CIVILIZATION

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CIVILIZATION

• CHARACTERISTICS
• LARGE URBAN SETTLEMENTS (CITIES)
• VARIED AND COMPLEX SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• AS MANY PEOPLE INVOLVED IN NONAGRICUTURAL AS IN
  AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS
• HIGHLY ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT
• COMPLEX RELIGIOUS BELIEF SYSTEM
• WRITING SYSTEM

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PIONEER CIVILIZATIONS

• MESOPOTAMIA
• LAND BETWEEN TWO RIVERS
• TIGRIS RIVER
• EUPHRATES RIVER
• EGYPT
• INDIA
• CHINA
• MESOAMERICA
• CENTRAL AMERICA
• PERU
• PEOPLE ELSEWHERE ONLY MADE LEAP TO CIVILIZATION
  AFTER THEY WERE EXPOSED TO ONE OF THESE PIONEER
  CIVILIZATIONS

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SUMER

• POPULATION BEGAN TO GROW AROUND 3500 BCE
• NEW VILLAGES APPEARED
• ESTABLISHED VILLAGES GREW IN SIZE AND ABSORBED
  NEIGHBORING TERRITORY
• PROCESS LED TO THE CREATION OF 12 CITY-STATES IN
  REGION
• CITY STATE URBAN CENTER AND SURROUNDING
  COUNTRYSIDE
• EACH HAD OWN RULER, OWN LAWS, OWN ARMY
• DID NOT GET ALONG WELL WITH EACH OTHERFOUGHT
  CONSTANTLY

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SUMERIAN CITY-STATE (UR)
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CUNIEFORM WRITING

• MEANS WEDGE-SHAPED
• SYMBOL WRITING ON CLAY TABLETS
• UNDERWENT EVOLUTION OVER TIME FROM PICTOGRAMS TO
  MORE ABSTRACT CHARACTERS
• SYMBOLS STOOD FOR CONCRETE OBJECTS AND ABSTRACT
  CONCEPTS
• NEARLY 2000 DIFFERENT CHARACTERS IN ALPHABET
• TOOK YEARS OF SPECIALIZED TRAINING TO MASTER
• RESULT THAT FEW COULD READ OR WRITE

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OTHER SUMERIAN ACHIEVEMENTS

• BRICK ARCHITECTURE
• BRONZE TOOLS AND WEAPONS
• ENGAGED IN TRADE
• BETWEEN CITY-STATES
• WITH AFRICA AND ASIA
• INVENTED FIRST MONEY
• ESTABLISHED SCHOOLS FOR TRAINING PRIESTS AND
  SCRIBES
• CREATED AN ELABORATE LITERATURE
• EPIC POEM (GILGAMESH)
• WISDOM LITERATURE
• INVENTED MEDICINAL DRUGS
• HAD ACCURATE LUNAR CALENDAR

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SARGON THE GREAT OF AKKAD

• AKKAD
• NORTH OF SUMER (CENTRAL MESOPOTAMIA)
• INHABITANTS ORIGINALLY FROM ARABIA
• MIGRATED TO REGION AROUND 5000 BCE
• LIVED NEOLITHIC LIFESTYLE FOR MOST PART
• DIVIDED INTO HOSTILE TRIBES
• SARGON THE GREAT (2300 BCE)
• UNITED AKKAD UNDER HIS RULE

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SARGONS EMPIRE

• INVADED AND CONQUERED SUMER
• THEN INVADED AND CONQUERED MEDITERRANEAN MIDDLE
  EAST
• CREATED WORLDS FIRST EMPIRE
• UNINTENTIONAL CULTURAL MISSIONARY
• CARRIED SUMERIAN CULTURE TO NEW LANDS IN THE
  MIDDLE EAST

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POLITICAL INSTABILITY

• SARGONS EMPIRE COLLAPSED AROUND 2130 BCE
• SUMERIAN CITY-STATE OF UR BRIEFLY RISES TO
  DOMINANCE
• UR DESTROYED BY AMORITES IN 2000 BCE AND REGION
  IS PLUNGED INTO ANARCHY
• AMORITES WERE NOMADIC PEOPLE FROM ARABIA
• 1800 BCECITY-STATE OF BABYLON (NOW CONTROLLED BY
  AMORITES) CREATES OLD BABYLONIAN EMPIRE
• UNDER KING HAMMURABI
• ENCOMPASSED MOST OF MESOPOTAMIA AND MEDITERRANEAN
  MIDDLE EAST

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MESOPOTAMIAN RELIGION I

• CENTER OF MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION
• POLYTHEISTIC
• BELIEVED IN NUMEROUS GODS AND GODDESSES, EACH
  WITH A SPECIAL FUNCTION
• GODS WERE CRUEL, VINDICTIVE, AND PETTY
• WENT THROUGH GREAT LENGTHS TO KEEP THEM APPEASED
• NEVER MADE A MINOR OR MAJOR DECISION WITHOUT
  CONSULTING GODS FIRST

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MESOPOTAMIAN RELIGION II

• BUILT HUGE TEMPLE IN CENTER OF CITY-STATE TO
  PATRON GOD
• ZIGGURAT
• PATRON GOD OWNED ALL LAND IN CITY-STATE ZIGGURAT
  PRIESTS ADMINISTERED IT FOR HIM
• BECAME VERY WEALTHY AND POWERFUL AS A RESULT

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HAMMURABIS CODE

• ONE OF EARLIEST WRITTEN LAW CODES
• TELLS MUCH ABOUT MESOPOTAMIAN SOCIETY
• WOMEN WERE LEGALLY SUBSERVIENT TO MEN
• ALL FAMILY MEMBERS WERE COMPLETELY UNDER THE
  POWER OF THE MALE HOUSEHOLD HEAD
• BASED ON LEGAL PRINCIPLE OF EYE FOR AN EYE,
  TOOTH FOR A TOOTH
• RESULTED IN BRUTAL PUNISHMENTS
• DEGREE OF INEQUALITY BUILT INTO THE CODE
• PUNISHMENT VARIED ACCORDING TO THE SOCIAL STATUS
  OF BOTH THE PERPETRATOR AND VICTIM

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OTHER MESOPOTAMIAN ACHIEVEMENTS

• IMPRESSIVE ACHIEVEMENTS IN MATH AND SCIENCE
• DEVISED MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION TABLES
• FOUND FORMULA FOR FINDING CUBE AND CUBE ROOT
• DIVIDED CIRCLE INTO 360 DEGREES
• OBSERVED AND RECORDED POSITIONS OF STARS AND
  PLANETS
• INVENTED MEDICINAL DRUGS
• BY ACCIDENT

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ANCIENT EGYPT

• Nile River
• Provided abundant and reliable source of water
• Flooded every year and fertilized its valley with
  silt
• Made possible a rich and diverse agriculture

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OLD KINGDOM

• Zoser, self-styled king from Upper Egypt unites
  all villages along Nile River under his rule in
  2900 BC
• 2900-2100 BC
• Destroyed in 2100 for two reasons
• Civil war
• Economic burden of building and maintaining
  pyramids

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MIDDLE KINGDOM

• Anarchy, 2100-2000 BC
• Strong rulers emerge again around 2000 BC
• Reassert united rule
• Restored order
• 2000-1800 BC
• Cultural life revives
• Economic prosperity revives
• Trade links established with Palestine, Syria,
  and Crete
• Invasion of Hyksos in 1800 BC results in their
  takeover of Lower Egypt

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NEW KINGDOM

• Ahmose I, warrior pharaoh from Upper Egypt
  drives Hyksos out of Lower Egypt in 1600 BC
• Egypt reunited again under a native ruler
• 1600-1100 BC

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EGYPTIAN RELIGION I

• Gods took various forms
• Animals (cats and crocodiles)
• Forces of nature (Nile)
• Half human/half animal creatures
• Pharaoh considered a god
• Human incarnation of Horus, Amon-Re, and Osiris
• All-powerful/ word was law
• Laws and commands expected to preserve maat
  (justice and harmony)
• Viewed as shepherd of his people

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EGYPTIAN RELIGION II

• Strong belief in afterlife, as witnessed by
• Construction of pyramids
• Mummification of dead
• Tomb art
• Priests recited prayers to ensure continued
  existence of dead persons soul (ka) in the
  afterlife
• Copied them on walls of tombs in hieroglyphics
• Originally believed that only pharaoh and his
  family could attain immortality
• Access to afterlife became more democratic as
  time went on
• Afterlife contained same pleasures that people
  enjoyed on earth but without the pain

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MUMMIES
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OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

• Amazing engineering skills in building pyramids
• Effective system of mathematics
• Accurate 365-day solar calendar
• Doctors could correctly diagnose a large number
  if illnesses, understood that unclean conditions
  caused infection, and had some knowledge of
  anatomy

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CREATION OF THE NEW KINGDOM

• Ahmose Is war of liberation against the Hyksos
  gave rise to intense militarism among Egyptians
• Led to creation of empire
• Included Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon

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RESULTS OF EMPIRE

• Greatly enriched Egypt
• Led to the creation of a professional army
• Increase the power of priests
• Temples received a percentage of the spoils of
  conquest
• Accelerated Egyptian cultural and commercial
  contacts with other regions in the Middle East
  and Africa

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HATSHEPSUT

• WOMAN
• RULED EGYPT FOR TWENTY YEARS EVEN THOUGH WOMEN
  WERE THEORETICALLY PROHIBITED FROM BEING PHARAOH
• DRESSED LIKE A MAN
• VERY WARLIKE

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AKHENATON

• 1369-1353 BC
• Tried to replace Egyptian polytheism with the
  worship of one god
• Aton (represented by symbol of sun)
• Built new capital city devoted to Aton
• Ordered all statues and temples to old gods
  destroyed
• Even made it a capital offense to worship old gods

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AKHENATONS FAILURE

• Akhenaton died under mysterious circumstances
• Probably murdered by wife, Nefertiti
• Replaced by 12-year old nephew, Tutankhamon
• Egypt reverted back to old religion
• All references to Akhenaton and his god were
  destroyed

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FALL OF THE NEW KINGDOM

• After Akhenatons death, Egypt plagued by raids
  from Lybian nomads and the Sea Peoples
• Became involved in a long and exhausting war with
  the Hittites over Egypts possessions in the
  Mediterranean Middle East
• Egypt progressively declined and ultimately
  abandoned its empire
• Period of greatness over by 1100 BC

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POWER VACUUM IN MIDDLE EAST

• Collapse of New Kingdom coincided with collapse
  of several other Middle Eastern empires
• Created power vacuum
• Allowed several small states to establish
  themselves and thrive (for a while)
• Kingdom of Israel (founded by Hebrews around 1000
  BC)
• Civilization of the Phoenicians
• Set up string of city-states along Mediterranean
  coast of Middle East
• Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos

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ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PHOENICIANS I

• Merchants par excellence
• Sent expeditions throughout Mediterranean Basin
• Spread Middle Eastern civilization to new areas
• Established trading postssome of which evolved
  into cities
• Carthage

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ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PHOENICIANS II

• Developed new alphabet
• Simplified cumbersome cuneiform alphabet down to
  29 characters (each standing for a different
  sound)
• Motivated the desire to simplify record-keeping
• Made literacy more democratic by opening
  opportunity for more people to learn to read and
  write
• Became direct ancestor of our modern alphabet

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THE ASSYRIANS I

• Originally a tribe from Arabia that settled in
  northern Mesopotamia around 1100 BC
• Extremely aggressive
• Conquered all of Middle East and Egypt by 900 BC

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THE ASSYRIANS II

• Routinely used terror to keep diverse subjects in
  line
• Mass executions
• Mass mutilations
• Torture
• Massive destruction of farmland and cities
• Terrorized subjects into obedience

Nineveh
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CHALDEAN EMPIRE

• Medes (northern Iran) and Chaldeans (area around
  Babylon) overthrow and destroy Assyrians in 626
  BC
• New Babylonian Empire
• Reached height under Nebuchadnezzar (604-562 BC)
• Babylon becomes most magnificent city in ancient
  world
• Hanging Gardens
• Ishtar Gate
• Empire weakens in last years of Nebuchadnezzar
  and is conquered by the Persians shortly after
  his death

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NEBUCHADNEZZARS BABYLON
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PERSIAN EMPIRE

• Created by Cyrus the Great
• Largest empire the world had ever seen
• Divided into administrative subunits called
  satraphies
• Extensive road network
• pony express type postal system
• Mild rulers who tolerated different religions and
  customs

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ZOROASTERIANISM

• founded by Zoroaster
• Two divine entities
• Ahrura-Mazda (good)
• Ahriman (evil)
• Both struggling for control of the universe since
  the beginning of time
• Humans chose sides in this struggle through their
  behavior
• Basically good behavior indicated support of
  Ahrura-Mazda
• Basically evil behavior indicated support of
  Ahriman
• Ahrura-Mazdas ultimate victory will launch a Day
  of Judgment
• His supporters rewarded
• Ahrimans supporters punished
• Stressed moral and ethical behavior before all
  else

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SUMMARY

• POSITIVE
• Enormous creativity and intelligence
• Magnificent cities
• Organized governments
• Performed sophisticated mathematics
• Constructed massive public monuments
• Engaged in international trade
• Established schools
• Advanced level of technology
• Invented writing
• NEGATIVE
• Inequality
• Between men and women
• Between rich and poor
• Slavery
• Routine use of war to obtain political goals
• Civilization was a mixed blessing
• Brought amazing benefits