First Civilizations: Africa and Asia
3200BCE – 500BCE
Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile
I. Geography of the Nile River
- “Gift of the Nile” – without the Nile, Egypt would be swallowed up by desert
- Nile flows from south to north- Yearly Floods
- Rain in the spring at the source of the Nile in Central Africa caused a yearly flood of the Nile.
- The yearly flood covered the land with silt (nutrient rich soil)
- Upper Egypt – located in the South, stretched from the first cataract (waterfall) to within 100
miles of the Mediterranean
- Lower Egypt covers the delta region
- Delta – a triangular region of marshland formed by deposits of silt at the mouth of the river
- Menes, king of Upper Egypt, united Upper and Lower Egypt
II. Old Kingdom (2700 BCE – 2200 BCE)
- Pharaohs – Egyptian rulers often thought to be a god
- Pharaohs in the Old Kingdom organized a strong central government
- Pharaoh’s job to instill justice and order
- Vizier – chief minister who advised the Pharaoh about official matters
A. Pyramids
- Built at Giza during Old Kingdom
- Great Pyramid was tallest structure in world until Eiffel Tower was built around 4000 years later
- Pyramids symbolized the wealth of Ancient Egypt because of the cost, resources, and organization
it took to construct
- Farmers often worked on the Pyramids when not planting/harvesting
III. Middle Kingdom (2050 BCE – 1800 BCE)
- Power struggle, crop failure, and cost of pyramids led to fall of Old Kingdom
- Characterized by inconsistent floods from the Nile and turbulent politics
IV. New Kingdom (1550 BCE – 1100 BCE)
- At height of New Kingdom, empire stretched to the Euphrates River
- Hatshepsut was a woman who ruled as Pharaoh from 1583 BCE – 1482 BCE
- Ramses II was the most powerful ruler of the New Kingdom and during his reign Egypt enjoyed
great wealth and prosperity as well as military conquests.
- After Ramses II died, Egypt went into decline and fell to invaders from Assyria, Persia, Greece,
and Rome.
V. Egypt and Nubia
- Nubia (also known as Kush) bordered Egypt to the south and the two empires were trading
partners and also fought each other occasionally.
- During a 100 year period, Nubia even conquered Egypt.
Egyptian Civilization
I. Egyptian Religion
- Amon-Re – The chief god of the sun.
- Pharaoh was closely linked to the sun god and was the only one who could conduct ceremonies to
Amon-Re
- Osiris – Murdered by brother Set
- Isis – Wife of Osiris
- Set – God who murdered his brother, Osiris
- Horus – Falcon headed god
- Anubis - Jackal headed god
- Ankh – a cross like symbol that symbolized good health
II. Belief in Afterlife
- After death, the soul would be tested by Osiris. Osiris would weigh the heart (thought to be the
soul in Ancient Egypt) would be weighed against a feather (which was the symbol of truth and
justice). If the scale balanced, the soul would pass on to the afterlife, if there was imbalance, the
soul would face annihilation
- Book of the Dead – a book written that was full of instructions, spells, and charms to guide a
person on their journey through the afterlife.
- Mummification – the preservation of the dead
- People were often buried with objects they would need for the afterlife
- Mummification was very expensive and typically reserved for Pharaohs or those who could
afford the process.
III. Egyptian Society
- Most Egyptians were farmers, who in the off-season would serve the Pharaoh as builders or
warriors.
- Egypt grew in trade, artisanship, and warfare with other cities – both brought new ideas,
money, and riches (jewelry, furniture, and fabrics).
- Women – could inherit property, enter business deals, buy and sell goods, obtain a divorce,
work outside the home (textiles, priests), etc.
IV. Egyptian Learning
- Hieroglyphics – picture writing on stone that became more complex (from pictograms to
ideograms - symbolized actions or ideas).
- Then they moved to demotic (simpler, everyday writing style) on papyrus (Nile based plant).
- Rosetta Stone – Greek, demotic, and hieroglyphic on one black stone that helped decipher the
languages.
- Decoded in the early 1800’s by Jean Champollion – helps us read all Egyptian artifacts now.
- Skilled in medicine through mummification (knew how the body worked)
- Also, developed a calendar (similar to ours) and mathematics (pyramids).
V. Arts and Literature
- Paintings –bodies forward and eyes looking sideways with pharaohs larger.
- Architecture – Pyramids, Great Sphinx, Karnack (Romans).
- Literature – hymns, prayers, proverbs to Gods, poems, folk tales (The Tale of Sinuhe).
City-States of Ancient Sumer
I. Geography of the Fertile Crescent
- Mesopotamia – “between the rivers” area with terrible floods
- The Epic of Gilgamesh – narrative poem where a great flood destroyed (4,900 yrs ago flood
evidence)
- 3200BCE – Sumerian Cities emerge (south) – clay bricks were building blocks for the cities.
- Sea and river traders and land traders (invented wheeled vehicles!).
II. Sumerian Civilization
- The ruler was in charge of maintaining city-walls and irrigation systems, leading armies, leading
religious ceremonies, serving gods, and enforcing laws.
- Scribes collected taxes and kept records.
- Hierarchy – system of social ranks (ruling family, officials, priests – merchants, artisans –
peasant farmers, slaves).
- Women shifted from honored and independent to dependent on men, but kept some rights such
as trading and property ownership.
- Gods were polytheistic that acted like humans (ate, married, had families).
- To keep gods happy, each city built a ziggurat (pyramid temple) for ceremonies and sacrifices.
- Afterlife was seen as a pessimistic place (dust, mud, blackness).
III. Advances in Learning
- Writing – Cuneiform – wedge shaped marks on clay tablets used for goods records and
became more complex for poems, treaties, contracts, etc.
- Scribes/scholars developed basic algebra and geometry, hour system, 360 degrees system, and
calendars.
- Passed on culture and developments to Greece and Rome!
Invaders, Traders, and Empire Builders
I. Ruling a Large Empire
- 2300 BCE – Sargon of Akkad (middle) invaded Sumer – first empire!
- The empire died with Sargon but he started a movement to unite all of Mesopotamia under one
ruler.
- 1790 BCE – Hammurabi of Babylon united much of Meso. – created the Code of Hammurabi
(300 laws on a stone pillar) – first to codify laws (set down in writing).
- Criminal law – eye for an eye, life for a life!
- Civil law (private rights) – protect the powerless (women and children)
- Hammurabi also improved irrigation, trained an army, encouraged God (Marduk) over all other
gods.
II. Warfare and the Spread of Ideas
- Conquerors uprooted the defeated and helped to spread ideas!
- 1400 BCE – Hittites moved into Mesopotamia and learned to extract iron from ore to make
cheaper, stronger, and more weapons than others – tried to hide their discovery
- 1200BCE – secret is revealed and brings about the Iron Age!
- 1100 BCE – Assyrians became fiercest warriors with a well-organized society.
- Women were confined and heavily clothed, extensive laws of lifestyles, and huge palaces were
built.
- King Assurbanipal – first library with a collection of stone cuneiform tablets.
- 612 BCE – Nebuchadnezzar revived Babylonian empire – built the Hanging Gardens to
please his homesick wife.
III. Persian Empire
- 539 BCE – Cyrus the Great conquered Asia Minor to India and promoted tolerance (respect all
customs and traditions in the empire).
- 522-486 BCE – Darius set up satraps (governor of a province).
- Moved from a barter to money economy (use of coins or bills for payment).
IV. Phoenician Sea Traders
- Became known for manufacturing and trade – glass, purple (tyrian) dye.
- To promote trades, they set up colonies (territory settled and ruled by people from another
place).
- known as Carriers of Civilization! – came up with the first alphabet (22 consonant
sounds/symbols).