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Ancient River Valley Civilizations
- 1. Tigris and Euphrates Nile Huang He & Indus River Valley Civilizations AP World Mrs. Hals Unit 1 Part 2
- 2. Tigris-Euphrates Mesopotamia – meaning “land between rivers” (between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers) – fertile crescent – Modern day Iraq Succession of many civilizations in this area Sumerians are first – emerge ~3500 BCE – People arrive ~4000 BCE – Civilization from 3200 - 2000
- 4. City of Ur Fertile soil, flat, swampy land Winter flooding, summer droughts No defense, few resources (soil and reeds, no stone, wood or metal) Adapt: irrigation, mud bricks for city walls, trade through a broad network
- 5. Government Ruled by priests from Ziggurats Collect taxes (in goods, not money) Became absolute monarchies
- 6. Religion Polytheistic and superstitious Anu – God of Heaven Enlil – God of Clouds Ea – God of Water and Floods Top 3 followed in importance by Sun, Moon, and Stars – Individual gods of cities, temples, and the home were next in line Bottom – “Wicked Udugs” – Spirits of disease, misfortune, and trouble
- 7. Life, Death, and Change Sumerians Believe: – Man was nothing – Gods and demons should be feared – People need to earn gods’ protection and favor – Souls of the dead went to the “land of no return” – gloomy afterlife
- 8. Cultural Accomplishments Trade/barter network with nearby groups Irrigation to control the T&E Rivers Cuneiform – formed with a stylus and clay – Cuneiform – pictograms – Pictograms – ideograms – Ideograms – syllables – Reduces the number of characters from 2000-600
- 9. Women’s Rights Have rights in most occupations (but not education) Men still have ability to sell wives and children into slavery Men can divorce woman for any reason, women don’t have this right
- 10. Accomplishments cont. (cool inventions) Copper + Tin = Bronze Wheel Sailboat Plow Artisans and specialzation Nippur calendar (b/ms standard for most of ancient world) First complex institutions (government and religious – Gvt ideas diffuse to SW Asia
- 11. Success and Decline Sumerians were best at: – Adapting to the environment – Effective government and social organization to deal with problems Decline: – Constant warfare for 1000+ years, weakens cooperation and the Sumerian civilization – Eventually allow nomads to scale city walls, loot the streets, and conquer the cities
- 12. Babylonians Major City – Babylon Mesopotamian Civilization too! Conquer Mesopotamian region and spread Sumerian culture all over – Ziggarats, Cuneiform, irrigation, etc. – Geographic Situation? - same as Sumerians – 2000 BCE to 1550 BCE
- 13. Absolute monarchy ruled empire Polytheistic religion (like Sumer) – Marduk – supreme god who won a pwr struggle – View of life, death, etc. – same as Sumerians
- 15. Cultural Accomplishments “Enuma Elish” – world’s first epic poem, explanation of creation Hammurabi’s Code – King Hammurabi ~ 1750 BCE – First unified code of laws, list of 282 laws – 8 ft black stone – Justice and balance – Stern punishments – Death penalties for murder, theft, fraud, false accusations, sheltering runaway slaves, failure to obey royal orders, adultery, incest – Civil laws regulated prices, wages, commercial dealings, marital relationships, conditions of slavery, etc
- 16. Success and Decline Success – Adopted Sumerians patterns for civilization – Unified diverse peoples through consistent laws and a uniform culture Decline – But, increasingly powerful neighbors – Weaker kings and internal problems – Babylon collapsed into many smaller empires and civilizations for the next 700 years
- 17. Hittites
- 18. 1400 BCE – 1200 BCE ish. Learned to extract iron from ore Old city gates of the Iron weapons are harder and sharper than Hittite capital bronze or copper Iron is plentiful and cheaper So, the Hittites are armed and known as conquerors Eventually their iron info spreads across Asia, Africa, and Europe – Cue the Iron Age
- 19. Phoenicians Western end of Fertile Crescent, on Mediterranean Sea Natural resources? – Cedar trees – snails 1200 BCE to 700 BCE Religion? Polytheistic and similar to Sumer and Babylon Lots of city-states with absolute monarchies – Tyre is biggest, but each city-state competed for trade
- 20. Cultural Accomplishments Extensive trade networks – Snails with purple dye (60,000 snails = 1 lb) – Cedar wood – Imported wine, weapons, slaves, cloth, glass, ivory, and precious metals Sophisticated ships – Sails and oars – Probably circled Africa around 600 BCE Est. trading colonies – Carthage (Tunisia) and others Developed the first alphabet – Based on sounds, 22 shapes – Greeks, Romans, literacy rates
- 21. Success and Decline Success – Adapted well and applied technology (like ships) to meet their needs Decline – Overwhelmed by growing empires with more people and resources – Absorbed by bigger empires
- 22. Assyrians Northern Mesopotamia – capital at Ninevah Used iron weapons, fierce warriors – Merciless, lots of captives Resources? – Like Sumer 1200 BCE to 612 BCE (best? ~850 BCE) Ruled by “King of Kings” – City-states had rulers, but the King of Kings was above them all Religion – polytheistic, like Sumer
- 24. Cultural Accomplishments World’s strongest and best military to that point in history Ninevah – one of the grandest and largest cities in the world – “evil and wicked” – Jonah and the whale – World’s greatest library – Trade center for gold, ivory, and silver
- 25. Assurbanipal Last King of Kings – ~650 BCE Created library of 25,000 tablets (even foreign language dictionaries
- 26. Success and Decline Success – Expansive empire Great weapons, rule by terror, superior military – Israel and Judah paid tribute to prevent attack Assyrians attacked anyway, capture N. Israel and Judah (including Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple) 586 BCE Decline – Hebrews view their decline as God’s judgment on the cruel Assyrians – Empire collapsed as it grew too big and stretched too thin to govern
- 27. Chaldean Babylon II – 1,000 yrs after Hammurabi Conquer Assyrians and move capital from Ninevah to Babylon 600 BCE – 550 BCE Government? – absolute monarchy Religion – polytheistic, like Sumerians
- 28. Cultural Accomplishments Magnificent city of Babylon – Bricks inscribed “I am Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon” – Hanging Gardens of Babylon – built for his Queen – 7 story ziggurat – Walls wide enough to drive chariot on top Astrology and Astronomy – Improved calendar – Developed Zodiac (stars determine human destiny)
- 29. Nebuchadnezzar 605 BCE – 562 BCE Babylonian Captivity – – Believed that moving conquered people lessened chance of rebellion – When armies captured Jerusalem in 586, they pillaged the Temple, destroyed the city, and brought the 15,000 captured Jews to Babylon – Big milestone in Jewish history (Daniel), strengthens monotheism
- 33. Success – Strong charismatic ruler consolidated power with the military Decline – Collapsed upon Nebuchadnezzar’s death because of incompetent accessors – Rising Persian empire
- 34. Hebrews Settle in Palestine “Land of the Philistines” Surrounded by desert, but a green area with olive trees and palms near the Jordan River & the Sea of Galilee (in the north) Few natural resources
- 35. Roots traced back to 2000 BCE when Abraham left Ur Hebrew civilization arose ~ 1650 BCE Most of our historical knowledge comes from the Torah – (first 5 books of the Jewish scripture)
- 36. Government Jews were often ruled by other invading empires – They were even taken away from Palestine into “captivity” – They always maintained a desire and determination to return to their homeland
- 37. Religious Beliefs First religion to base itself on morality/ethics & internal standards (not nature). World’s first monotheistic religion Believed God of Abraham (called Yahweh) was not confined to one place – God everywhere and in all situations.
- 38. Finally different beliefs than the Sumerians! Serving God was of greatest importance. God had made a covenant with the Jews (his chosen people). Strongly in “social justice”; people have a duty to fight evil, injustice, & ignorance. Change was positive as they sought to create a better world with their emphasis on education, justice, and progress. Believe in “Heaven,” but their primary focus was on the “here & now” (not the afterlife). The importance of following Gods commandments/laws. God gave Moses the “Ten Commandments,” but they also followed many other holy laws and rituals. Mankind has an inherently sinful nature (the Genesis story of temptation & sin).
- 39. Cultural Accomplishments Ten Commandments Monotheism – the Hebrew scriptures laid a foundation for Christianity and even Islam Concept of social justice The “Hebrew” language The concept of a God of justice Emphasis on education and a belief that civilization & progress can be positive forces for change
- 40. Important People Abraham – the “Father of Nations” - from Ur - with whom God made the basic “covenant” Jacob (“Israel”) – Abraham’s grandson; his 12 sons would become the leaders of the “12 tribes” Noah – the dude with ark during the flood Moses – Jewish orphan, led the Hebrew “Exodus”, received the Ten Commandments atop Mount Sinai
- 41. The “Golden Age” of Israel (1020 – 922 BCE) which united most of the 12 tribes lasted less than 100 years under 3 major Kings – (Saul, David, and Solomon) – capital at Jerusalem – Solomon built the great Jewish temple from cedar wood trimmed with brass and gold (it was designed to house the Ark of the Covenant)
- 42. Hebrews were later conquered by the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, and Romans (the time of Jesus) – held to their belief in God and continued to hope for the Messiah. The Jewish people were eventually scattered all over the world (an event called the Diaspora) with the harsh rule of the Roman Empire and the expansion of Islam
- 43. Persians East Mesopotamia, modern-day Iran Height – all of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Asia Minor, part of Greece and India 550 BCE – 350 BCE
- 44. Monarchy divided into 20 provinces – Provinces by ethnicities and culture Own language, religion, most of their laws – Satrap, Tax Collector and Army Leader for each Province Wise, tolerant, and fair
- 45. Zoroastrianism Ahura Mazda v. Ariman – Good v. evil Each deity led vast spiritual armies constantly battling each other Essentially monotheistic – believed and worshipped one true and good God Avesta – collection of writings Beliefs preached by prophet Zoroaster ~600 BCE – Explained war, conquest, flooding, famine, and other evils, etc. Modern Day? – Some practicing Zoroastrians in Iran and India “Parsis”
- 46. Man is important Choice of good/evil in life determines life after death (heaven/hell) Emphasis on moral conduct Education and progress can be positive forces of change
- 47. Cultural Accomplishments Dealt wisely with diverse nationalities Royal Road – 1,677 miles with 111 posts – 1 week v. 3 mos – Political stability = tremendous increase in trade and cultural diffusion First to issue coins – Unified cultures – Improved trade
- 48. Rulers Cyrus – – The Jews called him “the anointed of the Lord.” (In 537, he allowed over 40,000 to return to Palestine). Darius – extended empire to India with the 10,000 Immortals – Created the Province System, Royal Road, and coined money – Only failure was inability to conquer Greece Xerxes – Persian Wars and 300
- 49. Success and Decline Eventually became too big and diverse to keep together Defeated by Greeks and Romans
- 50. Indus River Valley Harappan Society – Emerges 2500 BCE – Frustratingly little evidence – Indus and Saraswati Rivers – very powerful and unpredictable – ~2,000 BCE it was the biggest culture area in the world, stretching 500,000 sq miles – Running water, alphabet, artistic http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Civilt %C3%A0ValleIndoMappa.png seals, urban planning, uniform bricks, – Two famous cities Mohenjo-Daro Harappa
- 51. Huanghe China’s Yellow River Fairly isolated Politically well organized carefully-regulated irrigation, floods a continual concern Construct palaces and tombs By 2000 BCE, advanced technology and intellectual life included: – Riding horses – pottery – Skillful use of bronze – Iron introduced 1000 CE – Worked with coal – Ideographic symbols etched on bone – Astronomy
- 52. Shang ~1650 BCE – group called the Shang gain control of N. China Dominate until 1027 BCE Capital city at Anyang, (walled) Shang kings – controlled only a small area – Led noble warriors into battle (warrior kings) Loyal princes and nobles governed most of the land – Probably head of “clans” – the groups of families who claim a common ancestor Probably similar to the city-states of Sumer instead of the centralized gvt of the Egyptian pharaohs
- 53. Social Classes Royal family and class of noble warriors – Leather armor, bronze weapons, horse-drawn chariots Early Chinese cities support a class of artisans and merchants – Artisans – produced goods for nobles (bronze weapons, silk robes, jade jewelry) – Merchants – exchanged food and crafts made by local artisans Salt, cowrie shells, and other goods not in NE China Peasants – majority of Shang China – Farming villages, grueling lives, stone tools, maintaining dikes – Men pledged allegiance to their noble lords
- 54. Religious Beliefs Complex religious beiefs Many gods and spirits of nature Shang Di (top god) + mother goddess who brought plants and animals to Earth – King is link between people and Shang Di – Shang Di wouldn’t respond to mortal pleas, only spirits of the greatest mortals would relay pleas to Shang Di (like ancestors’ spirits) Prayers for victory in war, good harvests, etc. Offer sacrifices of food to the ancestors Yin and Yang – – Yin = Earth, darkness, and female forces – Yang = Heaven, light, and male forces – Delicate balance must be maintained
- 55. Interaction Begins By 1000 BCE… – Phoenicians were trading with Britain for metals – Chinese silk is reaching Egypt – Egypt fairly self-contained comparatively – Harappa and Mesopotamia trade – China didn’t influence these early river valley civilizations as much as they will later influence Korea, Japan, and Vietnam
- 56. Commonalities? Think… Which features of civilization did all four river valley civilizations develop on their own?
- 57. SPRITE! S – social structure P – political R - religion I – intellectual accomplishments T – technological advancements E - economic