Western Civilization I- topic 1

Greek for "between the two rivers"; an area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers where an ancient civilization developed.

Mesopotamia

The Invention of Writing

-As trade and wealth increased in Mesopotamia, the need for recording business transactions developed. The Sumerians created cuneiform, the earliest known form of writing. Cuneiform was formed by pressing wedge shapes into a clay tablet. This useful form of communication soon spread across the Near East. -Sumerian cuneiform originated as the use of clay tokens to count numbers of items used in trade, such as units of grain or cows. Eventually the tokens were given up and counting was done with a stylus on wet clay. Gradually, pictographs (simplified drawings to represent things) and then phonetic characters (sound-based elements) were added to the number counting. -Cuneiform was adapted by the Akkadians, the Hittites, and the Egyptians, among others. The Egyptians adapted cuneiform to develop hieroglyphics. Like cuneiform, Egyptian writing was originally logographic. -Phoenicians, sea-going traders based in the Mediterranean, traded with both the Fertile Crescent and Egypt. They also began colonies along the north coast of Africa. Phoenicians were exposed to both Sumerian and Egyptian writing, and they improved on cuneiform by developing a phonetic alphabet. -The Phoenician language had only consonants; the Greeks adapted the Phoenician language by including vowels. The ancient Egyptian language was supplanted by Semitic languages such as Arabic. -The advantage of logographic languages is that they allow speakers of different spoken languages to communicate in the same written language (in other words, the logographs can be pronounced differently but still mean the same thing). The disadvantage is there is a large number of characters that have to be learned. After a logographic system is learned, it is faster to read than an alphabetic system, but alphabetic systems allow for abbreviations and acronyms and normally indicate pronunciation more easily.

The Code of Hammurabi

-Babylonia, and its capital Babylon, was a kingdom composed of Sumer and Akkad. Babylonian King Hammurabi unified the Babylonian rule over Mesopotamia by conquering Sumer and Akkadia. He is best known for his list of laws, known as the Code of Hammurabi. This list of 282 laws was written on a stone tablet and displayed in the city. -The bas-relief of Hammurabi is located in the U.S. House of Representatives -This is the first-known example of a belief that laws were immutable-unable to be changed even by a king. Unlike other ancient kings, Hammurabi did not believe that he was related to the gods; instead, he felt that the gods wanted him to institute this code of laws that should apply to everyone, including him. Some of the laws are quite familiar, including injunctions against false accusations, rape, and stealing. Others are less common, such as the law that allowed surgeons whose patients died to be punished.

Egyptian Religious Beliefs

-Egyptians believed that divinity was expressed through nature-they worshiped gods such as the sun god Ra and the river goddess Isis. Each pharaoh was not just a representative of the divine, but a god himself. Pyramids and other structures were built in order to please the gods and provide a proper resting place for deceased pharaohs. -The process of mummification, for which the ancient Egyptians are so well known, was intended to speed a person's departure to the afterlife, and provide him with a suitable vessel when the soul came to visit the body on occasion. Jewels, food, and even servants could be entombed with a mummified pharaoh. -Mummification was a complicated process: --first, the brain and internal organs were removed --then, the body was covered in natron, a mineral salt that dehydrated it --after that, the body was wrapped in cloth and often placed inside a carved sarcophagus, or stone coffin

Other Regions

-Less information is available about early human settlements outside the Fertile Crescent. It is known that early civilizations across the world developed their own unique languages, cultures, religious beliefs, and economies, but often obtained crops and domesticated animals from the rest of the ancient world. -For example, the island of Britain was growing wheat by approximately 4000 BC, and the Chinese had horses by 2000 BC. In regions such as Western Europe, the transition from the Stone Age occurred later than in the Fertile Crescent. Engineering was still advancing, however, as can be seen in the erection of stone megaliths such as Stonehenge in England (primarily constructed around 3000 BC).

Mesopotamia

-Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, had a unique geography. The seasonally flooding rivers caused the creation of a highly specialized society, Sumer. -The area of southern Mesopotamia formed into city-states by the third millennium BC. Each city-state traded with the others, and with northern tribes and the Indian peninsula. The city-state of Akkadia invaded the southern city-state Sumer in 2334 BC. Akkadian language and political forms displaced Sumerian, but Sumerian culture and writing (known as cuneiform) remained dominant. Around 1750 BC, Sumer and Akkadia became part of the vast Babylonian empire, until Babylon fell in 1595 BC to the Hittites.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

-The Epic of Gilgamesh is the first surviving written story recorded in human history. Gilgamesh was a historical figure, a king of Sumer around 2650 BC. -in the epic, written by the later Babylonians, Gilgamesh is portrayed as a godlike figure. Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu undertake several dangerous quests. -Many stories from a variety of cultures have incorporated elements of the Gilgamesh myth. For example, in the epic there is a major flood that covers all the lands of the earth before it subsides. The story of Noah and the flood in the Old Testament of the Bible is very similar, as is the story of Matsya, an avatar of Vishnu, in a Hindu sacred text.

The Hebrew People

-The Hebrew tribes were semi-nomadic people who moved from Mesopotamia into Canaan (modern-day Israel/Palestine and Lebanon) around 1500 BC. Some Hebrew clans later lived in Egypt, and then returned to Palestine. -David, one of the first kings of the Hebrews, helped set up the Hebrew capital at Jerusalem. After David's son Solomon's rule, the northern tribes split to form Israel; the southern kingdom was named Judah. In 721 BC, Israel was conquered by the Assyrians; in 587 BC, Judah was conquered by the Babylonians and the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed.

Jewish Religious Beliefs

-The Jewish god, known as Yahweh, was the center of a monotheistic tradition that developed through the Hebrew experience. The Ten Commandments, believed to be given to Moses by God during the exodus from Egypt, called for believers to adhere to a strict code of ethics. --According to the Hebrew Bible, Moses received the Ten Commandments at the Mount Sinai. -A series of prophets in the eighth century BC called for individual conscience and proposed a just God intimately involved with people and events. These prophets served as social critics in Israel and called for greater piety and morality. -The Hebrew Bible, also now known as the Old Testament, collected the ideas of Hebrew leaders and prophets and preserved them for an increasingly scattered Hebrew people. Christianity and Islam have both drawn on Judaism's texts and traditions.

Early Human Settlement

-The Neolithic revolution made it possible for people to settle in one place and allowed for increased specialization of labor. As civilizations passed through the Bronze and Iron Ages, religious and social structures became more complex. -During this time period, civilizations began to grow around the Fertile Crescent. Mesopotamia, consisting of Sumer and Akkadia, and Egypt were two important Bronze and Iron Age areas of settlement and growth. Other groups, such as the Phoenicians and Jews, would influence these groups and develop their own traditions and cultures.

Egyptian Engineering

-The Old Kingdom was the period of greatest pyramid building. For example, on the Giza Plateau in the Nile delta, Egyptians built several notable structures, including a great pyramid and the Sphinx. These architectural marvels were religious symbols, and often tombs. The Great Pyramid at Giza was built as the tomb for the pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops). This pyramid is nearly 500 feet tall and was the world's tallest building for over three millennia. -These immense structures were built without modern equipment or advanced machinery. Paid workers lifted huge slabs of stone using systems of pulleys and ropes. In order to create these marvels of engineering, Egyptian engineers developed a variety of tools, including the chalk and plumb lines and the carpenter's square, that are still used today.

The Neo-Babylonian Empire

-The Persians, under their king Cyrus, conquered Mesopotamia, much of the Fertile Crescent, including part of the eastern end of the Mediterranean around 550 BC. The seat of government was in Babylon, and the empire was known as the Neo-Babylonian, or Chaldean, Empire. Cyrus allowed the Hebrew captives in Babylon to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem and allowed religious freedom throughout the Persian Empire. --Persians adopted the use of coins to replace the practice of barter, and it spread throughout their empire. Coins led to wider trading networks and the ability for goods to be sold in a variety of markets. -Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, was a Persian prophet of the sixth century BC whose teachings developed into Zoroastrianism. He proclaimed that two forces-good and evil-were battling, and that believers in good would be resurrected in paradise after their deaths. He also prophesied that a messiah would appear on earth to prepare for the final battle against evil and the end of the world. Zoroaster's ideas were highly influential on later Roman, Jewish, and Christian religious thought.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead

-To help the souls of the recently deceased pass into the realm of the gods, Egyptians often included instructional texts, which were painted on the walls of the tombs or written on papyrus scrolls and buried with the mummies. These texts included instructions on the passage between the material world and the spirit world and invocations to the Egyptian gods. The books contained spells and charms that could be used by the dead person to ensure his passage to the heavenly realm. -One such book, written for the scribe Ani in 240 BC, was translated by E.A. Wallis Budge in the early twentieth century and is one of the best-known Egyptian books of the dead.

The Egyptian Kingdom

-Unlike the Mesopotamian dynasties that developed as separate city-states, the Egyptian pharaohs held tight control over their territories. -The pharaohs were based around the Nile River, which flooded consistently every year providing irrigation and fertile soil. This regular irrigation allowed the Egyptians to grow their own food, so they weren't forced to do much exploration. Also, Egypt was surrounded by deserts. Therefore, the Egyptian civilization was relatively isolated and Egyptian culture developed without significant influence from other ancient civilizations.

Tomb of Tutankhamen

-You have probably heard of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen, or King Tut. He ruled during the New Kingdom period. The Valley of the Kings, across the Nile from Thebes (now Luxor) was a burial place for over 60 pharaohs and nobles. -Tutankhamen's tomb was virtually undisturbed until the twentieth century. It was discovered in 1922 by Harold Carter and excavated. A variety of priceless artifacts was recovered from the tomb and have been displayed around the world. Finding Tutankhamen's tomb restimulated modern interest in ancient Egypt, which continues today. -Although Tutankhamen was only a minor pharaoh, the discovery of his intact tomb gave historians and archaeologists many insights into the practice of mummification and a better understanding of the Egyptian pharaohs.

Ziggurat

A temple building of Mesopotamia, built in the form of a terraced pyramid.

The Later Periods 715-332 BC

After the turn of the first millennium BC, Egypt was invaded and ruled by a series of other tribes and groups, including the Hittites, the Assyrians, and the Persians. This period, known as the Late Period, meant fragmentation for the Egyptian court and cultural diversity that arrived via the invaders.

Lesson 1 Summary

Between 1800 and 600 BC, a series of empires dominated Mesopotamia. Cultural, technological, and governmental innovations developed in this area and gave the Fertile Crescent its nickname of the "cradle of civilization." Some of these important events and changes were: --The area around the eastern Mediterranean and the four rivers of the Tigris, Euphrates, Nile, and Jordan was fertile and allowed the development of early settlements. --Egypt, Sumer, Assyria, and the Israelite tribes developed religious and cultural traditions, economies, and trade. --Egyptian, Zoroastrian, and Hebrew forms of worship and religion were passed around the ancient Near East by traders such as the Phoenicians. --The written language developed in the Near East was adopted and adapted across the world. --The cultural legacies of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia continue to the present day.

One of the most notable features of the Code of Hammurabi is the idea that laws:

Cannot be changed, even by a king

The earliest form of writing is known as:

Cuneiform

Wedge-shaped marks in clay used in counting by the Sumerians. A forerunner of today's alphabets.

Cuneiform

The Middle Kingdom 2040-1674 BC

During the Middle Kingdom, rule was relaxed somewhat and conditions for common people improved. Religion became more democratic and accessible. In the late Middle Kingdom period, the Hyksos, a tribe from Palestine, conquered Lower Egypt and threatened the rest of Egypt.

The Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom Periods in Egypt

Egyptian history has been divided into four periods by historians.

Lesson 1 Summary Transcript

European social critic Max Nordau wrote, "Civilization is built on a number of ultimate principles ... respect for human life, the punishment of crimes against property and persons, the equality of all good citizens before the law ... or, in a word, justice." As we have reviewed, there were many great societal changes between 1800 and 600 BC, and the leaps and bounds made by the civilizations around the Fertile Crescent changed the world forever by paving the way for many magnificent advancements in humankind.

A term that refers to the area in the Middle East that includes the basins of the Nile, Jordan, Tigris, and Euphrates Rivers, where ancient civilization first developed. Called "fertile" because crops grew easily in the area.

Fertile Crescent

The first known written story is that of:

Gilgamesh

The sixth king of Babylonia, who conquered the Akkadians and Sumerians. He developed one of the first codifications of law in the ancient world.

Hammurabi

The Egyptian system of writing that used pictographs, which are drawn pictures meant to represent people or ideas.

Hieroglyphics

The period of history after the Bronze Age, when metallurgy had advanced to using iron rather than bronze in tools and weapons. In the Middle East, this period began in approximately 1200 BC.

Iron Age

This was the New Stone Age; the period that began when agriculture is discovered and ended when metalworking became common. It was followed by the Bronze Age and Iron Age.

Neolithic

Also known as the Hebrew Testament, these Hebrew scriptures were written primarily between 1000 and 200 BC and became the basis of Judaism and a significant influence on Christianity and Islam.

Old Testament

The Old Kingdom 2686-2181 BC

The Old Kingdom was the age of pyramid builders and of absolute theocratic rule. Pharaohs and viziers, their ministers, claimed the right to rule from Ra, the sun god. Coups and assassinations were common, and political power changed hands frequently.

The Rosetta Stone

The ability to read Egyptian hieroglyphics had been lost by 600 AD, and many historical documents remained untranslated until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799. -The stone, translated by J.E. Champollion, is composed of three columns of writing: --one in hieroglyphics --one in demotic Egyptian --the last a translation in ancient Greek -Because scholars could still translate Greek, this allowed them to figure out the original text. The Rosetta Stone text is part of a series of decrees that were issued at the beginning of the reign of pharaoh Ptolemy V in 196 BC. -The Rosetta Stone is now on display at the British Museum in London, England. It was originally discovered by French archaeologists, but was surrendered to the British after Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat. -Much of our knowledge of Egyptian mathematics comes from the Rhind Papyrus, an ancient text found in 1858 and translated using the Rosetta Stone. The Rhind Papyrus contains 85 mathematical problems and their solutions.

The New Kingdom 1552- 1069 BC

Two princes from Thebes conquered the Hyksos incursion of Egypt and started the New Kingdom period. The new dynasty began creating an Egyptian empire, controlling areas such as the Sudan and parts of West Asia. The New Kingdom era was also the high point of Egyptian practices of mummification. Akhenaten, a pharaoh in the fourteenth century BC, changed the course of this empire-building, focusing instead on reformulating Egyptian religion. He wanted to create an official state religion that worshipped the sun god and to eliminate restrictions on art. After Akhenaten's death, later leaders restored traditional religious strictures, and Akhenaten's name was removed from official histories.

A temple building of Mesopotamia, built in the form of a terraced pyramid.

Ziggurat

A religious tradition begun by the Persian prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) around 500 BC.`

Zoroastrianism

Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, was contemptuous of Sumerian culture.

false

During the Neo-Babylonian era, Babylonian scholars rejected astrology as superstition.

false

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh triumphs over death.

false

Indo-European peoples have been so labeled because their language is the basis for a great many European languages, including German, Finnish, Hungarian, and Basque.

false

Sumerians viewed their gods as benign, predictable beings who always worked for their city's welfare.

false

The Great Pyramid was built in the New Kingdom by Amenhotep IV.

false

The Hebrews invented the alphabet.

false

The ancient Middle East had fewer domesticated grains and animals than the Americas.

false

Early Judaic religion was based on a belief in multiple gods.

false one God- Yahweh

The type of writing known as cuneiform was pioneered by Egyptians.

false pioneered by the Sumerians of Mesopotamia

Egyptians were challenged by the inconsistent flooding of the Nile River and depended on other civilizations for their food supply.

false the Nile was the source of the independence as a civilization

Ma'at for ancient Egyptians meant a divinely ordered concept of truth and justice.

true

The Assyrians used skilled administrators as well as terror to maintain their empire.

true

The Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, remains the central text of the Jewish religious tradition today.

true

The Neolithic Age was marked by the rise of agriculture.

true

The Persian king Cyrus allowed Jews in captivity to practice their religion and to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem.

true

The ancient Phoenicians sailed throughout the Mediterranean, west to Spain, and even into the Atlantic.

true

The great temple of Jerusalem was erected by Solomon, David's successor.

true

Zoroastrianism was based on the idea of a battle between good and evil.

true

The Rosetta Stone:

Allowed scholars to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics

An ancient kingdom with a capital in Babylon.

Babylonia

A Sumerian ruler who ruled around 2650 BC.

Gilgamesh

By 2800 B.C.E., a sophisticated writing system had been developed in Sumer.

true

Egyptians often buried their Pharaohs with food, valuable items, and servants.

true

Hammurabi's law code included punishments of the "eye for an eye" type.`

true

In the Paleolithic Age, humans lived in small bands of about 30-40 people.

true

Akhenaten was the last powerful pharaoh of Egypt.

false