Download - The Ancient Middle East
The first three thousand years of Western history began in two great river-valleys
Mesopotamia in southwest Asia Egypt in upper Africa
Agriculture and the first cities were born in these regions These two regions founded scientific and mathematical
knowledge, architectural advancements, legal systems, forms of government, and religious systems
These cultures were also responsible for the world’s first writing systems
The Ancient Middle East
Mesopotamia means “land between the rivers”Today this region is most of Iraq and parts of
Iran, Turkey, and SyriaThis area is also known as the Fertile CrescentIt is so named because of the agriculturally rich
land This rich soil is watered by two major rivers
TigrisEuphrates
Mesopotamian Literature
The Sumerians were the first people to inhabit Mesopotamia
These people were nomadic and settled in Sumner between 5000 and 4000 BC
The Sumerians dug canals to irrigate the crops
They used mud to build their houses because there was no stone or timber in the area
They also used the mud for pottery and clay tablets
Sumerians
On the tablets, the Sumerians recorded their laws, financial transactions, and literature
The Sumerians lived in city-states- a large town or city and all its surrounding land
These city-states were laid out around great pyramid-like temples called ziggurats
Ziggurats were six or seven stories high, layered like a wedding cake, and each level was brightly painted a different color
A Priest-King lived in each Ziggurat
Sumerian Ziggurat
The Priest-King was believed to be the earthly representation of a local god
Some city-states had populations in the tens of thousands
Most city-states were in sight of each other, however, each one preferred to remain separated
For this reason, the Sumerians never formed a centralized government
Priest-Kings
Egyptian drawing of Priest-King
The Sumerians were known for their beautiful metalwork and sculpture
They developed a mathematical system with a number base of 60
They also devised a very precise twelve-month calendar based on the cycles of the moon
Their most important invention was the world’s oldest system of writing: Cuneiform
Cuneiform is a type of wedge writing using a stylus, or pointed stick on wet clay tablets
Artistic and Scientific Achievements
Sometime before 2000 BC, the Sumerians were conquered by a Semitic people who built a capital city on the banks of the Euphrates River
The city was called Babylon which means “gate of the gods”
The people of Babylon became known as Babylonians
Under the Babylonians, the Sumerians lost all identity
The Babylonians took everything that the Sumerians had done , adopted it, translated it into their language (Akkadian), and took credit for all of it
Fall of Sumeria
Around 1792 BC, under the reign of Hammurabi, Babylon became the religious and cultural center of western Asia
The Code of Hammurabi was a collection of 282 laws that controlled every aspect of Babylonian life, from building codes to marriage and divorce
The code was based on a concept of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” and breaking any of the laws could result in death
Hammurabi
Hammurabi Bust
In 900 BC, the Assyrians, a fiercely warlike people, came into Mesopotamia
They built their capital city on the banks of the Tigris and called it Nineveh
They created a magnificent library containing the clay tablets of Sumerian and Babylonian literature
Over time, the library of Nineveh fell into decay and became buried under the earth
In the 19th century, archeologists began to dig up the remains of the library
The Library of Nineveh
Library of Nineveh
Excavated Ruins of the Library
In 612 BC, the Assyrians were overthrown and Babylon rose again
Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler who rebuilt Babylon
The city became famous for its Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the World
Babylon was also known for a great ziggurat that historians have identified as the biblical Tower of Babel
“Babel” was the Hebrew name for Babylon
The Rebirth of Babylon
Tower of Babel
Babylon fell to Cyrus the Great of Persia in 539 BC
It remained a center of trade and culture for several centuries, until a new port was established on the Euphrates
After that, Babylon fell into ruins
The Fall of Babylon
Ancient Egypt existed for almost three thousand years
Egypt is also named “the gift of the Nile”The Nile River served the same purpose in
Egypt that the Tigris and Euphrates served in Mesopotamia
The Nile provided the water source necessary for fertilizing crops in the middle of the Sahara Desert
It also made Egypt a thriving trade community
Egyptian Literature
The Nile also provided PapyrusPapyrus is a reed that grows along the banks
of the Nile RiverThe Egyptians developed an early form of
paper from these reedsThe etymology of the word paper comes from papyrus
Using papyrus, Egyptians kept written records and shared ideas and literature
Papyrus and Paper
Egyptian civilization survived for more than twenty-seven centuries under thirty-one dynasties
Dynasties are successive ruling familiesThe greatest years of the Egyptian civilization
are divided into three erasThe Old Kingdom ( 2700-2200BC) – pyramids
are constructed; autobiographies and prayersThe Middle Kingdom (2000-1800BC)- Egypt
expanded political power and economy; hymns and songs
The New Kingdom (1600-1100 BC)- peak of political power; period known for lyric love poems
Twenty-Seven Centuries
Pharaoh
Priests and Scribes, Merchants, Professionals
Workers, Peasants, Slaves
Social Structure
The Pharaoh was not only a political leader but also a spiritual leader
He was seen as a godIt was the pharaoh’s destiny to live with the
gods after deathThe pyramids were built to ease the
pharaoh’s journey to the afterlifeThey contained the pharaoh’s body and his
earthly possessions
Role of the Pharaoh
Hieroglyphs- one of the earliest systems of writing created by the Egyptians
A fascination with death pervaded Egyptian culture
The Cult of the Dead were a group of Egyptians who protected the Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead , considered religious literature, was a “travelers guide” to the afterlife, containing everything that the deceased needed to have or know after death
Literature and the Cult of the Dead