The Egyptian and Nubian
Empires
Chapter 4:1
Vocabulary Words
•
Hyksos: A group of nomadic invaders from Southwest Asia who
ruled Egypt from 1640 to 1570 B.C.
•
New Kingdom: The Period of ancient Egyptian history that
followed the overthrow of the Hyksos rulers, lasting from 15701075 B.C.
•
Nubia: A region of African that straddled the upper Nile River.
•
Kush: An ancient Nubian Kingdom whose rulers controlled
Egypt between 200) and 1000 B.C.
•
Meroe: Center of the Kush dynast from about 250 B.C. through
150 A.D.
Understanding Connotations:
The Word “Empire”
Empire: Brings together several people or states under the control of
one ruler.
 Make a list of movies, quotations or other “contexts” in which you
have heard the word Empire.
 What thoughts or connotations are a associated with the word
Empire?
 What makes an Empire good or bad?
Nomadic Invaders Rule
Egypt
 Hyksos: Invaders from
Southwestern Asia take
control of Egypt from
1640-1570 B.C.
 Hebrews Migrate to
Egypt: Abraham and his
family came to the land
of “Canaan”
 1600 B.C. Egyptians
drive out Hyksos rulers:
Hebrews were force into
slavery
Hebrews Cross Canaan
The New Kingdom of
Egypt
 New Kingdom: Era
Egyptian Pharaohs from
1570-1075 B.C.
 Used Bronze Weapons,
charioteers, archers foot
soldiers
 Hatshepsut: Women
Pharaoh, ruled while
stepson was too young to
rule
 Thutmose III pushed the
empire into the African
Kingdom of Nubia
The New Kingdom of Egypt:
An Age of Builders
 Pharaohs of New Kingdom erected “Grand Buildings”
 Temple of Amon-Re, Valley of the Kings
The Egyptian Empire
Declines
 Invasions by Sea: “Sea People” invade Egyptians. May have
been the Philistines
 Tribes in Palestine and Libya raided Egyptian outposts.
 Egypt Never recovered from the invasions!!!
 Kingdom of Kush: Nubians take control of Egypt
The Kushites Conquer the Nile
Region
 Nubian Kingdom of Kush
 Nubia lays in the Middle of Africa
 Traders
 Cultural Diffusion with Egypt: Learned Egyptian language,
Gods, Clothing, Social Customs
 King Piankhi: Overthrew Libyans
 Short Lived, Assyrians conquered Egypt
The Golden Age of Meroe
 Kushites moved south to Meroe
 Wealth of Kush: Natural Resources helped with trade
 Larger amounts of Rainfall
 Large developments of Iron Weapons and tools
 Decline of Meroe: Other African kingdoms began to peck at
the Kushite kingdom
The Golden Age of Meroe
Main Idea Questions
1. How did the New Kingdom of Egypt Become so Powerful and
Wealthy?
1. What cultural Aspects of Egyptian civilizations did the Kushites
adopt?
1. Why was Kush able to thrive after losing Egypt to the Assyrians?
Vocabulary Words
 Assyria: Southwest Asian kingdom that controlled
a large empire from about 850 to 612 B.C.
 Sennacherib: Assyrian King who defeated 89
Cities 820 Villages and burned Babylon (one of the
most important ancient cities) to the ground.
Killed everyone!
 Nebuchadnezzar: Chaldean King who restored the
ancient City of Babylon to glory. The Hanging
Gardens of Babylon (One of Seven Wonders of The
Ancient World)
A MIGHTY MILITARY
MACHINE
 From the Northern Part of Mesopotamia
 Territory was easily invaded (flat, no natural barriers)
 Constantly Fighting
 Developed into “battle hardened” society due to all the constant
fighting
 Empire stretched from Banks of the Northern Tigris River all the
way to Central Egypt
 Sennacherib
A Might Military Machine:
Cont
 Organized Military
 Society Glorified Military
 Developed Ironworking
technology (Weapons)
 Soldiers in Stiff leather armor
 Copper Helmets
 Planned Military Conquests in
Advance: Pontoons for rivers,
bridges
 Before attacking Assyrians
dug out city walls to weaken
them
 Waves of arrows
 Battering rams (Lord of the
Rings)
 No Mercy!!!!! Killed or
enslaved
Assyrian
Military
Pictures
The Assyrian Empire: Map
The Empire Expands
 At the peak of the Assyrian
Empire the Assyrians
controlled lands ranging
from Mesopotamia,
southern Anatolia and into
the Nile River Valley
 Conquered People:
 Refusal to pay equaled exile,
destroyed cities or death
Assyrian Culture
 Great reputations as
warriors and as builders
 Nineveh: Assyria’s Capital
along the Tigris River.
 Three miles long by One
mile wide!!!!
 King Ashurbanipal:
Collected 20,000 clay tablets
for the library at Nineveh
 Government:
 A system of Governors
who reported to a central
authority
 Epic of Gilgamesh
The Empire Crumbles
 Power spread too thin
 Many enemies because of
their cruelty
 Armies of the Medes and
the Chaldeans burned
Nineveh to the ground (Clay
tablets hardened in the fire)
 Rebirth of Babylon Under the
Chaldeans
 Chaldean King:
Nebuchadnezzar
 Hanging Gardens
 One of Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World
 Terraces 75ft above the ground
 7 tier Ziggurat 300ft high
 Astronomers studied changes
in the night sky
Main Idea Questions: PG
98
1. What methods did the Assyrians use when they attack enemy
cities?
1. What contributions to government administration and culture
did the Assyrians make?
1. Why did the people in the region rejoice when the Assyrian
Empire was defeated?
The Persian Empire
Chapter 4:3
Vocabulary: 3 Key Vocabulary
Words
Cyrus: Persian King who united Persia. He conquered
neighboring Kingdoms. He was known for his “methods of
governing” Cyrus prevented his generals and soldiers from
destroying conquered lands and he honored local customs and
religions. (Jews back to homeland and forever thankful)
Satrap: A governor of a province in the Persian Empire
Zoroaster: A Persian Prophet who taught that the earth is a
battleground where a great struggle between the spirit of good
and the spirit of evil. Each person is expected to take part in this
struggle.
The Rise of Persia
Persians based their empire on tolerance and
diplomacy (opposite of the Assyrians)
Present day Iran
Originally Indo-Europeans who migrated south
 Better Natural Resources: Copper, lead, gold, silver, etc
Dozen of mini Kingdoms
Cyrus the Great Unites The Persian Empire in
550 B.C.
The Persian Empire
Cyrus the Great
 Empire totaled over 2,000 miles
 Military Genius
 “Cyrus’s most enduring legacy was his method of
Governing. His kindness toward conquered peoples
revealed a wise and tolerant view of Empire.”
 Soldiers could not destroy or burn conquered cities
 Honored local customs and religions
 Jews returned to homeland (Thankful for Cyrus)
Cyrus the Great
Persian Rule
 Cyrus’s son Cambyses expanded empire into
Egypt but was not respectful to Egyptian
Religion
 Caused wide spread rebellions
 Cambyses successor Darius stabilized the empire
 Former member of the Ten Thousand Immortal
soldiers
 Expanded empire into India “Indus River Valley”
 Empire now 2,500 miles long!!
Persian Rule
Government
Zoroastrianism
 Ruling in far away lands
 A Persian Prophet
 Set up regional governments
(Roughly similar to the
homelands of the different
groups)
 “Zoroaster taught that the earth is
a battle ground for the spirit of
good and evil. We each have to
play a part in the battle between
good and evil.”
 Satraps: A governor who ruled
locally
 Cultural Diffusion: Judgment day,
people have free will to choose
good or evil.
Construction Projects
Under Darius
 Royal Road
 Turkey---Iran
 Increased

Travel, trade, money,
transportation of
goods/materials, TRADE,
Cultural Diffusion,
Communication
 6-7 Days
 Rest stops
 Horse Exchange
 Canal from Mediterranean
Sea to Red Sea
Main Idea Questions
1. How did Cyrus treat the people he conquered?
2. What methods and tools did Darius use to hold
together his empire?
3. What did Zoroaster teach? What similarities
does it share with other “Major Religions”
The Unification of
China
Chapter 4:4
Chapter Vocabulary: Section 4
 Confucius: Ancient Chinese Philosopher who believed in 5 basic principles and filial
piety
 Filial Piety: Respect Shown by children for their parents
 Bureaucracy: A system of departments and agencies formed to carry out the work of
the government
 Daoism: A philosophy based on the ideas of the Chinese thinking Laozi, who taught
that people should be guided by a universal force called the Dao
 Legalism: A Chinese political philosophy based on the idea that a highly efficient and
powerful government is the key to social order.
 Ying and Yang: In Chinese thought, the two powers that govern the natural rhythms of
life.
 Autocracy: A government in which the ruler has unlimited power and uses it in an
arbitrary manner
 I Ching: A Chinese book of oracles, consulted to answer ethical and practical problems
 Qin Dynasty: A short lived Chinese dynasty that replaced the Zhou Dynasty in the
third century B.C.
Confucius and the Social
Order
 End of Zhou Dynasty signaled the end of Chinese values of
“social order, harmony, respect for authority”
 Confucius: China’s most influential scholar
 Deep desire to restore social order to China
 Believed that that social order, harmony and good government
could be restored in China if society organized itself around 5 basic
Relationships
5 Basic Relationships
1. Ruler and Subject
2. Father and Son
3. Husband and Wife
4. Older Brother and younger Brother
5. Friend and Friend
 Three of Confucius’s relationships were based on the Family
 Filial Piety: Respect for their parents and ancestors.
Confucius
Confucius In
Government/Beliefs
 Appointed to “Minister of Justice”
 Crime ended overnight
 Education could transform a “humbly born person into a
gentleman” What does he mean?
 Bureaucracy: A system of departments and agencies formed to
carry out the work of the government
 Education was key to “advancing” in government
Confucianism: IS NOT A
RELIGION
 Repeat with Mr. Erickson
 Confucianism was never a religion, but it was an ethical
system, a system based on what is Right and what is Wrong!!
Other Ethical Systems:
Daosim
 Daoism
 Daoists Seek Harmony with Nature
 Chinese Thinker named Laozi
 Book: Dao De Jing (The Way of Virtue)
 Universal Force called the “Dao”, meaning “the way”
guides all things. Only humans fail to follow the Dao.
Legalists Urge Harsh Rule:
Legalism
 Legalism
 Founded by: Hanfeizi and Li Si
 Completely different from Daoism and Confucianism
 Highly efficient and powerful government was key to restoring
order in society
 Government should use the law to end civil disorder and restore
harmony.
 Believe in controlling ideas as well as actions
 Why?
Chinese Ethical System
Confucianis
m
Daoism
Legalism
Social order, harmony and
good government should be
base on family relationships
The natural order is more
important than the social
order
A highly efficient and
powerful government is the
key to social order
Respect for parents and
elders is important to a wellordered society
A universal force guides all
things
Punishments are useful to
maintain social order
Education is important both
to the welfare of the
individual and to the society
Human beings should live
simply and in harmony with
nature
Thinkers and their ideas
should strictly be controlled
by the government
American Society ?
Hippies ?
School ?
I Ching
 Chinese also turned to other practices for finding answers to life’s
questions
 Book of Oracles: I Ching or “Yi Jing”
 Readers used the book by throwing a set of coins, and
interpreting the results, and then reading the appropriate oracle or
prediction.
 Offered good advice and simple common sense
Ying and Yang
 Two Powers that together
represented the natural
rhythm of life
 Yin: Cold, dark, soft and
mysterious
 Yang: Warm bright, hard
and clear
The Qin Dynasty Unifies
China
 Qin Dynasty replaces the Zhou Dynasty (Legalist Empire)
 After 20 years of ruling Qin assumed the name Shi Huangdi
“First Emperor”
 Put down fighting throughout China, both invaders and civil
disobedience
 Moved 120,000 noble families
 China: Now 36 Districts
 Murdered thousands of Confucian Scholars
The Qin Dynasty Unifies
China
 “Shi Huangdi established an Autocracy: a government that has
unlimited power and uses it in an arbitrary manner”
 Centralization




Built 4,000 miles of roads
Set standards for writing, law, currency, weight and measures
Irrigation projects
Harsh Taxes and repressive government
Great Wall of China
 Forced scholars to
work on Great Wall
of China
 Close gaps in
preexisting walls to
discourage attacks
by northern nomads
 Work on Wall or
Die!!!
Main Idea Questions
1. How did Confucius believe that social order, harmony and good
government, could be restored in China?
1. What did the Legalist see as the key to restoring order?
1. What measures did Shi Huangdi take to crush political
opposition at home?