Ancient Middle East

and Egypt

Chapter 2

SECTION 1:

CITY-STATES OF ANCIENT SUMER

A number of city-states developed in the Fertile Crescent (region in

the Middle East, named after its rich soil), and each new group that

developed made its own contribution to the history of the region

Geography influences Fertile Crescent civilization because of its

location {between two rivers: Tigris (N) and Euphrates(S)}

Ancient Greeks named this region Mesopotamia (land between two

rivers)

around 3000 BCE the world’s first civilization, Sumer, developed in

southeastern Mesopotamia

Organizing for Floods and Irrigation of the Tigris & Euphrates

Rivers were the focus of life

The Epic of Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian story first told in

Sumer, describes a flash flood that destroys the world– this was

a real concern! There is evidence of catastrophic floods in the

ancient days of the Fertile Crescent.

Geography Influences Fertile Crescent Civilization

Mapping Activity

1. Shade in the Fertile

Crescent on the map to

the right.

2. Shade Sumer in a different

color

3. Label the 2 rivers on the

map.

Northern River’s name…

Southern River’s name…

4. Why did civilizations grow

in this region?

Sumerian civilization takes shape: 12 City-States, a complex government, laws,

religion, social structure, public works, and a system of writing

Sumerians Practice Religion based on polytheism (worshiping many gods

who controlled every aspect of life) believing that gods acted like people

(ate, drank, married, and raised families); Sumerians also believed in the

afterlife

Ziggurats (a large, stepped platform) were built as religious temples

Sumerians Invent Writing (cuneiform) using wedge-shaped marks on a clay

tablet, and used writing in economics, myths, prayers, laws, and business

contracts (only a few knew how to write and were considered the smartest

people)

Goddesses important in Sumerian religion, so women held higher social

standing compared to later societies. However, never equal to men.

Lasting Legacy of Sumer: Cuneiform writing, astronomy (constellations we still

recognize today: Leo & Scorpion) and mathematics (number systems based on

6, dividing the hour into 60 minutes, and a circle into 360 degrees), and the Epic

of Gilgamesh

Sumerian Civilization Takes Shape

Chapter 2: Ancient Middle East and Egypt

Section 1: City-States of ancient Sumer

Main Idea #1: Sumer developed in the Fertile

Crescent in the Middle East

Main Idea #2: Sumer had all 7 characteristics of

a civilization

Main Idea #3: Sumerians were known for

astronomy and mathematics

SECTION 2: INVADERS,

TRADERS, AND EMPIRE

BUILDERS

Through thousands of years of war and peace, the people of the

Middle East built great empires and made long-lasting innovations.

First empires arise in Mesopotamia as powerful leaders created large, well-organized

empires

Sargon, the ruler of Akkad, builds the First Empire by conquering the Sumer city-

states

Hammurabi Brings Babylon to Power (reunifying Sumerian city-states following

Akkad Empire)

Establishing Civil Law creating and using Hammurabi’s law code

Defining Crime and Punishment focused on the concept of “an eye for an eye”

First Empires Arise in Mesopotamia

Conquests Bring New Empires and Ideas

Hittites Learn the Secret of Ironworking around 1400 BCE

(extracting iron from ore, and began the Iron Age)

Assyrian (lived on the upper Tigris River) Warriors Expand Ancient

Knowledge from 1350 BCE to 1100 BCE through warfare and trade

dominating Mesopotamia

Warfare was central to them- proud of conquests

However, rulers encouraged well-ordered society

Trade paid for splendid palaces in well-planned cities

New rules for royal household: Women of the palace were secluded,

wore veils in public.

Nebuchadnezzar Revives Babylon by taking over the Assyrians,

expanding the empire, and rebuilt many government buildings

(Ishtar Gate and the Hanging Gardens)

This hand-colored engraving, probably made in the

19th century after the first excavations in the Assyrian

capitals, depicts the fabled Hanging Gardens

According to one legend, Nebuchadnezzar II built the

Hanging Gardens for his Median wife, Queen Amytis,

because she missed the green hills and valleys of

her homeland

The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the

inner city of Babylon. It was excavated in

the early 20th century and a reconstruction

using original bricks is now shown in

the Pergamon Museum, Berlin

Originally the gate was considered one of

the Seven Wonders of the world until it

was replaced by the Lighthouse of

Alexandria in the 3rd century BC

What do you

SEE, THINK, WONDER

Persians establish empire in 539 BCE (spreading from Asia

Minor to India), taking over Babylon through Cyrus the Great’s

leadership

Persian kings promoted tolerance and acceptance of the people they

conquered

Darius I set up a bureaucracy , a complex system of government

He also united the empire: adapted law and drew up one set of laws for

the whole empire, had hundreds of miles of roads built or repaired

throughout empire, set up Persian coinage

Persian thinker Zoroaster taught about the idea of a single wise god in

constant conflict with a prince of lies and evil…similar to what would later

be seen in Christianity and Islam.

The Persians Establish Huge Empire

Phoenician Sea Traders

Contributions of Phoenician Sea Traders affected life

throughout the Middle East- they were a small state, but

important

Known for:

Expanding Manufacturing and Trade by making glass

and producing a purple dye called “Tyrian”, traded as

far away as Britain, Africa, and Spain

Establishing an Alphabet with 22 symbols what stood

for consonant sounds, Greeks will add vowel sounds,

and eventually develop into English

Mesopotamian Cultures Activity…

Culture in Mesopotamia you would choose to live in is…

______________________

Reason Why…

Reason Why…

Reason Why…

Chapter 2: Ancient Middle East and Egypt

Section 2: Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders

Main Idea #1: Empires, invaders, and traders helped

to create cultural diffusion

Main Idea #2: Babylon was known for its code of laws

(“eye for an eye”)

Main Idea #3: Persia was known for its massive size

Main Idea #4: Phoenicians were known for trade

SECTION 3: KINGDOM ON THE

NILE

Over time, a powerful civilization emerged that relied heavily on the

Nile river.

As the ancient Greek

historian Herodotus said,

“Egypt is wholly the gift of

the Nile” and Egypt

developed on the 10 miles

of black fertile farm land on

the banks of the Nile River

Yearly Floods Bring

Benefits of rich soil from

the highlands in

Ethiopia, and to control

the river Egyptian built

dikes, reservoirs, and

irrigation ditches to

control the flooding and

store water for the dry

season

Geography Helps Shape Egypt

Old Kingdom forms (2575-2130 BCE) creating a strong government as

Pharaohs ruled by means of a bureaucracy, and the Great Pyramids are

built and still stand at Giza, and tombs were considered the homes of the

dead

The Turbulent Middle Kingdom (1938 – 1630 BCE) was due to the lack of

consistency of the Nile, corruption , rebellions, and were taken over by the

Hyksos

New Kingdom (1539 – 1075 BCE) Egypt grows strong as powerful rulers

control Egypt: Hatshepsut , first female ruler and encouraged trade;

Thutmose III, great military general and extended Egypt’s land; Ramses II,

expanded Egypt’s land

Periods of Ancient Egypt

Chapter 2: Ancient Middle East and Egypt

Section 3: Kingdom on the Nile

Main Idea #1: The Nile provides life

Main Idea #2: Egyptian Empire has 2

regions (upper and lower)

Main Idea #3: Egyptian history has 3 parts

Early Kingdom – good / prosperous time

Middle Kingdom – bad / rough time

New Kingdom – good / prosperous time

SECTION 4: EGYPTIAN

CIVILIZATION

Religious beliefs deeply affected the lives of Egyptians. In addition,

scribes used the earliest forms of writing to record information, and

scholars and artists made advancements in science, art, and

literature.

Inscriptions on monuments and wall paintings gives us insight into Egyptian religon

Chief Gods and Goddesses were Amon-Re (lord of all gods) and the pharaoh is

considered to be human and a god who received his right to rule from Amon-Re

Most Egyptians related more to the god Osiris, the god of the dead and the judge

of souls seeking admission into the afterlife

How Egyptians Viewed the Afterlife- had nothing to do with what social class they

were in

Osiris would weigh the person’s dead heart against a feather, and worthy souls

went to the Happy Field of Food and sinners were fed to the crocodile-shaped

Eater of the Dead

Preparing the Dead for the Afterlife, which was believed to be like life on earth,

began with the dead taking their things with them, and having the body

mummified

Religion Shapes Life in Ancient Egypt

Egyptians Make Advances in Learning

through the use of scribes who taught

math, medicine, and engineering skills

(To be a scribe was to live the good life

and have one of the top jobs)

Keeping Written Records began

with hieroglyphics (symbols or

pictures called hieroglyphs represent

objects, concepts, or sounds), then

around the same time hieratic writing

was developed (everyday use script,

and a cursive form), demotic

replaced both hieroglyphics and

hieratic (besides writing on walls,

papyrus was used)

The Clues of the Rosetta Stone

helped scholars understand

hieroglyphics when Jean

Champollion deciphered the

meanings from the Rosetta Stone

(Rosetta Stone had the same

passage written in hieroglyphics,

demotic, and Greek)

Egyptians Develop Arts and Literature which helps

give us an idea of life and values

Egyptian Arts include statues, wall paintings, and

carvings of gods and pharaohs

Egyptian Literature

The oldest literature includes hymns and prayers

to the god, love poems, and proverbs

Folk tale were popular

Chapter 2: Ancient Middle East and Egypt

Section 4:Egyptian Civilization

Main Idea #1: Egyptians were polytheistic,

and Pharaoh was considered a god and a

human

Main Idea #2: Egyptian afterlife focused on

how a person lived their life

Main Idea #3: Egyptian Society: pharaoh, the

royal family, government / high priests,

merchants, scribes, artisans, and the

peasants and slaves

SECTION 5: THE ROOTS OF

JUDAISM

The present-day nation of Israel lies at the far western end of the

Fertile Crescent, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

About 4,000 years ago, ancient Israelis developed the religion of

Judaism, which is today one of the world’s major faiths.

Roots of Judaism are based in present-day Israel

The Ancient Israelites (Hebrews) Shape a Unique Belief System of monotheism

(belief in one god)

Saw history and faith as interconnected; historical events reflected God’s plan

events were recorded in the Torah with 24 books (includes the first 5 books of the

Bible), and laws and customs were in the Talmud

The Ancient Israelites started with Abraham who lived near Ur around 2000 BCE and

he and his family migrated to Canaan, and today he is considered the father of the

Israelite people

God Makes a Covenant (promise) With the Israelites and Abraham focusing on 2

main concepts: 1. God declared he would have a special relationship with

Abraham and his descendants, and 2. God declared Canaan would one day

belong to the Israelites (As a result, Canaan is viewed as the “promised land”)

Moses would renew God’s covenant with the Israelites and led them out of

Egypt and back into Canaan- many Israelites had gone to Egypt due to

famine, where they were then enslaved.

The Kingdom of Israel was Established by David, David’s son Solomon took over

and worked to turn Jerusalem into an impressive capital

Israel Suffers Division and Conquest as high taxes and forced labor eventually

created a split (Israel in the north, and Judah in the South)

Israel captured by Assyrians, and Judah captured by Babylon

Judaism Teaches About Law and Morality using a patriarchal society, and women

had a few legal rights

The Ten Commandments (laws God gave the people) as a Guide

First 4 stress religious duties (like keeping the Sabbath), and the rest

address conduct toward others

Teaching an Ethical Worldview: Prophets emerged who interpreted God’s will and reminded people of their duties (strong to protect

the weak, and all people are equal before God)

Jews saw their leaders as fully human and bound to obey God’s law

Jews Maintain Their Beliefs Over Time and Place during a time of Dispora

(dispersion)

Judaism Activity…

Fact #1

Judaism

Fact #2

Fact #5

Fact #4

Fact #3

Chapter 2: Ancient Middle East and Egypt

Section 5: Roots of Judaism

Main Idea #1: Judaism is monotheism

Main Idea #2: Torah is the holy book, and

laws and customs were in the Talmud

Main Idea #3: Judaism began with

Abraham, Moses leads, Kingdom of Israel

is established and then splits