Read 10 min
Turn in Chapter Quiz
BR: Tell me what the following decorations on the panel suggest of the
city of Ur? What does it tell us about their level of technology?
Ancient Mesopotamia
• Fertile Crescent/Mesopotamia:
oasis between deserts
between med. Sea and
Persian gulf
• Flat/Swampy, floods
In the springtime leaving
a thick bed of mud
Euphrates
called silt
• Washouts regular
• Canals/organization
Gov./Civ. appeared
Tigris
Sumer
• Who developed first Civ.?
• Sumerians in Sumer, we know the advantages…. What do
you believe were the disadvantages (3)? TPS
• 1- unpredictable flooding/little or no rain 2- no natural barriers
for protection 3- Natural resources for building limited – LL
How did they solve these issues?
• Dug irrigation ditches that carried river water to
• Mud Brick homes due to scarce supplies/adobe
their fields
• Ziggurat- pyramid shaped structure in the heart of the temple
• For defense, built city walls with mud bricks
• Spring festival - wedding ceremony
• Traded their grain, cloth and tools to people in
• City Statepolitical unit
by city
with its own gov’t (Ur a
the mountains
for formed
stone, wood,
metal
city-state in Sumer)
• Polytheism, what is it?
• Initially priests held power, believed that gods human like,
warriors became kings Dynasty formed
Sumerian Culture
• Cuneiform- Sumerian Writing
• Refer back
LL what
1. to
Advanced
citiesare the five
2. Specialized workers
key characteristics
of a
3. Complex institutions
civilization?
4. Record keeping
5. Improved
technology
• 1st civ. to not
only write
laws/keep
business records, but write stories,
Poems and songs
• Priests initially led city @ Ziggurat, until war time
• Created Math system based on number 60.
o How do we still use the Sumerian system today? TPS
• 60 minutes
• 360 degrees
Empires in Mesopotamia
• War depleted Sumerian city-states
• Sargon’s Empire – Akkadian 2350 B.C.
o Used Euphrates River to attack from the city of
Akkad
o First ruler to have a permanent army
o Created the world’s first empire –different
land/kingdoms under one rule
o Named himself Sharrum-kin “rightful king”, why?
o Adopted Sumerian culture such as power of
priesthood
• Kept Sumerian culture alive
Centuries of battle
• Amorites took over
o Settled in Babylon near Euphrates (Baghdad, Iraq)
o King Hammurabi, very brilliant, united all of
Mesopotamia = Babylonian empire 1792-1750 B.C.
o First to create written law that all could see
o Why would that matter? TPS
o Listed 282 codes/specific laws dealing with everything
that affected the community
o Law applied to everyone, yet set different
punishments for rich/poor , men/women
Hammurabi Reading
Hammurabi’s Code
• 196. If a man put out the eye of another man, his
eye shall be put out
• 199. If he put out the eye of a man’s slave, or break
the bones of a man’s slave, he shall pay one-half of
its value. (what do we see here?)
• 200. If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his
teeth shall be knocked out.
The
Code: Pair up
in groups of 4 or 5
• Read “Code of Hammurabi” Handout
• After create your own 10 laws concerning working
conditions and payment of wages, etc. following
the style of Hammurabi’s Code.
• Is the law Just?
• Does the punishment fit the crime?
• At least 4 of the laws need to have different
punishments for different people?
• If so, why?
Read 10 min
Finish Ham. Code
Activity
What was the
importance of Sargon
and Hammurabi to
modern day Civ.?
Bell Ringer
Gift of the Nile
• What is the gift of the Nile?
• Herodotus – 400 b.c. – disbelief over non rainfall, labeled
it “gift of the Nile”
• Nile, 4,000 miles in length comparable of Juneau, AK to
????
o Tampa Bay , Florida
o Runs through driest desert in world *Sahara
o Longest River in the World – 4,100 miles
• Annual Flooding – predictable
o Every year in July Nile River rises over banks, when river
recedes in October leaves behind silt
o Flood waters carried Silt over banks –very fertile
Geography continued….
• Delta –area at mouth of a river often triangle shaped
o Uniquely made up of silt deposits
o 100 miles before river enters Mediterranean
• Given the nickname “The Black Land” Why?
• Surrounding Desert “Red Land”
o Literally can stand and see the difference where the two
meet
• Why is/was it a comfort to the Egyptians to be surrounded by
such a harsh desert? Hinder them? TPS
• Cataracts- rocky stretches marked by swift currents and rapids
• LL How would this further deter enemies?
• Aswan High Dam
• Nile more predictable than Tigris/Euphrates but too much
flooding ruined crops/too little forced starvation
Two Kingdoms
• Egypt unique due to its surroundings, natura barrier
• Northern Kingdom (Lower) – elevation is lower
Southern (Upper) – elevation is higher
o Wind blows upriver enabling sailboats/trade to
move against current
• Lower – cobra goddess/delta/Red crown
• Upper – vulture goddess/white crown.
• Scorpion or Narmer conquered , Memphis capital
o From Upper/conquered Lower
o First Egyptian Dynasty(31 total) – combined
symbols/colors
Egyptian Kings
• Names ?????
• Pharaoh-means “great house”, ruler of Egypt
o Owned all land/word was law/judges/leaders of army
o Believed he was god in human form
• Rituals performed by pharaoh/priests every day to
ensure sun would rise/Nile would flood/crops would
grow
• Theocracy – a state ruled by religious figures
• Bureaucracy – highly structured organization managed
by officials.
o Egypt simply to large to rule on own
o Vizier/adviser/hereditary
Hatshepsut
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Encouraged Trade
One of few Egyptian rulers/only woman pharaoh
Took power from pharaoh/husband died
Initially a regent/ ruling in name of her young son but
eventually claimed herself pharaoh
Acted like a man to be treated like a
pharaoh/dress/false beard/referenced herself as son of
the sun god
Huge trading expedition to Red Sea (Punt) returned to
Egypt with gold/Apes/Wild Animals/Myrrh
So What ???? TPS
Model face for the statue of a sphinx
Read 10 min
Imagine that you are a museum tour guide. Using your
group, books and electronic devices…. What are some of
his statue’s distinguishing features that you might point
out to a tour group? List at least five specific
characteristics. Draw a picture of the statue and label the
interesting features.
Read 10 Min
The Old kingdom
• Built most famous symbols of Egypt
o Near Giza
• Tombs for Rulers/Quickly summoned, believed they ruled
through their spirit or “ka” in the afterlife, expected to
have same needs as their lives, needed to supply needs
for eternity, tombs became incredibly important
• Deadly Traps
• Earliest not smooth/step like, ones we know smooth,
why? LL
• Limestone Blocks used – specially built ramps/rope to
drag stones
• Usually peasants working (not slaves) one month of year
given food/housing for month of work . Also architects
and specialists
The Middle Kingdom
• Old ways overthrown by local nobles , collapsed around
2100 b.c.
• 200 years economic
troubles/famine/disease/invasions/civil wars
• Why is there usually not success after an overthrow? TPS
• Thebes became capital when new Dynasty started
• Sailors/merchants thrived , traded with Greece and
south of Egypt
• Taken down by Hyksos through Delta w/ technology
• Why did they attack Delta?
• Which technologies do you believe they had?
o Horse-drawn chariot, armor, strong bow
The New Kingdom
• Resented newcomers after 100 years rose up
• Learned natural barriers could not protect them,
created first Egyptian army (included archers and
charioteers)
• Attacked to prevent from being attacked , south of
Egypt and Sinai peninsula
Interpreting Visuals
Egypt – in class
Egypt & The Nile
Homework - HW
Children’s Book of early
Egypt
• Must be 10 pages
• Must have a title and a cover
• Must explain the significance, use, impact and
contribution to history and society during that
historical time period and history as a whole
• Must include text telling the story in language a 5-7
year old would enjoy and be entertained by
• Must include hand drawn pictures and captions for
each page
o Pictures must pop-up