HIS 101
Western Civilization
Chapter 1
Homo Sapien
Progression
Neanderthals
Neanderthal Face
Modern Human
Cave Painting at Lascaux, France
Paleolithic
Neolithic
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Cuneiform
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh Tablet
Sargon I
Hammurabi
Babylon
Ishtar Gate, Babylon
Hammurabi’s Kingdom
Code of Hammurabi
Ziggurat at Ur
Ziggurat at Ur
Early Sumerian Statue
Sumerian Stele
Stele
Egypt
Farming Along Nile
Menes
• Old Kingdom (3100 – 2200 BC)
• Middle Kingdom (2050 – 1750 BC)
• New Kingdom ( 1560 – 1087 BC)
• Dynasty: group of rulers from a single family
who succeeded one another as
pharaoh
Menkure, Kephren, & Khufu
• Key to the success of the Third Dynasty of the
Old Kingdom was
– Absolute power of pharaoh
– Pharaoh owned Egypt and its people
– Every person was pharaoh’s servant
– Pharaohs were active statesmen
– Pharaohs had a highly developed administrative
system
• At the end of the Old Kingdom there were
ineffectual leaders and things fell apart.
• This was followed by years of chaos
• About 2050 BC the Middle Kingdom began
and restored the institutions of the Old
Kingdom
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The divine power of pharaohs
A centralized bureaucracy
A provincial administration
A revived economy
Reclaimed land from the desert
Expanded trade
Maintained order
• One change : less emphasis on the divine
power of the pharaoh and more on the quality
of government
• Concept of ma’at was important
– principle of right order, justice, and harmony
– This added a humane quality to Middle Kingdom
Hyksos
Old and Middle Kingdoms
• Economic system depended on carefully
controlled agriculture
• Relied on peasants to keep irrigation system
working, to plant and harvest, and to build
pyramids, public buildings, temples, and
dwellings
• Artisans and merchants added to Egypt’s
wealth
Cultural Life
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Rooted in religion
Deities thought to be benevolent to humans
Deities explained through mythology
Egyptians thought they had won the gods
favor because of their abundant harvests,
peace, and security
• Ka : spiritual double that lived after death in
close association with the spirits
Hieroglyphics
Hieroglyphics
Khufu
Rigid Statue
Relief
Science and Technology
• Recorded movements of the stars
• Had accurate time system: had 12 – 30 day
months with 5 days added at end of year
• Had system of numbers: arithmetic, volumes,
and areas
• Had information on metals and plant life
• Developed surgical techniques and drugs
• Understood anatomy from mummification
Ahmose I
Thutmose I
Thutmose II
Hatshepsut
Thutmose III
Reasons for Akhenaten’s New
Religion
• He wanted to reduce the power of the Priests
• He wanted to move his people forward
• He wanted Egyptians to worship a god that
stressed moral goodness instead of the giving
of material goods
Tutankhamen
• Tutankhamen:
– moved the capital back to Thebes
– restored the ancient traditional religious practices
Tutankhamen
After Tutankhamen:
• a new military dynasty seized the throne
• Hittites took advantage of Egyptian
weaknesses and attacked the state,
encouraging those in the Empire to rebel
– settlement with Hittites came in the 19th Dynasty
with Seti I and Ramses II
– Ramses II signed a peace treaty with Hittites
Seti I
Ramses II
Hittite Warrior and Chariot
Syria - Palestine
Ebla
Ebla
• Between 2500 and 2300 B.C.:
– Ebla ruled a large area of Syria including 250,000
people
– 30,000 actually lived in Ebla
– Ebla traded with other areas and negotiated
commercial treaties
– It arranged marriages
– It conquered the Mari people
– Ruled by oligarchy and an elected king
– Fell in 2000 B.C. to Amorites
Ugarit
Ugarit
• Cosmopolitan
• Trading center
• Spoke a Semitic language but other languages
were spoken in marketplace
• Helped to spread the alphabet developed in
1300s B.C. (might not have been the first)
– Each sign stood for a sound
– 30 signs in alphabet
– Adapted by Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, &
Westerners
Hittites
Hittites
Hittites 1650 – 1180 B.C.
• Arrived in Anatolia (Turkey) a bit before 1800
B.C.
• Spoke an Indo-European language that spread
throughout Europe in various forms
• Great warriors and administrators
• Used chariots
• Made weapons from iron and bronze
• Their empire divided into Old, Middle, & New
Kingdoms
• New Kingdom took areas in Syria and
Mesopotamia
• After 1180 – 700 B.C., Hittites broke into small
states
• Recorded their own history
• Known for their battles and for making peace
– Maintained peace from 1450 – 1300 B.C. with
their first international system
– Then there was rough equality between Hittites &
Egyptians; war was avoided after Qadesh, 1274 BC
• Peace was temporary
– Between 1200 and 1150 B.C. , the International
System collapsed with the Invasion of the Sea
Peoples