ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- “THE LAND
BETWEEN TWO RIVERS”
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIADEFINITIONS
CITY STATES- self-governing unit made
up of a city and its surrounding villages
and farmland.
Monotheism: worshiping one god.
“Mono” – means one
Polytheism: worshiping many gods.
“Poly” – means many
GEOGRAPHY
Located between Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers
Present-day Iraq
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAGEOGRAPHY
POSITIVE
 abundant amount of
clay
 easy tillable soil
 water supply from
Tigris-Euphrates
Rivers
NEGATIVE
 few natural resources
 minimal protection
from deserts and
mountains
Basic Facts:
Settled around 3500 BCE
Divided into city-states ---WHY??
Region developed first forms of poly - and
monotheism
Created one of the earliest forms of writing
SOCIAL
What do you know about the social
aspects of Mesopotamian society?
Social hierarchy: kings, priests, nobility,
merchants, farmers, slaves
Slaves - POW
Women: unequal to men; men own and inherit
land
POLITICAL ASPECTS OF
MESOPOTAMIA
City-States
 Always in constant conflict
over water and land rights
 Created walls for protection,
with moats along the outside
 Farms located along the
outside of the city
Hammurabi’s Code
 Hammurabi King of Babylon
(r. 1792-1750
BCE)
 282 laws.
 Based on equal
retaliation.
 Laws were varied
for the wealthy
and powerful.
Intellectual Contributions:
 Wheel
 Time – 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in
a minute
 12 month lunar calendar
 arch
 ramp
Religion
 Polytheistic; gods based on
nature; vengeful
 Ziggurats: pyramid site of
the temple of the main
gods.
Each city-state had their own
gods and goddesses
Sun god – most important.
 Life after death was an
extension of life.
Ziggurat – Holy Mountain
ECONOMY
Make, sell or barter goods.
Trade helped expansion.
Development of money will evolve over
time.
 RICH
 government officials
 religious leaders
 traders
 POOR
 Farmers
 craftsman
Trade
River Valley Civilizations:
Egypt, Indus Valley and
Shang China
Unit 1
Foundations, 8000 BCE – 600 BCE
AP World History
Objective
 To identify the major social, political, cultural and
economic features of the Egyptian, Indus and
Chinese early civilizations
 To compare these features to those of all river
valley civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, China
and India)
 To create a foundation upon which to study the
Classical Civilizations (China, India, Greece,
Rome)
Foundation and Geography
 Indus Valley
 2500-1500 BCE
 Current day northern India
and Pakistan
 Indus River – irregular; had
to build flood barriers
 Khyber Pass
 Shang China
 1750 – 1027 BCE
 Yellow River (loess – fertile soil)
 Isolated b/c of Gobi desert and
Himalayan Mountains and Mongolian
Plateau
 Very Hot and Dry
 Egypt
 3100 BCE – 343
BCE
 Unified by King
Menes
 Nile River
 Sahara Desert
Social Aspects of River Valley
 Indus Valley
Civilizations
 Unknown class structure b/c
 China
Low social mobility
Few slaves – not as many
as M. or E. – WHY?
Peasants not much better
than slaves
Palaces for the emperor;
dependent on military to
help run gov’t so they were
given many gifts
Strong patriarchal –
infanticide
can’t read writing
 Merchants at top of social
structure
 Female goddesses worshipped
so women may be treated
better than in China and
Mesopotamia; several fertility
goddess statutes found
 Eventually gives way to caste
system
 Egypt
 Social structure similar to
Mesopotamia
 Tax collection heaviest on
lower classes
 Slaves – POW
 Women had most rights here
– own property, businesses,
no formal education; informally
involved in politics
Political
 China
 Dynastic cycles
 Kings are descendants or
links to gods
 King = priest
 Isolated towns and villages
 Centralized Government
 Indus Valley
 No palaces found in ruins
 Businessmen, Craftsmen and
Farmers provided organization
and justice for civilization
 Unified; centralized government
 Two major cities: Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro
 Egypt
 Pharaoh
 Very strong army focused
on expansion of territory
and economy (gold, silver,
etc) – given to Pharaoh as
tribute
 Slaves = POW
 Priests and Nobles help
P. manage empire =
Bureaucracy
 Dynastic Cycles
 Few Female Rulers
 Centralized Government
Interactions
Mesopotamians trade with India
Egyptians trade with Mesopotamia, Nubia
and Kush
China stays isolated by geography and
choice
Indus Valley – destroyed by natural
disaster or invasion (Indo-Europeans)
Slavery – direct result of warfare
Interactions b/w Hebrews and Egyptians
Cultural
Egypt
 Polytheistic, strong belief in afterlife;
mummification
 Hieroglyphics (Rosetta Stone)
 Architecture – Pyramids; Sphinx;
Valley of the Tombs; Imhotep
 Strong collection of literature, songs,
poetry
 Egyptian Book of the Dead;
Hymn to Aton
 Calendar
 Math = created system of 10 and
geometry
 Astronomy
 Knowledge of medicine – first heart
surgeries
India
 Polytheistic (nature goddess)
 Public bathing pools
 Unable to translate writing
 Complex City Organization =
grid formation
 Advanced Drainage system
 Indoor plumbing
 Wheels for transportation
 Bronze tools and weapons
China
 Mandate of Heaven
 Middle Kingdom
 Worshipped ancestors and nature
gods
 Oracle bones – early form of writing;
at least 2000 characters or symbols
 Walled cities
 Silk clothes; jade and bone jewelry
Economics
 All civilizations dependent on agriculture for
economic gain
 Some specialization of labor b/c of surplus of
food
Cloth, pottery, jewelry
Architects – Egypt
 Egypt trades a great deal – Mediterranean
World; Nubia and Kush (to South)
 Merchants – looked down upon by Chinese
Questions –Write a response. Complete
Sentences
 How does geography play a role in the
development of a civilization? Use examples
from Egypt, Mesopotamia, India or China to
support your response
 What are some things that are similar
throughout all 4 (or most of the 4)? Why?
 List one unique characteristic from each
civilization.
 Complete a SPICE chart for one River-Valley
Civilization