Chapter 4 First Age of Empires
1570 BC – 200 BC
I. The Egyptians and Nubians

A. Nomadic Invaders
Rule Egypt

Hyksos ruled Egypt from
1640 to 1570 BC
 Had

chariots
1. Hebrews Migrate to
Egypt

Arrived around 1650 BC
 2.
Expulsion and Slavery
 By
1600 BC, the Egyptians grew strong
 Under
Queen Ahhotep and Pharaoh
Kamos
 Drove
the Hyksos out and enslaved the
Hebrews
B. The New Kingdom in Egypt

1570-1075 BC


Built an empire: control of
several peoples or states
under one ruler
1. Hatshepsut's
Prosperous Rule



She began ruling in 1472
BC
Encouraged trade instead
of war
Her fleet started trade w/
Punt (Somalia)

2. Thutmose the Empire Builder
 Stepson, who may have murdered
Hatshepsut
 Thutmose III armies took Syria and
northern part of the Euphrates
 Pushed
into Nubia
 Conquered an empire
 Grow
rich, no longer isolated
B. The New Kingdom cont.
 3.
The Egyptians
and the Hittites
 Conflict
erupted over
Syria and Palestine
 Armies clashed at
Kadesh in 1285 BC
 Ramses II and their
king signed a treaty
 The
two empires
became allies
 4.
An Age of Builders
 Hidden
tombs in desert cliffs
 Valley of the Kings near Thebes
 Ramses commissioned monumental
statues and temples
 Ramses’
tomb was found in 1995 with 50 of
his 52 sons buried with him
C. The Empire Declines
 1.
Invasions by Land
and Sea
 1208
BC,
Mediterranean sea
raiders weakened the
area
 Also faced Palestinian
revolts and Libyan
invaders
 2.
Egypt’s Empire Fades
 It
never recovered its previous power or
prestige
 Libyans ruled from 950 to 730 BC
 Adopted
 The
Egyptian culture
Nubians later do the same thing
D. The Kushites Conquer the Nile

Egypt dominated Nubia
and Kush for centuries

The region emerged
during the Hyksos reign
Conquered Egypt
 1. The People of Nubia

People overcame the
cataracts to trade on the
Nile
 Linked the
Mediterranean world to
Africa


2. The Interaction of
Nubia and Egypt




Forced rule on Nubia
during the New
Kingdom
Heavily influenced
Nubia
Nubian princes lived in
Egypt and adopted
their culture
Regained
independence around
1200 BC
D. The Kushites cont.

3. Piankhi Captures the
Egyptian Throne



751 BC, Piankhi overthrew
the Libyan pharaoh
United the entire Nile River
valley
Started the 25th dynasty of
Egypt


Erected a monument in Kush
to celebrate
The Assyrians conquered
Egypt in 671 BC, ending the
dynasty
E. The Golden Age of Meroë
 The
Kushite royal
family moved to
Meroë
 1. The Wealth of
Kush
 Traded
with Africa,
India, and Arabia
 Plentiful rainfall
and iron supplies
 2.
The Decline of
Meroë
 Declined
around
250 to 150 BC
 Another city,
Aksum,
dominated their
trade
II. The Assyrians
 A.
A Mighty Military
Machine
 Learned
to fight while
defending their land
 Most feared and hated
empire in the region
 Foot soldiers, chariots,
iron weapons, cavalry

Treated People poorly
Burned cities, tortured and killed captives,
heavy taxes
 Deported entire populations
 One king, Sennacherib, claimed to destroy 89
cities and 820 villages


1. Military Organization and Conquest
Nineveh the capital
 Start conquering 900 BC

 Well

equipped with iron weapons
Tiglath-pileser and Ashurbanipal led
campaigns
The Assyrians Cont.
B. The Empire Expands
 Conquered Syria,
Palestine, Babylonia,
Anatolia, and Egypt
 1. Assyrian Rule

Peaked around 650 BC
 Royal Roads
 Divided empire into
provinces w/ local rulers

 Crushed
revolts quickly
markers so others wouldn’t revolt
 Destroyed cities and exiled the people in
places who refused to pay tribute
 Burned cities, hung skin on walls, piled
skulls
 Left
 Never
found a niche for making
money, only knew conquering and
pillaging
 Nineveh
did have a huge library
C. The Empire Crumbles




A universal hatred of
Assyria led to an alliance
conquering Nineveh in
612 BC
The army of Medes,
Chaldeans, and others
burned and leveled the
city
2. Rebirth of Babylon
Under the Chaldeans
Started a revival for
Babylon

Built into a monumental
city
 Reached
its height
under King
Nebuchadnezzar II
(605-562)
 Extended the
empire
 Deported the
Jews
 Built the Hanging
Gardens
 Loved astronomy
and maps
 Poor harvest and
slow trade hurt them
III. The Persians

A. The Rise of Persia

Modern day Iran
1. Cyrus Founds an
Empire
 Conquered the Medes in
the 540s

Swept down from the
mountains of Iran in 539
BC
 Cyrus II conquered
Babylon


Allowed the Jews to return to their
homeland in 538 BC
Eventually took over Mesopotamia, Syria,
Canaan, Phoenicia, Lydia, and Greek citystates of Asia Minor (Ionia)
 Tolerant to others cultures
 Allowed to retain their own language,
religions, and customs


Killed in battle on the eastern border
B. Persian Rule
 1.
Cambyses
and Darius
Conquered
Egypt in 525 BC
Ruled
harshly,
unlike his father
Died eight years
later, revolts
erupted
Darius seized the
throne with the help
of the Ten
Thousand
Immortals in 522
BC
 Spent the next
three years putting
down revolts
 Then began
conquering
Afghanistan

• Empire went from the Nile to the
Indus River, 3,000 miles with 50
million people
B. Persian Rule cont.

2.





Provinces and Satraps
Divided it into provinces or
satraps
Military officials and tax
collectors helped the king
Inspectors were the “eyes
and ears” of the king
People only had to pay a
tribute
They would crush a rebellion
quickly though
 Brought
artisans from the various regions
to build Persepolis
 Encouraged trade: used coins
 The Royal Road stretched 1,677 miles
and had stops every 14 miles with food,
water, and horses
 Messengers could travel it in seven days
C. The Persian Legacy

1.
Zoroaster’s Teachings
Had a strict moral code
 Stressed bravery and honesty
 Before 500s BC, they
worshipped many gods
 570 BC, Zoroaster reformed
the religion
 Talked about a struggle
between good and evil







Ahura Mazda: good, Ahriman:
Bad
Humans had to choose
Teachings linked to glorifying
the kings
Lots of pomp and pageantry
Zoroaster influenced Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam: heaven,
hell, Last Judgment
2. Political Order

Tolerance and good govt.
brought order to the region
IV. The Unification of China
 A.
Confucius and the
Social Order
 Born
Kongfuzi in 551 BC
 1.
Confucius Urges
Harmony
 Good
govt. and social
harmony achieved if
people used ethics
 Reciprocity
 Golden
Rule

Five Relationships
For moral behavior
 Learn by example
 Stressed filial piety

 Family


a mini society
After his death, 479 BC, work collected for the
book Analects
2. Confucian Ideas About Govt.
Education could transform anyone into a
gentleman
 Laid the groundwork for bureaucracy

A
trained civil service
A. Confucius cont.

3. Legalism
 Rejected
Confucianism
 Strict laws and harsh
punishments
 Hanfeizi
 Humans evil by nature
 Favored by the Qin
 Vanished with their
dynasty
A. Confucius cont.

Harmony w/ nature

4. Taoist Ideas


Laozi, 500s BC
Could be a Taoists and
Confucianists


Govt. vs. individual
5. Yin and Yang




Two opposing forces
Yin: cool, dark, female,
submissive
Yang: warm, light, male,
aggressive
Need balance
B. The Qin Dynasty
 Local
lords revolted
against the Zhou
 1. A New Emperor
 By 221 BC, Qin wiped
out the Zhou
 Qin
Shi Huangdi

United the area under a strong, central govt.
Attacked invaders north of the Huang He and
pushed as far south as Vietnam
 36 Military districts, standardized coins, laws, and
writing
 Commanded all nobles live in his capital

 Uprooted
120,000 families
Forced labor for roads and canals
 Legalists murdered hundreds of Confucian
scholars to prevent criticism

 Burned
useless books
B. The Qin cont.
 2.
A Program of
Centralization
 Built
a network of
4,000 miles of roads
 Trade
 Set
boomed
standards
throughout China for
writing, law, currency,
and weights and
measures

3. Great Wall of China
300,000 troops worked to build the 4,000 mile
wall
 Keep Mongolians out
 Thousands died


4. The Fall of the Qin
Cruel tyrant
 210 BC, Qin died, so did the dynasty
 Peasants rebelled against the son
 By 202 BC, the Han Dynasty replaced the Qin
