V. People of Southwest Asia
A. The Middle East is home to many different people and
traditions. The majority of the people are Arab. There are several
different descriptions of what an Arab is.
B. What is an Arab?
1. In the mid 1600’s, Arabs where people from the Arabian
Peninsula. They were conquered by the many different
peoples of the Middle East and North Africa.
2. Over time, the conquered peoples adapted the Arabic
language and the religion of Islam.
3. Arab is used to describe anyone whose native language is
Arabic.
C. Islam is the religion for the majority of people that
live in the Middle East. However, many non-Muslim
people live within in the region as well.
D. How did the Middle East come to be the
birthplace of 3 of the world’s most
practiced religions????
TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THIS, WE MUST LOOK AT THE
FIRST CIVILIZATIONS THAT LIVED IN THIS REGION…
HOW TO IDENTIFY HISTORY DATES
• Our calendar is based on the birth of Christ; all years before Christ's
birth have traditionally been designated B.C. (before Christ) and
those after his birth as A.D.
• Some historians have adopted an alternative dating system, referring
to B.C. as B.C.E. (before the common era), and to A.D. as C.E.
(common era) to make it more palatable to non-Christians.
Early Civilizations of the Middle East that
gave rise to 3 RELIGIONS
(and are the Roots of Western Civilization)
600,000 – 1100 B.C.E.
THE BIG PICTURE (MIDDLE EAST & EUROPE)
TECHNOLOGY:
Paleolithic, 600,000 – 10,000 B.C.E.
Bronze Age, 3,000 – 600 B.C.E.
Neolithic, 10,000 – 3,000 B.C.E.
Iron Age, 1,300 – 400 B.C.E.
MIDDLE EASTERN CIVILIZATIONS:
Sumer and Akkadia, 4,100 – 1,700 B.C.E.
Ancient Egypt, 3,100 – 1,000 B.C.E.
Assyria, 2,400 – 612 BC.E.
Hittites, 1,650 – 1,180 B.C.E.
Phoenicia, 1,200 – 539 B.C.E.
Babylonia, 1,900 – 539 B.C.E.
Early Hebrews, 1,500 – 587 B.C.E.
Persia, ca. 550 – 330 B.C.E.
OTHER WORLD CIVILIZATIONS:
Mesoamerica: Maya, 1,800 B.C.E. – 900 A.D.
China: Shang Dynasty, ca. 1,700 – 1046 B.C.E.
Olmec, 1600 – 400 B.C.E.
Zhou Dynasty, 1045-256 B.C.E.
VIII. Ancient Civilizations
A. Mesopotamia, ca. 3000 – 1000
B.C.E.
1. Ancient Greek: “meso” = between/
“potomos” = river
1. Mesopotamia: Present-day…
Iraq, and parts of
Turkey, Syria, and Iran
2. “The Fertile Crescent”
3. Different civilizations hailed from
this area:



Sumer
Akkadia
Babylonia
Sumerian Civilization Emerges Ca. 3200 B.C.E.:
i.
Drier climate leads to more sophisticated organization of irrigation and
government.
ii. City of Uruk reaches 10,000 by 2900 B.C.E.
iii.
Religion:
 Sumerians saw themselves and their gods as struggling against a
mysterious chaos, like the sudden flood of a river, and had a
generally pessimistic outlook.
 Sumerians believed the gods were all powerful and they were
slaves to their gods… needed to provide them with sacrifices and
incense to keep them appeased.
 Demons could cause illness and bad fortune.
 Priests were important because they keep the gods happy.
Priests were called in to treat the sick and practiced augury (the
reading of animal entrails) to predict the future. People wore
amulets as protection.
 Ziggurats: Religious temples to a particular deity that were
meant to bridge the gap between humans and gods, but were
also administrative and economic centers. Also built as displays
of a leader’s power.
 Sumerians doubted there could be a happy afterlife, and thought
their one chance for happiness was in this life.
.
In what ways is the religion of
Sumerians similar or different
to other religious practices you
are familiar with?
Accomplishments
DEVELOPED:
• Writing… Cuneiform
• Law- Earliest pertained to families. Divorce was allowed,
but adultery was punishable by death. Men could keep
concubines. Laws were also passed to make “respectable”
women wear different clothing from prostitutes.
Do any of these laws sound familiar to practices
that occur today?
Others:
•
•
•
•
Wheel and sailboat
Plow, irrigation and accurate calendar.
Measurement based on 60.
Trade- Exported textiles in exchange for
metal, stone, and luxury goods. Traded with
Syria, Arabian peninsula, and even India.
Fertile Crescent does not have
any natural barriers and invaded
many times!
----------------------------
• Akkadians conqueror and use religion to unite
Akkadians and Sumerians.
• Akkadians overpowered by Assyrians to the
North and Babylonians to the South.
• Eventually Babylonians take over Assyria too…
first civilization to rule all of Mesopotamia.
Hammurabi , a Babylonian,
conquered the Fertile Crescent, 1700 BC
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Accomplishments / Culture –
Code of Hammurabi: A single legal code which contains
282 laws that regulate economics, family, criminal and civil
affairs. The criminal law is based upon equal retaliation,
according to the eye-for-an-eye principle.
oMany of the laws were quite humane… for example,
no blood feud or any private retribution allowed
marriage by capture not allowed
penalties for unjust accusations and false testimony
All citizens protected under the legal system, even slaves.
oWomen and children had some protections, but they
were still property of their husbands. Husbands needed
proof to bring adultery charges and a woman could
divorce her husband, but adultery could mean death.
List the civilizations of Mesopotamia,
beginning with the oldest:
Mesopotamia
and Egypt
ca. 2000 B.C.E.
B. Ancient Egypt, ca. 3100-1000 B.C.E.
• Society grew along the banks of the Nile, a 4000-mile
African river that flooded from June to October every year,
creating fertile lands and good growing season.
• Egyptian society developed in a more isolated state than
the societies of Mesopotamia
• Egyptians felt their lives were structured by a consistent pattern
provided by the Nile.
• According to tradition, a king named Menes consolidated Egypt
as a unified kingdom for the first time around 3100 B.C.E.
• Divided into 3 blocks
of time or kingdoms…
15
The Old Kingdom, 2700 – 2181
B.C.E.
• Pharaohs had absolute power…
• Pharaohs were buried in pyramids
only during this time period in
history.
• An important concept to Egyptians was
ma’at, a belief in truth, justice, and
order…
• Trade with Nubia gave Egypt goods
from Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Prosperous families could afford
sculpture portraits that idealized family
life.
16
•Developed a religion focused on several
deities: the sun god Re, the Nile spirits Isis, Osiris, and
Horus. Believe
that these gods had blessed
Egypt with many gifts.
The Goddess Isis
18
The Old Kingdom, 2700 – 2181 B.C.E.
• Developed a system of writing known as hieroglyphs, which
means “sacred writing” in Greek.
• Hieroglyphs were used for religious purposes and tended to be
carved in stone; for more day-to-day use, Egyptians used
papyrus, durable paper made from reeds.
• Rosetta Stone – Key to hieroglyphics which was found by
Napoleon’s army.
19
Middle Kingdom, 2060 – 1785 B.C.E.
• A severe drought brought political and social chaos to
the Old Kingdom, bringing it to end around 2080 B.C.E.
• After a twenty-year period of chaos, King Amenemhat I
of Thebes restored order and another prosperous period
known as the Middle Kingdom commenced.
• Egyptians of the Middle Kingdom conquered Nubia and
began trade with the peoples of Mesopotamia.
• Pharaohs realized pyramids showed people where they
and all their riches were… people would loot their
tombs. So Pharaohs began to hide their tombs.
• Weakening leadership led to Nubian revolt and the
conquest of Egypt by people probably from Central Asia
20
New Kingdom, 1570 – 1085 B.C.E.
• Adopting new technology, after about 200 years
Egyptians at last return to power
• Pharaohs of the New Kingdom seemed bent on
preventing conquest by expanding Egyptian power
and conquering new lands, including the Fertile
Crescent.
• Built new public works
• Pharaoh Akhenaten (1377-1360 B.C.E.) tried to
replace the traditional worship of rival gods—
especially the priests of Osiris who offered immortal
life in exchange for money—with the worhsip of
single god called Aten, the sun disk. This attempted
reform caused turmoil.
• Egyptian society enjoyed a resurgence under Ramses
II (1279-1213 B.C.E.), but subsequent leaders proved
incapable of holding the fragile empire together.
21
New Kingdom, 1570 – 1085 B.C.E.
Accomplishments –
1. Number system based upon 10.
2. Geometry and surveying
3. 365 day calendar
Hatshepsut and Ramses II
22
C. Hittites
1.
The Hittites establish a kingdom in what is now modern-day
Turkey around 1650 B.C.E.
2. Eventually take over much of Mesopotamia (@ 1380-1345
B.C.E.)
3. Mastered Iron… made weapons and conquered others
4. Integrated many aspects of Mesopotamian culture —like
writing—but remained a violent and warlike people.
5. Developed a potent new weapon: the war chariot.
6. In addition, Hittites were skilled archers.
7. 1299 B.C.E. Hittites clash with Egyptians.
D. Phoenicians
• Successful oceangoing trading people located in what
is now Lebanon.
• Created a major trading colony at Carthage, in what is
now Tunisia.
• Traded beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, down the
African coast, Spain, and up to Britain in search of
metals for tools and weapons, and also for luxury
goods. Hence known as “Carriers of Civilization”.
24
• Improved on Sumerian writing by creating a purely
phonetic alphabet of twenty-two letters, a system later
adopted by Greeks (who add 4 characters), Romans and
most Western languages.
Phoenician Alphabet
26
E. Persians, 550-330 B.C.E.
• Unlike the Assyrians and Babylonians, the
Persians ruled by tolerance rather than fear.
• Cyrus kept local officials but installed Persian
governors called satraps
• The Persians used Aramaic as a language of
commerce, expanded road systems to enable
better trading, and adopted the use of coins.
• Persian tolerance allowed for a long period of
peace. However, the Persians also had a great
army of 10,000 soldiers.
27
 Persians developed their own
form of monotheistic religion
called Zoroastrianism, which is
still practiced today.
 Zoroaster founded Zoroastrianism around
600BC. His ideas influenced many people
including the ancient Greeks, Hebrews, and
Christians.
 Zoroastrian musichttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2LA6zrGnXI
 Beliefs:
Farmers believed that many gods controlled the forces
of nature. They relied on priests called magi to win
the favor of the gods. According to legend, the magi
learned that a child was born to destroy their idols and
magic. That child was Zoroaster. He sought to
understand why misery and suffering existed alongside
God.
 Proclamations:
"From good must come good; and from evil must
come evil." He became convinced that were was a
battle between good and evil on Earth. Ahura Mazda
was the god of good. Ahriamn was the god of evil.
Each person must choose whether to fight on the side
of good or evil. Zoroaster traveled the land spreading
the message. The Persians treated conquered peoples in
a humane way due to the beliefs of Zoroastrianism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4ezRTvDrqw
o What is the main concept of Zoroastrianism?
-Be kind to others
o Is this concept present in other religions? If
yes, what religions?
-Christianity, Islam and Judaism
o What modern day name is related to
Zoroastrianism?
-Mazda