The Ancient Near EastThe Ancient Near East

The Birth of Civilization and the The Birth of Civilization and the Origins of Life in the Ancient Near Origins of Life in the Ancient Near

EastEast

I. The Birth of Civilization in I. The Birth of Civilization in Western AsiaWestern Asia

• Cities vs. Villages• Earliest cities emerge

in Mesopotamia• Importance of

cooperation in irrigation

• Militarism produced rulers

• The role of religion

I. The Birth of Civilization (cont.)I. The Birth of Civilization (cont.)

• Standing in awe of the divine

• Religion organized society

• Temples were complex institutions

• Mesopotamia was “civilized” by 3200 B.C.E.

““Civilization”: The stage in human Civilization”: The stage in human organization when governmental, organization when governmental, social and economic institutions social and economic institutions have developed sufficiently to have developed sufficiently to manage the problems of order, manage the problems of order,

security, and efficiency.security, and efficiency.

II. Mesopotamian CivilizationII. Mesopotamian Civilization

A. Ancient Sumer (3200-2000 BC)A. Ancient Sumer (3200-2000 BC)

• Southwestern territory of the Valley

• Independent cities conquered by “Sargon the Great” around 2300 BCE

• Unpredictable Weather Conditions

• Evolution of view of the Sumerian gods

A. Ancient Sumer (cont.)A. Ancient Sumer (cont.)

• Significance of Sumerian Temples

• Invention of the Wheel (around 3200 BCE)

• Invention of cuneiform writing

• Very Hard language to learn

• Earliest Sumerian literature

--world’s oldest poetry

B. Old Babylonia (2000-1600 BCE)B. Old Babylonia (2000-1600 BCE)

• Invasion of semitic language groups like the Amorites

• Most famous Amorite ruler = Hammurabi

• Hammurabi’s Code of Law

-- “An Eye for an eye”

-- “Let the Buyer Beware”• Procedures in Amorite

trials

B. Old Babylonia (cont)B. Old Babylonia (cont)

• Some sense of justice• Some sense of a

“welfare state”• The Epic of

Gilgamesh• Introduction of

personal religion• Major mathematical

achievements• Babylonian social life

C. “The Dark Age” (1600-1300 C. “The Dark Age” (1600-1300 BCE)BCE)

• Reasons for the fall of the Amorites

• Horse-drawn chariots challenge traditional ox-drawn chariots

• Invasion of the Hittites• Kassite Occupation• Prestige of Iron weapons

and implements• Assimilation of previous

cultural accomplishments

D.D. The Assyrian Empire The Assyrian Empire (1300-612 BCE)(1300-612 BCE)

• Semitic language group settling in the north Tigris area as early as 3000 BCE

• Became skilled in chariot warfare and began to conquer neighbors

• Reign of Sennacherib (705-681 BCE)

D. The Assyrian Empire (cont)D. The Assyrian Empire (cont)

• The Assyrian capital city: Nineveh

• Palace Library• Assyrians known for

brutality in warfare--only Mesopotamian civilization to submit to a queen

• Brutality of Assyrian art

D. The Assyrian Empire (cont)D. The Assyrian Empire (cont)

• Assyrian brutality produced hatred and rebellions among subjugated peoples

• Sophisticated, far-sighted and effective military organization--invented concept of a corps of engineers

• The defeat of the Assyrians and the destruction of Nineveh

E. New Babylonia (612-539 BCE)E. New Babylonia (612-539 BCE)

• Medes and Chaldeans defeat the Assyrians in 612 BCE

• Most famous Babylonian ruler was Nebuchadnezzar

• The defeat of Belshazzar by the Persians in 539 BCE

E. New Babylonia (cont)E. New Babylonia (cont)

• The ancient city of Babylon

• The Ishtar Gate• The Hanging Gardens• Babylonian astronomical

achievements• Not “astrologers”• Babylonian court

astronomers and their diaries

III. Egyptian CivilizationIII. Egyptian Civilization

• Picture of serenity and stability

• Long periods of peace• Smiling Egyptian statuary• Reasons for Egyptian

stability• Centrality of the Nile

River--khed meaning “to go downstream”--khent meaning “to go upstream”

A. Political History Under the A. Political History Under the PharoahsPharoahs

• Divided into 6 Eras• Archaic Period—1st

Pharoah• Old Kingdom Period

—Building of 1st pyramid and era of royal absolutism

• First Intermediate Period—central authority disappeared

A. Political History (cont)A. Political History (cont)

• Middle Kingdom Period—Golden Age of royal cooperation with middle class and democratization of religion--concept of “ma’at”

• Second Intermediate Period—Hyksos invasion

• New Kingdom Period—Era of Empire and the Exodus of the Israelites

B. Egyptian ReligionB. Egyptian Religion

• Polytheism to Quasi-Monotheism back to Polytheism

• Significance of the Sun God “Amon-Re” and Osiris, the God of the Nile

• Pharoah was the representative of Amon on earth

• Cult of Osiris personified the life-giving power of the Nile

B. Egyptian Religion (cont)B. Egyptian Religion (cont)

• Mummification and the Hereafter

• Egyptian polytheism took many forms including the worship of animals

• Stress on ethics in Egyptian religion

• Amenhotep institutes the worship of Aton around 1375 BCE--Queen Nefertiti

• King Tut restores worship of old gods

C. Egyptian Intellectual C. Egyptian Intellectual AchievementsAchievements

• Hieroglyphics• Importance of the

Papyrus Plant• Experimentation in all

sorts of literature• Interested in practical

science—calendar unrivalled until the time of Julius Caesar

• Medical Achievements• Mathematical

Achievements

D. The Splendor of Egyptian ArtD. The Splendor of Egyptian Art

• Sudden appearance of the Pyramids

• Pyramid of Khufu• Reasons for the voluntary

labor that built the pyramids

• Temple Building replaces Pyramid Building during the Middle Kingdom

--Temple of Karnak

D. Egyptian Art (cont)D. Egyptian Art (cont)

• Statues of Pharoahs were colossal in size

• Rigidity and impassiveness symbolized Egyptian love of stability

• Anatomical distortion was practiced

• Akhenaton’s naturalistic revolution in art

--Famous bust of Nefertiti

E. Social and Economic Life in E. Social and Economic Life in Ancient EgyptAncient Egypt

• Class system in Ancient Egypt• Huge gap between the rich and the poor• Treatment of Women• Economic system built on agriculture• Trade flourished after 2000 BCE• Early Egyptian factories• Egyptian Business Innovations

--invented deeds, contracts and wills--oldest known currency in history

IV. The Persian Empire (539 BCE IV. The Persian Empire (539 BCE on)on)

• Far-sighted Diplomats who allowed subjects to practice native customs and religions—Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem

• Persians gave the Ancient Near East political unity and cultural diversity

• The rule of Cyrus the Great

IV. The Persian Empire (cont)IV. The Persian Empire (cont)

• Later Rulers: Darius and son Xerxes

• Efficient administration of a huge empire

• Persian Road system• Aramaic language• Wealthy and Distant

Royal Absolutism• Early Persian Religion• Introduction of

Zoroastrianism (circa 600 BCE)