Why Rivers?????????????? Why Rivers?????????????? Political Authority in River Valleys. BCE - Before Common (Current) Era. = BC - Before Christ

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1 Early Civilizations BCE - Before Common (Current) Era = BC - Before Christ CE - Common (Current) Era = AD - Anno Domini (In the year of the Lord) Why Rivers?????????????? River Valley Civs Why Rivers?????????????? Political Authority in River Valleys Nutrient rich soil Oh give me a home where the ANIMALS roam. Kings... but not always Oh...and plants too. City states Xport 1

2 Mesopotamia Between ThE Rivers Fertile Crescent Tigris Ag Rev Started in Northern area in 8000 BCE Euphrates Moved to Mesopotamia 5000 BCE irrigation Unpredictable flooding Rivers canals Weather Mesopotamia not a civilization composed of a series of civs.. Sumer (Sumeria) Akkad Babylon Persia Technology of Sumer Cuneiform used for laws treaties social & religious customs Trade spread cuneiform Overview of Ur This photograph gives a good idea of the size and complexity of Ur, one of the most powerful cities in Mesopotamia (present Iraq). In the lower rightright-hand corner stands the massive ziggurat of Umammu. (Georg Gerster/Photo Researchers, Inc.) Wheel 12 Month Calendar Math on units of 60 & Geometry 2

3 Religion of Sumer Bye Bye Summer oh, Sumer BCE Polytheistic Sumer defeated by Akkad differed b/w city-state 1700 BCE Temples (ziggurats) Akkad defeated by Babylon Law Code of Hammurabi Babylon... and then gone The principal collection of laws in ancient Mesopotamia was the code of Hammurabi, the Babylonian ruler. Unearthed by French archaeologists in , this stele contained the code, which Hammurabi claimed rested on the authority of the gods. (Hirmer Verlag Munich) Hammurabi CODE OF HAMMURABI all parts of life Major & Minor offenses Justice GONE by 1500 BCE (Kassites & Hittities) Hittites help Assyrians Assyrians to Medes to Chaldeans to Persians (Whew!) Hittites Iron Military power Assyria Empire across Fertile Crescent Defeated Hittites Chaldeans Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon Persian Empire (More on them later) Great Royal Road 1600 Miles (Persian Gulf to Aegean Sea) 3

4 Social Structure in Mesopotamia More civilizations Free land owning Dependent farmers and artisans Slaves Women Lydians Coin money over barter... Done Phoenicians Naval Power in Med Alphabet -> Greek -> Roman -> US Phoenicia Israel (Hebrews) Trading city state Colonized Colony of Carthage Expansion brought Phoenicians into conflict with Greeks and later the Romans Origins in southern Mesopotamia Monotheistic religion Written code of laws Exodus from slavery in Establishment of a monarchy Israel continued Peak of power under Solomon Capital in Jerusalem Wealth centered around kings, priests Women s rights Nation divided Israel (north): Assyrian invasions Judah (south): Babylon captivity Period of Jewish diaspora Mesopotamian Timeline (all dates BCE) ***Sumerian ( ) ***Akkadian ( ) 3rd Dynasty of Ur - Sumerian Renaissance ( ) Early Babylonian ( ) Early Assyrian ( ) ***1st Babylonian (Hammurabi) ( ) *Kassites / Middle Assyrians ( ) *Hittites ( ) **Neo-Assyrians ( ) **Chadeans / (2nd) Neo-Babylonians (Nebuchadnezzar) ( ) ***Persians ( ) 4

5 Brief History Old 3000BCE - civ on Nile River Middle Predictable flooding New Amenhotep of Akhenaten Irrigation One god Engaged in local trade King Tut revives Rameses II Political Power Pharaoh 2700 BCE constructed pyramids Religion (positive compared to Mesopotamian) Polytheistic Afterlife Mummification Technology from mummies? Society like a pyramid No formal class structure but divisions existed Technology Bronze then iron (late) Hieroglyphics King and officials Hieratic script local leaders, priests, artisans Papyrus Peasants Trade Slaves Kush & Mesopotamia Women not = exceptions 5

6 Nubia Connected Sub Saharan Africa w/ N Africa Corridor of trade Decline Natural Wealth 1100 BCE Kush Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. Oh my! Meroe Earliest urbanized centers in Africa Matrilineal Collapsed 4th century CE Bantu Indus River Valley 1500 BCE Niger & Benue River valleys (W Africa) BCE Migrations over 2000 yrs. 2 Major Cities - enormous Nomads adopted Bantu culture Harappa Spurred by climate change Mohenjo-Daro Jenne-Jeno Indus River Valley Politics Strong central gov (priest-king) Religion Polytheistic Tech potter s wheel Cotton (cloth) 6

7 Indus River Valley Early China Decline BCE cities abandoned??? Aryans Religion Caste System Warriors, Priests, Peasants Priests, Warriors, Artisans, Peasants, Untouchables Xia Shang Hwang Ho River Valley (Yellow) Trade centered civ BCE Limited contact w/ others Ethnocentric Shang Zhou or Joe Why did I say it twice? Technology Writing Bronze Chariots Spoked wheel Society Family Patriarchal Religion Ancestors 900 years of rule Wu Wang ousted Shang Mandate of Heaven Feudal System (Decentralized) Some developed bureaucracies specialized Ended 256 BCE Pottery Kings Silk Nobles Calendar Decimals Became independent over time Mesoamerica Olmecs Meso = middle BCE in present S Mexico Urban civ due to ag Astrological events important Polytheistic Pol - Kingship? Stone Heads Tech - writing / calendar Ended (int or inv) 7

8 Chavin ( BCE) S America (Andes region) Geog factors 1st major urban center Intersection of trade routes influences... Tech: Roads, bridges, temples, palaces, irrigation, etc. Reciprocal labor obligations Llamas (like Camel in sub-saharan Africa trade) King or local chiefs? Class structure Conquest or rebellion ends Chavin 8