The River Valley Civilizations

1. The River Valley Civilizations

2. THE SUMERIANS

3. The Fertile Crescent is an area of fertile farming land in Southwest Asia. • The land surrounding the Crescent is much like a desert. • Two rivers the Tigris and the Euphrates surround the Fertile Crescent and flood the area at least once a year. • The Area became known as Mesopotamia, a Greek word meaning land between two rivers.

5. Environmental Challenges • People called the Sumerians were among the first to settle the Fertile Crescent. • Despite the fertile soil they did face some challenges… • The annual flooding was unpredictable. • Few natural barriers existed leaving the Sumerians open to attack. • Natural resources needed for building were scarce.

6. Meeting Challenges • To provide regular water to crops they dug irrigation ditches from the rivers to their fields. • For defense they built city walls using mud bricks. • For building materials they traded their grain to people of the mountains and desert for stone, wood and metal.

8. Sumerians Create City-States • The Sumerians were one of the first groups in history to create a civilization. • Five characteristics set them apart from earlier human societies… • 1)Advanced cities • 2)Specialized workers • 3)Complex institutions • 4)Record Keeping • 5)Improved Technology

9. Sumerians Create City-States • Eventually the Sumerians created several City-States each of which ran like an individual country. • Priests ruled early governments except for in times of war when military commanders took control. • Eventually these commanders would keep control and pass power to their sons creating ruling dynasties.

10. The Spread of Cities • With a surplus of food Sumerians began to travel to other cities to trade. • These cities shared good and ideas. The sharing of ideas and the blending of cultures is known as cultural diffusion.

11. Religion • Sumerians believed that many Gods controlled the forces of nature. • These Gods had human characteristics but were all-powerful and immortal. • They saw themselves as slaves to the Gods and worked hard to please them. • They did not believe in an afterlife for themselves.

13. Social Classes • In time Sumerians developed social classes which included… • Kings • Landholders & Priests • Wealthy merchants • Workers & Farmers • Slaves

14. Science & Technology • For building Sumerians used arithmetic and geometry systems in a base of 60. • Today we still use their 60 seconds in a minute and 360 degrees in a circle. • They developed Arches, columns and pyramid shaped ziggurats. • The developed a form of writing called cuneiform. Some of the oldest records of scientific investigation in astronomy, chemistry, and medicine.

16. The first Empires • Around about 2350 B.C. Sargon of Akkad invaded the city-states of Sumer and united them creating an empire. • In about 2000 B.C. Babylonians invaded gradually taking over and establishing the capital of Babylon. • This Empire peaked with the rule of Hammurabi from 1792 to 1750 B.C. • Hammurabi’s most enduring legacy was his uniform code of laws that were used in every city of Sumer. Even as new groups dominated the area they continued to use his system of laws.

19. Ancient Egypt:an Overview

20. Timeline • Old Kingdom2650 BC – 2134 BC • Middle Kingdom2125 BC – 1550 BC • New Kingdom1550 BC – 1295 BC • http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/resources/timeline.html

21. 1 Three Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt OLD KINGDOM MIDDLE KINGDOM NEW KINGDOM Pharaohs organized a strong central state, were absolute rulers, and were considered gods. Egyptians built pyramids at Giza. Power struggles, crop failures, and cost of pyramids contributed to the collapse of the Old Kingdom. Large drainage project created arable farmland. Traders had contacts with Middle East and Crete. Corruption and rebellions were common. Hyksos invaded and occupied the delta region. Powerful pharaohs created a large empire that reached the Euphrates River. Hatshepsut encouraged trade. Ramses II expanded Egyptian rule to Syria. Egyptian power declined.

22. Geography • Egypt is located in northeastern Africa • The Nile River runs the length of the country flowing south to north • The river begins in the mountains of Africa and empties into the Mediterranean Sea • The climate is hot and dry, part of the Sahara Desert http://www.worldcountries.info/Maps/GoogleMap-Egypt.php http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/explore/ter.html

24. Geography • Ancient Egypt was divided into two regions: Upper and Lower Egypt • Lower (northern) Egypt consisted of the Nile River's delta made by the river as it empties into the Mediterranean. • Upper Egypt was the long, narrow strip of ancient Egypt located south of the Delta. http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/home.html

27. The Nile was the lifeblood of ancient Egypt It made life possible in the otherwise barren desert of Egypt. It is the longest river in the world (over 4,000 miles). It served as a source of food for the people of ancient Egypt It was the major source of water for bathing and drinking The Nile was crucial for farming The Nile River

30. Blue Nile

31. White Nile

32. White & Blue Nile Meet in Sudan

33. Floodplain

34. Floodplain • The low strip of fertile land located on either side of the Nile River • The river flooded during the annual inundation • When the inundation subsided, it left the earth soaked and overlaid with a fresh layer of black silt. • Most of the farming occurred here

35. Nile Delta • Located in northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and empties into the Mediterranean Sea • 240 km of coastline, 106 km in length • Rich agricultural region • Most fertile soil in Africa

37. Bordered on the south, east and west by the Sahara Desert, and on the north by the sea, ancient Egypt was protected from outside influences.

38. Great Sahara Desert

40. Facts About the Nile River

41. Religion • Belief that many gods and goddesses ruled the world and the afterlife Amon-Re: sun god Osiris: god of the underworld and of the Nile • The pharaoh was believed to be a god as well as a ruler Falcon Headed Sun God

42. Religion • Belief in eternal life after death. Relied on the Book of the Dead to help them through the afterworld. • Practiced mummification, the preservation of the body for use in the next life.

43. Book of the Dead Collection of spells, hymns, and prayers intended to secure a safe passage to the underworld for the deceased

44. Writing Making paper from papyrus

45. What is hieroglyphics? • Hieroglyphics is the picture writing used in ancient Egypt. The word hieroglyphics is made up of two Greek words - hieros, which means sacred, and glyphe, which means carving. • The Egyptian hieroglyphic writing system consists of several hundred picture signs. The signs can be divided into two classes, phonograms and ideograms

46. Phonograms represent sounds, much as alphabet letters do. Ideograms are signs that represent whole words or concepts.

47. Pyramids

48. The Great Sphinx

49. Mythology Egyptian goddess Isis, tomb painting, ca. 1360 BC.

50. 2 Social Classes PHARAOH Earthly leader; considered a god HIGH PRIESTS AND PRIESTESSES Served gods and goddesses NOBLES Fought pharaoh’s wars MERCHANTS, SCRIBES, AND ARTISANS Made furniture, jewelry, and fabrics for pharaohs and nobles, and provided for other needs PEASANT FARMERS AND SLAVES Worked in the fields and served the pharaoh