The Ancient River Valley
Civilizations of
Mesopotamia and Egypt
Geography:
Mesopotamia means “Land
between two rivers”
• The Tigris
and Euphrates
Rivers provided
rich soil and
water for farming.
• Flooding was
Unpredictable.
• The Zagros
Mountains and
the Syrian Desert
provided protection
from invaders.
The Fertile Crescent is the arc of fertile land between the
Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf.
Tigris River
Along the Euphrates River
Geography - Egypt
• The Nile flows north and
empties into the
Mediterranean Sea.
• The fertile marshy land of
lower Egypt is called the
Nile River Delta. This area
of rich soil was good for
farming.
• Flooding was predictable.
• The deserts provided
protection from invaders.
The lower part of the river became
known as Lower Egypt.
The Nile: The longest river in the world at 4,100 miles long.
A NASA
Satellite
Image of
the Nile
River
Delta
Geography
Hail to thee, O Nile! Who
manifests thyself over
this land, and comes to
give life to Egypt!
Excerpt from Hymn to the Nile
Talk to your partner for 30 seconds about
this excerpt. Why is the Nile the most
important geographic feature to Egyptian
civilization?
The river valleys were the “Cradles of
Civilization.”
What do you think that means?
They provided the baby civilizations what they
needed to grow.
Each civilization made major
contributions to social, political
and economic
progress.
Political
Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent
Mesopotamia- Political
First ruled by kings as independent city states, later,
Mesopotamia would be ruled as empires. What is an
empire? What factors would lead one civilization to conquer
another?
These empires would develop from within Mesopotamia.
1) Akkadian
2) Babylonian
3) Assyrian
4) Neobabylonian
What were the functions
of these ancient
governments?
Political - Egypt
Around 3100 BCE, the first
dynasty arose when upper
and lower Egypt were united
into a single kingdom. The
capital was Memphis.
Upper
Egypt
Lower
Egypt
United
dynasty
Political - Egypt, Continued
Strong kings or pharaohs and bureaucratic
governments continued a period of continuity
and unity.
Dynasties or
hereditary rule was
common.
What is the impact of a strong ruler and
government on a civilization?
Brainstorm this with your neighbor.
Egypt - Political, continued
Strong Centralized Government = Bureaucracy
Peace and prosperity, strong economy, and a stable,
ordered society followed.
Features of Egypt’s Political system:
•Divine rule: Pharaohs were god-kings
•Pharaohs were absolute rulers.
•The bureaucracy consisted of many departments to carry
out the functions of government.
•Religious rule = theocracy
Economy of Mesopotamia
•Based primarily on agriculture – 90
percent of the people were farmers.
•But, evidence of trade along rivers,
and with Egypt.
•Artifacts revealed metal work in
bronze, gold and copper
Economic- Egypt
Egyptians
• farmed along the narrow strips
of land bordering the Nile River
• traded along the Nile (Nubia)
and into Mesopotamia
•Paid taxes to the Pharaoh in the
form of crops and forced labor
on building projects
•Made paper from papyrus
•Linen clothing
Economic
Trade goods included gold, ivory,
cattle, granite blocks, paper and
linen
Religion - Mesopotamia
• They were POLYTHEISTIC. What does this
mean?
•Constructed huge pyramids, called
Ziggurats.
•Sumerians had a
negative view of the
afterlife where their
souls would wander
in the land of no return.
Religion – continued - Mesopotamia
•Rulers were believed to be chosen
by gods. Theocracy - rule by a
religious authority.
•Earliest rulers in Mesopotamia
were priests.
Can you name a modern-day theocracy?
• Afterlife was important –
soul needed to be judged
and then reconnected with
the body.
• Wonderful afterlife
awaited filled with
pleasures of life.
• The body had to be
recognized so it was
mummified.
• Worldly goods such as
jewelry, pottery and gold
were buried with the body
to be enjoyed in the
afterlife.
Religion- Egypt
•The Egyptians were
polytheistic – there
were 2,000 gods and
goddesses
•Sun god Re was very
important as were river
and land deities, Osiris
(god of the dead), Isis Horus
and Horus.
Religion - Egypt
Isis
Osiris
Religion - Egypt
Pyramids were built as the final resting place for
Pharaohs who, according to Egyptian beliefs, would
rule again through their spirit in the afterlife.
Sumerian Society ( Mesopotamia)
Priests and Kings
Scribes
Wealthy merchants
Commoners
Slaves
Mesopotamian Society - Continued
Why were priests in the upper
classes of society?
Priests communicated and made offerings
to the gods. Since the gods controlled the
people’s fate, priests, were very important.
•Sumerian women had more rights than
women in later civilizations but it is believed
that they were not educated.
Egyptian Society
Pharaoh, queen, royal family
Vizier, landowners, government officials
priests, army commanders, scribes
Merchants, artisans
Peasant farmers
Unskilled laborers
later, slaves. The largest
group of people fell
into this category.
Egyptians could move up or down in society and slaves
could buy their freedom. To win the highest positions,
one needed to be able to read and write.
Egyptian Society continued
Women had almost as many rights as men.
They could own and trade property, were
allowed to divorce and there were one or
two women who served as Pharaohs.
It is believed that women could not read
or write.
Hatsepshut
Egyptian society enjoyed stability and cultural
continuity because the kingdom was united and
because of its political stability over long
periods of time.
Intellectual - Mesopotamia
•Cuneiform was the first
written language.
•It was made using clay
and a stylus, and has
wedge-shaped
characters
•Its characters are
based on pictograms
Intellectual – Continued - Mesopotamia
More Cuneiform:
Intellectual – Continued - Mesopotamia
Two important written documents come from
Mesopotamia:
1. The Epic of Gilgamesh
2. Hammurabi’s Code
Both were written in Cuneiform
and translated.
Intellectual - Mesopotamia
The Epic of Gilgamesh is
possibly the oldest story
ever written. It was found
on clay tablets and tells the
story of a king (Gilgamesh)
and a man (Enkidu) who
fight an evil God named
Humbaba. The man is
mortally wounded and
Gilgamesh realizes that
men are not immortal.
Intellectual - Mesopotamia
The Code of Hammurabi
is the code of laws established
By Hammurabi of Babylon
When he conquered all
Of Mesopotamia.
What might we learn about
Mesopotamia by looking
at its laws? Think P.E.R.S.I.A. G. ?
Hammurabi’s Code
The laws were carved onto a
basalt (stone) slab called a
stele.
•It included laws for
commerce
•Harsh punishments
including, “an eye for an
eye”
•It contained different rules
for different social classes
•It even set forth rules and
punishments for marriage
Intellectual - Mesopotamia
Intellectual - Egypt
The Egyptians
developed a
pictographic
language called
hieroglyphics.
First written on
stone or clay, the
Egyptians later
developed a
paper-like
product
called Papyrus.
It came from
reeds that grew
in the Nile River
delta.
Intellectual - Egypt
Papyrus
Achievements - Mesopotamia
Agricultural
Surpluses
Job
Specialization
Invention of
Wheel, sail, plow, irrigation
systems
Bronze tools
Achievements - Mesopotamia
Plow
Achievements - Mesopotamia
Bronze Weapons
Irrigation System
Achievements - Egypt
Egyptians were skilled mathematicians.
They used a number system and
geometry. Why would these be useful to
the Egyptians?
Accurate measurement of angles
would be necessary for
building the pyramids
Achievements - Egypt - continued
The Egyptians would develop a 365-day
calendar that was comprised of 12 months, each
comprised of 30 days with one 5-day
celebration.
Why would the Egyptians need a calendar?
They needed to know when to plant crops which was
based on regular flooding of the Nile. The floods
came each year at the same time.
As the floods
receded, rich silt was left behind which made the soil
very fertile –the perfect time for planting crops.
Other Achievements - Egypt:
•Medicine – The Egyptians were
advanced in developing medicines,
performing surgery and in setting
broken bones.
Photo Credits
Slide 1:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_XfexFiNgHVs/SBTmvYuOpOI/AAAAAAAAAfI/boYW9JMeBv0/CIM
G0116.JPG
Slide 2: http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/images/riv-vall.gif
Slide 3: http://bibleworld.com/euphrates_turkey_sm.jpg
Slide 4: http://www.historywiz.com/images/neareast/royalstandardofurbox.jpg
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/classicalarch/images1/2ur-lyre1.jpg
Slide 5:
http://www.eastchester.k12.ny.us/schools/ms/teachers/stabile/images/fertile1.jpg
Slide 7: http://www.beautyworlds.com/cultureofiran/JewelryFromRoyalTombsOfUr.jpg
http://www.theancientweb.com/images/explore/Iraq_Sumer_Gold_Helmet.jpg
Slide 8: http://tomclarkblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/earth-from-distance.html
Slide 12: http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/19200/19279/cuneiform_19279_lg.gif
Slide 13: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/wpcontent/gallery/slates/cuneiform_660.jpg
Slide 14:
http://thisfragiletent.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/gilgamesh_louvre.jpg?w=386&h=900
Slide
15:http://www.foliosociety.com/images/books/illustrations/lrg/GIL_12748775780.jpg
Slide 19:
http://www.digitaldesktopwallpaper.com/wallpapers/digitalwallpapers/1024x768/wood
en-wheel.jpg
http://www.reflexivity.us/blog/sailboat.jpg
Slide 20: http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/21900/21917/plow_21917_lg.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Rudimentary_irrigation_system_
Morocco.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Middle_Bronze_Age_weapons.p
ng