Ancient Civilizations: From Nomads to Empires

1. Chapter 1 Ancient Near East: The First Civilizations

2. The First Humans • Historians primarily use documents to create their pictures of the past, but no written records exist for pre-history • Prehistory relies on archeological & biological findings • Earliest human-like creatures (hominids) existed in Africa as early as 3-4 million yrs ago (Australopithecines) • 1.5 million yrs ago Homo Erectus (upright human being) appeared • Used more varied tools & 1st hominid to leave Africa for Europe & Asia • 250,000 yrs ago Homo Sapiens appear • 100,000 B.C. – Neanderthals & Homo Sapiens Sapiens (1st anatomically modern human) • By 30,000 B.C., Homo Sapiens Sapiens had replaced Neanderthals • 10,000 B.C. – H.S.S could be found all over the world

3. Hunter Gatherers of the Old Stone Age • Paleolithic (Greek for “old stone”) Age is the name for the earliest period of human history (2.5 mil – 10,000 BC) • Spent most of their time hunting, migrating with the herds of wild animals • 500,000 BC – estimated beginning of systematic use of fire • Food can be cooked & used for light & warmth The Neolithic Revolution (10,000 BC – 4,000 BC) • The last ice age ended 10,000 BC and with it came great change in the living patterns of early man • Shift away from hunting-gathering • Development of systematic agriculture • Taming of animals • Once sustainable food sources developed, permanent settlements appear & more complex societies develop

4. Emergence of Civilization • civilization – a complex culture in which large numbers of human beings share a variety of common elements • Characteristics of a civilization: • An urban focus • Distinct religious structure • Political & military structures • Social structure (usually based on economic power) • Development of a system of writing • Development of new forms of intellectual & artistic activity • Egypt & Mesopotamia were the forerunners of Western civilization but 4 other civilizations developed in other regions around the world 4,000-5,000 yrs ago • Indus River Valley, Yellow River (China), Central Asia (modern Turkmenistan) & Supe River Valley (Peru)

5. Civilization in Mesopotamia • Mesopotamia – valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Greek for “land between the rivers” • The founders of Mesopotamian civilization were the Sumerians • ~3000 B.C. – several independent cities had formed; as the cities grew, they held economic & political power over the surrounding countryside (forming city-states) • Sumerian cities were walled to protect from invasion, buildings were formed from mud bricks • Each city was believed to be owned by a specific god or goddess • The ziggurat (stepped temple) dominated the city • Sumerian city-states were effectively theocracies • As time passed, the priests’ ruling power was shared with a king

6. Empires of Ancient Mesopotamia • ~2340 B.C. – the Akkadian king, Sargon, attacked the Sumerian city-states from the north • The Akkadians are referred to as the Semitic people b/c of the languages they spoke (p.9) • Sargon conquered all of Mesopotamia and west to the Mediterranean • After his death, Semitic lands were conquered by 2100 B.C. Hammurabi’s Empire • Babylonian king, Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) reunited Sumer & Akkad • Best known for his code of law (The Code of Hammurabi p10) • “Eye for an eye” • Religion (p.12) polytheistic, poor outlook of the afterlife

7. oldest examples of Sumerian writing date to 3000 BC • Called cuneiform, used pictograms • Only a very few were trained to write since it took so long to master • Literature was used for instructional purposes Epic of Gilgamesh • Gilgamesh, historic Sumerian ruler 2700 BC • Seems to be part historical truth, part legend • Very pessimistic work • Projects the gods as vengeful and enemies of man • Raises questions about man’s mortality • Part of the story shares similarities with the biblical story of Noah

8. Egyptian Civilization • Ancient Egypt developed along the same time as Mesopotamian civilization along the Nile River • The Nile runs out of central Africa north for 1,000 miles to the Mediterranian • Flooding of the Nile was gradual & predictable, making farming and living easier than in Mesopotamia • Roughly 75% of the pop of Egypt existed in the Nile Delta • Because of the predictability of the annual flooding, Egyptians had a more optimistic outlook on the stability of life

9. The Old & Middle Kingdoms • Basic framework of Egyptian history provided by Manetho, an Egyptian priest of the 3rd cent BC • Divided the history of the civilization into four periods • Old Kingdom – (3100-2700 BC) • Middle Kingdom – (2125-2055 BC) • New Kingdom – (1550-1070 BC) • Late Period – (1070-30 BC) • 3100 BC – Upper and Lower Egypt united under Menes • Old Kingdom (3-6 dynasties) • age of great prosperity • greatest of the pyramids were built • pharaohs seen as gods • Had absolute rule but had to rule by ma’at (justice & truth) • Vizier ran the bureaucracy & nomarchs served as governors

10. Nomarchs could sometimes amass power that rivaled that of the pharaoh • The first Intermediate period resulted from rivalries • The Middle Kingdom (dynasties 11-12) • Egyptians viewed the Middle Kingdom as a “golden age” of stability • The view of pharaoh changed from god-king to a guide/shepherd of the people • Period when Egypt begins imperial expansion (Nubia, Near East) • Society & Economy • Pharaoh – theoretically owned all of Egypt • Nobles and Priests – ran the govt & performed religious rituals • Merchants & Artisans – traders and craftsmen that sold goods all up & down the Nile • Farmers – paid taxes through crops & provided military service & labor for building projects

11. Culture of Egypt Spiritual Life • Egyptians had no word for religion b/c it was such a big part of all other aspects of life • Sun and land gods were especially revered • Re – sun god, pharaoh referred to as “son of Re” • Osiris – judge of the dead; Book of the Dead (p. 20) Pyramids • 1st pyramid for Djoser (3rdDyn) • Pyramids @ Giza for Snefru, Khafre, Khufu • Tomb & symbol of royal power

12. Art & Writing • Egyptian art was functional, not just decoration • Wall paintings and statues of gods & pharaohs strictly spiritual in purpose • Murals in tombs suppose to guide the soul into the afterlife • Writing emerged in Egypt during the 1st or 2nd dynasty • Greeks later named it hieroglyphics “priest-carvings” New Kingdom (dynasties 18-20) • During this time, Egypt became the most powerful empire of the ancient Near East • Reached its height under Amenhotep III (1412-1375 BC) • His son Amenhotep IV created religious upheaval when he closed temples and abolished the gods, declaring a monotheistic religion • Change d his name to Ahkenaten “servant of Aten” • After his death, the old religion reinstated by Tutankhamen • Daily Life (p. 23-26)

13. On the Fringes of Civilization • Farming had spread into the Balkan Peninsula by 6500 BC • By 4000 BC it had spread to southern France • At the same time, Europeans were building megaliths (similar to Stonehenge) a thousand years before the Egyptians were building pyramids • Stonehenge itself was built 2100-1900 BC • The 80 standing stones were 4 ton each & were transported 135 miles to the construction site • The term Indo-European refers to people who shared a parent tongue (Greek, Latin, Persian, Sanskrit & Germanic) • First Indo-Europeans based around modern Iran or Afgahnistan • Those that settled in Asia Minor formed the first Hittite kingdom • Hittite Empire formed around 1400 BC • First Indo-Europeans to use iron, fought with Egypt until Ramses II worked out a treaty • By 1190, Hittite power ended; but good example of assimilating aspects of other cultures into their own