A new line of pharaohs reunited Egypt and returned her to greatness
b. However, their power was again weakened by the nobles
2. Hyksos or Asian foreigners invaded and conquered Egypt
a. In about 1650 BC much of Egypt fell under the rule of the Hyksos
horse drawn chariots
D. The New Kingdom
1. Existed from about 1570 BC to about 1080 BC
a. Eventually leaders in Egypt drove the Hyksos out of the country
2. A new line of pharaohs again reunited Egypt
a. For time, the pharaohs had absolute power and built an empire.
3. Amenhotep IV ruled from 1380 BC to 1326 BC
a. Prior to Amenhotep, the Egyptians believed in many gods or
polytheism
b. Amenhotep IV believed in only one god or monotheism
-For Amenhotep, that god was the sun
-This belief conflicted with the priests who didn�t want to lose their
power
E. Egypt�s Decline
1. A series of invasions from the Assyrians, Nubians, and Persians weakened
Egypt
a. By early 300 BC, rule in Egypt by Egyptians came to an end
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Middle East (Egyptian Life and Culture)
Essential Questions: What were the Egyptian achievements in the arts and architecture? How did the Egyptians express their religious beliefs? How was farming and trade carried out in Egypt?
I. Egyptian Life and Culture
A. The Achievements of Ancient Egypt
1. Architecture and the Arts
a. Pyramids
-They were built as tombs to honor the pharaoh
-more than 2 million blocks were used in the construction
2. Science, Math, and Medicine
a. Calendar
b. Developed a math system based on ten
-They used fractions and whole numbers
-The Egyptians also used geometry to build the pyramids
c. Medicine
-Most treatments for diseases involved �magic spells� or herbs
-They preserved bodies after death
B. Education and Religion
1. Education
a. Scribes or clerks learned to read and write so they could work for the
government
-Religion played an important part in education
-Schools were usually attached to temples
2. The Gods
a. Gods were worshiped throughout Egypt
-Amon was the creator (identified with the sun)
-Osiris judged people after death (identified with the Nile)
-Isis was the goddess of the royal throne
3. The Afterlife
a. Egyptians believed that the body had to be preserved to make life
after death possible
-Mummificaton made this process possible
C. Society and Economy
1. Farming
a. Farms were divided into large estates
-Peasants did most of the work, yet they received little in return
-The pharaoh owned the land and collected most of the crops
as rent and taxes
2. Trade
a. Trade was tightly controlled by the government.
-With the large surplus, the Egyptians traded food with other
peoples
b. Merchants in caravans traveled over long distances (Asia, Africa) to
trade their goods
c. Egyptians also traded by sea
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Middle East (Sumerian Civilization)
Essential Questions: What did the Sumerian people achieve? What was life like in Sumerian society?
I. Sumerian Civilization
A. The Land: Its Geography and Importance
1. Location
a. A strip of fertile land begins at the isthmus of Suez and arcs
through southwest Asia to the Persian Gulf.
-Also know as the Fertile Crescent because the area is so well
suited for farming (pg. 30)
b. The Tigris and Euphrates are major geographical features of the Fertile Crescent
-The valley between the two rivers is often called Mesopotamia
-Like the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates flood over the surrounding land
-Early Neolithic peoples settled in this area called Sumer
B. Sumer and its Achievements
1. Sumerian writing
a. Sumerians wrote with a stylus by pressing marks into clay tablets
-Today we call these wedge shaped marks cuneiform
2. Architecture and Science
a. The Sumerians also invented several architectural designs
-The arch and the wheel
-Temples known as ziggurats were made out of baked layers of clay
C. Sumerian Society
1. Government and Society
a. Developed a form of community called a city-state
-A city-state included a town or city and the surrounding land controlled by it
b. The people believed that much of the land belonged to one or more gods
-Eventually, war leaders became kings and ruled the land
c. Kings, high priests and nobles were at the top of Sumerian society
-low priests, merchants, and scholars
-peasant farmers and slaves
2. Farming and Trade
a. Most Sumerians farmed (grew dates, grains and vegetables)
-Also raised animals
-The surplus foods allowed many people to work as artisans and merchants
3. Education and Religion
a. Only upper class boys and girls attended school
b. Like the Egyptians, the Sumerians practiced polytheism
-Their gods were identified with forces of nature and heavenly bodies (sun, moon, storms, and water)
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Middle East (Empires of the Fertile Crescent)
Essential Questions: Why were the Sumerians attacked by outsiders? What were some of the characteristics of
Babylonian society?
I. Empires of the Fertile Crescent
A. The Akkadians
1. Around 2330 B.C., the Akkadians attacked and conquered the Sumerians
2. Sargon, who ruled from 2334 B.C. to 2279 B.C., established a great empire
that reached as far west as the Mediterranean Sea
a. The empire lasted 150 years
b. When the reign ended, Sumerian city-states once again prospered
B. The Babylonians
1. In about 1792 B.C., Hammurabi came to power in Babylon.
a. He was a great military and political leader
b. Code of Hammurabi
-The Code of Hammurabi concerned all aspects of life in Babylon
-Breaking the code resulted in harsh punishments (eye for an eye)
2. Babylonian Culture
a. In many ways the Babylonian culture resembled Sumer
-They Farmed
-They kept domestic animals
-They were active traders
3. Religion
a. The Babylonians adopted many Sumerian beliefs
-The Babylonians made sacrifices to their gods for favors like a
good harvest or success in business
C. Other Conquerors
1. The Hittites
a. Warlike people who invaded the Tigris-Euphrates Valley from Asia
Minor around the 1600's B.C.
b. The Hittites remained a powerful force until about 1200 B.C.
2. The Assyrians
a. Between 900 B.C. and 650 B.C., the Assyrians expanded their
power across the Fertile Crescent
b. Fierce effective warriors who used terror to control their enemies
-They frequently enslaved the people they conquered
-They also killed captured enemy soldiers
c. The Assyrians were one of the first people to effectively govern a
large area
3. The Chaldeans
a. Under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar, (605 B.C. - 562 B.C.) the
Chaldeans conquered most of the Fertile Crescent
b. Babylon once again became a large and wealthy city
c. The Chaldeans were skilled in astronomy and math
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Middle East (Empires of the Fertile Crescent cont.)
Essential Questions: What were the achievements of the Persians? How would you describe the Persian religion?
II. Other Conquerors
A. The Persians
1. In 850 B.C. the Persians migrated into what is now present day Iran
2. In about 550 B.C., Cyrus the Great took control of Iran, then
eventually captured Babylon and the rest of the Fertile Crescent and Asia Minor
a. Cyrus and later rulers, including Darius I and his son Xerxes I
expanded Persian rule even more
3. Persian government
a. The kings were effective rulers and great generals
b.They collected taxes and treated people fairly
c. They allowed conquered people to keep their own religion
-The Persians treated the people they conquered better than earlier empires had
d. The Persians built roads to connect the cities
-These roads helped link the sprawling city together, allowing the
different cultures in the empire to exchange customs, goods and ideas
4. Persian religion
a. At first, the Persians worshiped many gods, then in about 600 B.C the
teachings of the great prophet Zoroaster changed their beliefs
-Zoroaster taught that on earth people receive training for a future life
-Forces of good and evil always do battle with each other
-Those who chose good would be rewarded with eternal blessing
and those who chose evil would be punished
-The teachings of Zoroaster are known as Zoroastrianism
5. The decline of the Persians
a. The Persians king who followed Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes lacked
the leadership abilities
-Eventually the empire lost it strength
-In 331 B.C. the Persians were crushed by Greek forces led by Alexander the Great