1. What major
rivers are
seen on this
map?
2. Why is this
region called
“the Fertile
Crescent”?
3. What
civilizations
were located
here?
RIVER VALLEY
CIVILIZATIONS
MESOPOTAMIA
Essential Question:
What were the important characteristics of
the civilizations
in Mesopotamia?
Warm-Up Question:
Why was the Neolithic Revolution such a big
deal?
Which of the 5 characteristics of civilizations
do you think is most important?
RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS
The discovery of farming during the Neolithic
Revolution allowed nomadic people to settle into
villages and towns; these eventually became
civilizations
Ancient Egypt
The world’s first civilizations all
began in river valleys
Indus
Valley
The first civilization
began in an area known
as Mesopotamia
China
The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flooded once
per year, leaving behind fertile soil ideal for
farming (a perfect place to start a civilization)
Mesopotamia means “land between
the rivers” and is often called the
“Fertile Crescent” or referred to as the
“Cradle of Civilization”
The first civilization that developed in
the “Fertile Crescent” of Mesopotamia
was the kingdom of Sumer
Surrounding deserts and the lack of natural
barriers attracted outsiders to Mesopotamia and
made the Sumerians vulnerable to attack; this led
to other kingdoms rising in Mesopotamia
LASTING
CONTRIBUTIONS
ADVANCED
CITIES:
 Sumerian city-states
were protected by high
walls
 At the city center was a
temple called a ziggurat
LASTING
CONTRIBUTIONS
SPECIALIZED WORKERS:
At the top of society were
priests, and then kings
In the middle were skilled
workers, like merchants
At the bottom, were
common farmers and slaves
LASTING
CONTRIBUTIONS
(COMPLEX INSTITUTIONS)
RELIGION:
Sumerians and Babylonians
were polytheistic (many
gods)
LASTING
CONTRIBUTIONS
(COMPLEX INSTITUTIONS)
RELIGION:
The Hebrews in Palestine
were the first monotheistic
(single god) faith in history
(Judaism)
The holy book of Judaism is
the Torah; God gave Moses
the Ten Commandments
LASTING
CONTRIBUTIONS
GOVERNMENT:
Babylonian King
Hammurabi created the
first legal code
Hammurabi’s Code had
282 laws based on
justice and retaliation
(for example: “an eye for
an eye”)
The code had different
LASTING
CONTRIBUTIONS
LASTING
CONTRIBUTIONS
WRITING:
Sumerians made the world’s
first writing called
cuneiform
WRITING:
–Phoenicians
simplified cuneiform
to a 22 letter
alphabet
–Phoenician
merchants spread
the alphabet
throughout the
Mediterranean
world
–The alphabet
LASTING
CONTRIBUTIONS
TECHNOLOGY:
Sumerian inventions
include the wheel, sail,
plow, and bronze
metalwork
After thousands of years of civilization in river valleys,
the world’s first empires appeared
River valley civilizations were complex societies with
advanced technologies, cities, workers, writing, and
institutions (religions and governments)
Like river valley
civilizations, empires
were advanced societies
with well-organized,
centralized governments
The difference is that
empires conquer and
rule over a variety of
formerly independent
people
“EMPIRE” defined: a
group of several
different nations or
people united and ruled
over by a monarch (like
an emperor or king)
The nations that are
ruled over obey and
serve the mother
country of the empire
In the first ancient
empire we learn about,
the mother country of
the empire was Persia
Major
Empires
Han Dynasty
Persian Empire
in China
Mauryan and Gupta
Empires in India
Mesopotamia: River Valley to
Empire
The fertile soil
and lack of
natural
boundaries (like
mountains) in
Mesopotamia
led to the
Mesopotamian
civilizations
being the target
of frequent
invasions and
conquests
One of the most important ancient empires was
Persia (present-day Iran)
The Persians grew into a
powerful empire under
Kings Cyrus and Darius
With a powerful army, the Persians conquered
Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India
The “10,000 Immortals”: Persia’s elite fighting force
Persia’s religion was Zoroastrianism (based on
the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster)
This religion viewed life as a struggle
between good and evil; the Persians
believed in Heaven and Hell as
consequences for how they lived their lives
Zoroastrianism influenced the views of the
afterlife in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
How
did
the
Persians
control
such
The Persian
Empire
at
its
Height
a massive empire?
PERSIA’S SYSTEM OF CONTROL
Persia controlled
their lands in a
variety of ways
Persian kings were
tolerant; they
allowed conquered
people to keep their
languages and
religions
This kept the
conquered people
content and less
likely to rebel
PERSIA’S SYSTEM OF CONTROL
Rather than
destroying or
looting
conquered
cities, King
Cyrus would
show respect
for local
customs
As the mother country of the empire, the
Persians were definitely in charge
However, life was tolerable under Persian rule,
so this made most conquered people content
THE PERSIAN EMPIRE AT THE HEIGHT
OF ITS POWER
King Darius divided the empire into
twenty provinces, each one was ruled
by a satrap (local governor)
Satraps served PERSIA’S SYSTEM OF CONTROL
as the “eyes
and ears” of
the Persian
kings in their
respective
provinces
They collected
taxes from
the people of
the provinces
and informed
the king of
any uprisings
PERSIA’S ORGANIZED EMPIRE
The Persians built a network of roads in
order to collect taxes, improve
communication,
and facilitate trade throughout their empire
PERSIA’S ORGANIZED EMPIRE
The Persians used metal coins with
standardized values to help promote trade