mesopotamia

Tuthmosis III

( 1479-1425 B.C.)- most aggressive in expanding Egypt's borders • Extended Egypt's territory into present day Syria, north Africa, captured the rest of Nubia and dominating it Dominance led to Egypt's decline Nubians rebelled and threw out Egypt's rule • 700 BC Egypt had been cleared out of the places it took over

Middle Kingdom

2040-1640 B.C. o The bad period o Pharaoh's loss of power • Able to maintain a degree of wealth Kind of development of ... Not Blue Bloods- descendants of wealthy As ... became more prosperous, they started to not listen to Pharaoh Pharaoh was not as powerful- leads to instability • As a result of Egyptian prosperity, ... started making citizens have a say in government As citizens start to feel they have more power, it leads to instability o Hyksos • Foreign invaders from southwestern Asia that invade Egypt during middle kingdom period Suspect that they want to control Nile and take natural resources controlled Egypt for about fifty years, finally able to draw them out • 2040-1640 BC (Eras overlap) • Period of time marked by relative instability • Pharaohs weren't as powerful as in the Old Kingdom o Egypt's Old Kingdom prosperity led to individual prosperity o People were more likely to resist or ignore pharaohs' demands o This led to instability • Internal instability focuses pharaohs' attention very much to the inside of the empire and distracts them from external threats • Instability allowed for a foreign invader to come in and rule Egypt for a while known as the Hyksos (foreign invader from the east...Asia

Nerfertiti

Akhenaten's wife o Influential in promoting Aten as only god • Spread to the public and convinced them o Some believed she ruled Egypt after Akhenaten died because she was so powerful Crucial figure in encouraging the populous to adopt monotheism o Informal power in her husband's court

Amon-Re

Amon (fertility god) and Re (sun god) o Both crucial for the growth of a nation/kingdomAmon- god of creation and fertility- Nile delta, not just referring to human reproduction o Re- sun god

Mummification

Bodies were preserved by first, removing internal organs, second, covering bodies in salt to draw out all water, and filled with perfume and spices to make the decomposing bodies smell better, and then wrapped in linens and put into a tomb with painting of them on the outside Furniture, tools, weapons, (anything they might need in the next life) was buried with the dead Egyptian cities developed along the river

Nile River

Egypt became world power trade agriculture fertile soil A river in E Africa, the longest in the world, flowing N from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean. Lots of resources surrounding, 4,000 miles in Uganda, Sudan, and into Egypt

Memphis

Menes founded this city, near nile delta- one of the first capitals of Ancient Egypts- all pharaohs were gods

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia • Present day Iraq • Where one of the first civil humans that we know of lived • Left behind written records • Had a written language that historians figured out how to interpret • Written language- cuneiform because Mesopotamia's wrote, we know more about them writing is crucial Mesopotamia developed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers • Referred to as the fertile crescent- water o Water is crucial because they can use the water as irrigation • Very fertile because of fresh water Water is also used for trade • Because of water people get stronger- food, children, healthy and grow population bigger and access to other places because of water trade • No Mesopotamian government... Think of Mesopotamia as a land mass. Mesopotamia was named later by the Greeks. • A lot of what we know is based on interpretations of historians and archeologists. It's almost like putting together a puzzle. They are making inferences about the societies of the time. (That's just the nature of going back this far in history.) • Mesopotamia had a written language!! The places that we know a lot about are the places that wrote stuff down. (There were other societies that coexisted with Mesopotamia, but because they didn't leave behind writings, we know little to nothing about them. • Written language—cuneiform (term actually means "wedge-shaped") the process involved taking a piece of wet clay and writing the cuneiform in it. (Because of its durable form, these writings stay around today. Writing on paper will not be around for thousands of years.) • Farming and trade transactions were both recorded. Farming was important to Mesopotamians and we know they transacted business. We know this because we have their tablets of writing! • Mesopotamia is a region (not a country or an empire). Within that region, specific kingdoms and cities developed around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. That region is often referred to as the "Fertile Crescent" because the land between the two rivers was very fertile.

Isis

Osiris wife, legend that she picked up body parts of dead husband for proper burial

Khufu/Cheops

Pyramids at Giza, largest pyramids, built during the old kingdom era Pharaohs had these built as tombs, this shows there power over the population took about 2.3 million limestone blocks to build one pyramid- 20 years-only machine is wheel and pulley

Monotheism

ancient Egyptians develop one god • Pharaoh Amenhotep IV- favored one god Aten o Decided Aten should be only god o Development of monotheism • Pharaoh Amenhotep IV - favored god Aten; developed the Egyptian concept of ...; decided that Egyptians should only worship this god

Sphinx

body of a lion head of a human, oldest statue in the world- 2500 BC- around when pyramids were finished being built

Amenhotep IV/ Akhenaten

o Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten because he was so devoted to the god, Aten (sun god) o One of the earliest monotheistic religions • Nefertiti—wife of Akhenaten o Crucial figure in encouraging the populous to adopt monotheism o Informal power in her husband's court o Changed his name to Akhenaten- because he is devoted to Aten o Same person and Pharaoh Amenhotep • Nefertiti o Akhenaten's wife o Influential in promoting Aten as only god • Spread to the public and convinced them o Some believed she ruled Egypt after Akhenaten died because she was so powerful

Babylon/Hammurabi/Code of Laws

o Most important contribution o First written law code that we know about • Could have been a leader before but we don't know about it • Archeologist found tablets (1901 discovered) and could translate o Main purpose was to promote general welfare - wanted to provide recourse • Not a democracy o He believes laws should not be arbitrary • People should know what the laws are so people can obey them, written down- important to ... Good for ... too, people should know and he could show them, you chose to do this, you suffer consequences He could cover himself to have the laws written down Eye for an Eye- if you kill neighbors son, your son will be killed, what you do to someone will happen to you • Punishment is stricter for poor than the rich• Code of Law: most important contribution o Earliest known written law code o Allowed the citizens to know what the government expected of them o Shielded Hammurabi o An eye for an eye is the basic concept that the Code of Law exemplifies o If a person was wronged, they could easily point to the punishment. o Provided national cohesiveness o In theory, the law was applicable to everyone (but obviously the rich got off easier than peasants). Some laws specified lighter punishments to the rich, so there was obviously a class structure. o Importance of private properties o Collective responsibility of community property • Technological Advancements o Bronze o Writing (Cuneiform) o Wheel o Chariot o Trade • Class and Culture o Free classes o Slaves o Patriarchal Society o Women • Mesopotamians in the News o Iraq War o Water

Osiris

o Osiris- became god- legend- had a brother named Seth who killed him and chopped his body and scattered body around Egypt. Isis- Osiris wife- very loyal, went all over to collect body parts to give a proper burial. Gods watching over are impressed. He must have been good man. Gods decide to make Osiris a god. LEGEND. Made the god that a soul goes to be judged by. Important god. Issues judgment about what happens to you in afterlife • Osiris and Isis (husband and wife...husband's body was scattered all over and wife went and found every parts to give him a proper burial so the gods made Osiris a very important god)

Tutankhamen

o Significance • not a significant ruler, remains are important • became king when he was 9 years old, position inherited, ruled for about 10 years o 1341-1323 B.C. (ruled 1333-1324 B.C.) o "Boy King"- 9 years old o Father was Akhenaten o Death • 19 years old, 5'7" when he died • good health, no disease • Scientist believe he broke his leg from fall, and leg developed gangrene • Conspiracy theorist believe he was struck in the head, murdered • Significance (not important as a ruler) o He's important because of his body because his body gives us access to the times o His body is the most preserved complete • 1340-1323 BC (ruled 1333-1324 BC) o Nine years old when he became pharaoh o "Boy King" o Died at age 19 • Father was Akhenaten • His death provides us interesting information about Egyptians (about 5'7", generally in good health based on the state of his organs); most agreed that he fell and broke his leg and died of gangrene in his leg; theory of murder (evidence of trauma to the back of his head, possible that embalmers had to open the head to get his brain out);

Fertile Crescent

the land between the two rivers was very fertile. o Advantage of being between rivers: • Fertile soil • Trade with neighboring civilizations • More food → healthier population, growing population, surviving babies, leftover food to sell and make money to become prosperous! • Access to other parts of the areaMesopotamia developed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers • Referred to as the fertile crescent- water o Water is crucial because they can use the water as irrigation • Very fertile because of fresh water Water is also used for trade • Because of water people get stronger- food, children, healthy and grow population bigger and access to other places because of water trade

Nubia

was Egypt's neighbor to the south (nowadays...Sudan), A civilization to the south of Egypt in the Nile Valley, noted for development of an alphabetic writing system and a major iron working industry by 500 BCEo Relations with... At times, they both felt threatened by the existence of the other o Both desire control of the Nile River o Egypt wants control of natural resources of ....(ivory, gold, precious stones) o Egypt took control of a portion of ... during the Old Kingdom Era. Over time, Egyptians and ... began to marry (because they cohabitated) and have families. This process of intermarriage leads to a period of relatively peaceful coexistence. • Time of prosperous growth

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

water, agriculture, trade, more food-> healthy, growing population, surviving babies-> sell food -> income, access to other parts of the area• Mesopotamia is a region (not a country or an empire). Within that region, specific kingdoms and cities developed around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. That region is often referred to as the "Fertile Crescent" because the land between the two rivers was very fertile. o Advantage of being between rivers: • Fertile soil • Trade with neighboring civilizations • More food → healthier population, growing population, surviving babies, leftover food to sell and make money to become prosperous! • Access to other parts of the area

New Kingdom

• 1550-1070 BC • The recapture of Egypt by its own people marked the beginning of the New Kingdom • Great agricultural growth • Pharaoh Tuthmosis III was the most aggressive in expanding Egypt's border (captured and controlled Nubia) • Rebellion against expansion and decline o Expansion was Egypt's downfall o If you desire a big empire, how do you balance expanding your power with keeping the citizens happy? Desire for imperial expansion tends to lead to the downfall of an empire. • By 700s BC, Egypt's territory was back at where it was at the beginning of the New Kingdom Era (Nubia took itself back)1550- 1070 B.C. o Pharaoh Tuthmosis III ( 1479-1425 B.C.)- most aggressive in expanding Egypt's borders • Extended Egypt's territory into present day Syria, north Africa, captured the rest of Nubia and dominating it Dominance led to Egypt's decline Nubians rebelled and threw out Egypt's rule • 700 BC Egypt had been cleared out of the places it took over • Rebellion and decline o Empires usually decline over years so people don't know it is happening

Discovery of King Tut's Tomb

• 1922 - Howard Carter (most in-tact of any tombs found) • Curse of the pharaohs: idea that developed after the discovery of the tomb o "Anyone who disturbs a pharaoh's tomb will be cursed" o Several of the archeologists who helped uncover the tomb died of unnatural circumstances • This curse led to the common display of mummies as "scary" and "evil" in American popular culture

Sargon/Akkad

• 2370-2315 BC • 2334 BC- becomes king • Builds strong army • Conquers Sumer o Lived near Euphrates river- essential • Mesopotamians believed in multiple gods o Sargon was believed to be favored by the gods • Overthrew king before him to become king Wasn't satisfied being just king • Had to conquer Sumer o IMPERIALISM Wants more power and more control so he has an army to conquer Sumer • Wasn't satisfied so he conquered many other kings (5000 soldiers at all time) • Many were angry because he conquered their kingdom Numerous (repeated) rebellions over time weakened his empire • His kingdom finally COLLAPSED People were angry about his demand for taxes • Every family had to give $$, arbitrary , he didn't inform citizens and didn't abide by it o Population will do whatever he says without question o Arbitrary- Random o Nobody knew what to expect- no pattern • Main reason that led to rebellions

Sumer

• 6,000 BC- Irrigation • 4,000 BC- first cities- small groups of people living in small groups, Population grows • 3,000 BC- population of ... was about 100,000 people- big city • Population growth and prosperity • Need for law enforcement- a lot of people concentrated into one place, need to keep order, have large pop of people concentrated in small area there is a need to keep order, stay controlled, keep conflicts from escalating, law enforcement was needed to make sure people were helping (such as buildings) participate in building projects, law enforcement made sure everyone was pulling their own weight • Building projects- Temple at Uruk- irrigation systems, palaces, required a lot of work and people, no machines(heavy equipment) wheel and human strength. Not desirable work, law enforcement was to make sure people did the work—could not get out of building the temple if you were appointed o 3200 BC- built o People of .... were strong- if not would be unable to build the temples, rich were not building o Food was distributed among population, well fed pop among the poor o FOOD AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ALLOW THE TEMPLE TO BE POSSIBLE ... is one of the earliest civilizations we knew of

Hyksos

• Foreign invaders from southwestern Asia that invade Egypt during middle kingdom period Suspect that they want to control Nile and take natural resources controlled Egypt for about fifty years, finally able to draw them out

Polytheism

• Originally polytheistic- Amon and Re- main two gods o Amon- god of creation and fertility- Nile delta, not just referring to human reproduction o Re- sun god Both crucial for the growth of a nation/kingdom

Old Kingdom

• Pharaohs • Pyramids at Giza- larges: Khufu/Cheops- took about 2.3 million limestone blocks to build one pyramid- archaeologists believe it took 20 years- only machine is a wheel and possibly a pulley • Sphinx-body of lion, head of human, oldest statue in the world-2500 B.C.- around when pyramids were finishing being built • Relations with Nubia o Egypt's neighbor to the south- shares the Nile River o Nubia was rich in gold, ivory, and precious stones—had natural resources o Empires like to expand • Seen as a threat and had resources Egypt wanted • Nubia was concerned about their empire being conquered • Nubia wanted to control the trade along the Nile River • Using the water for trade and crops • Said they could make profit on the trade (taxes) • Tensions led to frequent violence among Egypt and Nubia • Egypt was eventually able to control a portion of Nubia • Overtime Egyptians and Nubians began to intermarry. Families are all intertwined Led to inner peace between Egyptians and Nubians • All icons we think about when thinking Ancient Egypt were built in Old Kingdom• 2660-2160 BC • Time when pharaohs had a lot of power over the kingdom • Pyramids at Giza (largest pyramids: Khufu/Cheops) built during the Old Kingdom Era o Pharaohs had these built as tombs • This shows their power over the population • Sphinx • Relationships with Nubia o At times, they both felt threatened by the existence of the other o Both desire control of the Nile River o Egypt wants control of natural resources of Nubia (ivory, gold, precious stones) o Egypt took control of a portion of northern Nubia during the Old Kingdom Era. Over time, Egyptians and Nubia began to marry (because they cohabitated) and have families. This process of intermarriage leads to a period of relatively peaceful coexistence. • Time of prosperous growth

Egypt

• We know a lot about Ancient Egypt because of their writings, known as hieroglyphics, and bodies, mummified and fairly well preserved, left behind. • In the 1840's, historians discovered the Rosetta Stone that enabled them to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics Egypt and Nubia • Nubia was Egypt's neighbor to the south (nowadays...Sudan) • Menes—historians believe he ruled ancient Egypt and founded a city called "Memphis" in Egypt (located in the Nile River delta 3000s BC

Cuneiform

• Written language—(term actually means "wedge-shaped") the process involved taking a piece of wet clay and writing the cuneiform in it. (Because of its durable form, these writings stay around today. Writing on paper will not be around for thousands of years.)

Menes

• historians believe he ruled ancient Egypt and founded a city called "Memphis" in Egypt (located in the Nile River delta 3000s BC founded the city of Memphis near the Nile delta- 3000 B.C.-one of the first capitals of Ancient Egypt- all Pharaohs were gods