Ancient Civilizations

1. Ancient Civilizations By Vivian Hu

2. Table Of Contents Byzantine Empire • Hagia Sophia • Emperor Justinian African Kingdoms • The Obelisks of Axum • The Ark of the Covenant Islamic Civilizations

3. Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire rose after Rome was divided into two separate parts, the western and the eastern. After the western part was overthrown, the eastern half continued to grow for almost another 1000 years. Originally the capital of Rome had been on the western side, however the emperor of the eastern side, Constantinople, moved the capital to his half and named it Constantinople. They were later given laws by another emperor, Justinian, he gave women more rights than in any other Empire at the time. He simplified the law so that it would be easier to understand. It later became known as the Justinian Code. The Byzantines were highly creative and educated. They passed on Roman Law and Greek Culture. For 600 years, the Byzantine Empire was the center of trade between Asia and Europe. The Emperors supported artists and architects. They told them to build forts and public buildings. Constantinople later became known for its palaces and churches, specifically the Hagia Sophia. This means “Holy Wisdom”. The walls on the inside were made out of beautiful marble and mosaics. Mosaics are bits and pieces of rocks, stone and glass, they were an important type of art. The Hagia Sophia became the religious center of the Byzantine Empire. The pope was the strongest leader in the Empire, similar to Rome. The most important part of their social life was family. The government thought that marriage and family were the most important, making divorces rare.

4. Hagia Sophia The Hagia Sophia was a church and the center of religion for the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople was most famous for the architecture of their palaces and churches. Hagia Sophia was a symbol of the greatness of the Byzantine Empire The inner walls of the Hagia Sophia were out of marble and decorated with mosaics made out of small pieces of stone, rock, and glass. The inside was also decorated with icons. Many citizens worshiped the icons and idols believing that they were a symbol of God’s presence others believed that people were idolizing the icons which was forbidden by God, and wanted to get rid of them. This caused conflicts between the churches.The emperor Leo III disapproved of the icons and hired iconoclasts to remove and destroy the icons, but the pope disagreed. The pope and the emperor broke their ties and and caused a schism.

5. Emperor Justinian Justinian was born in 483 A.D. He first came to Constantinople, not to rule, but instead to be educated. When his uncle came into power, he gave Justinian an important role in the government. When his uncle died, he was next in line for the throne. Emperor Justinian was considered one of the greatest rulers of the Byzantine Empire. He had a great influence among the Empires development. Justinian's involvement in the law, religious disputes, and rebuilding of Constantinople started a foundation for the Empire’s later achievements and accomplishments. His most famous effort, was how he wanted to reunite the east and the west of the Empire under his rule. Justinian's wars in his attempt to reunite the Empire, led to the successful rebuilding of the Byzantine Empire’s power in Italy. His wife, Theodora, had a great influence on Justinian. Often times he would go to her for advice, because of her the Byzantine Empire was at the time the Empire that gave women the most rights.

6. African Kingdoms Ancient Africa was made up of many different kingdoms. This included the Kingdom of Axum, the Swahili Coast, Great Zimbabwe the Rainforest Kingdoms. Axum is located in eastern Africa, modern day Ethiopia. It was strongest from 100 to 700 A.D. and declined when Islam expanded and took their land. It was famous for its churches, obelisks and Ark of the Covenant. The Swahili Coast is made up of not one, but many independent city-states. It was at its best from 800 to 1500 because of its strong trade and it ended because of European conquest. Its culture was a mixture of African and Arab cultures, but the main religion was Islam. Great Zimbabwe was a civilization located in the southeastern savanna of Africa. Today, it is only an abandoned city. All that is known about is known about Great Zimbabwe is what we can tell through the stone ruins that were left behind and some archeological information. It lasted from about 700 to 1450. The Shona people were the ones that founded the civilization. Two great kings expanded the empire from the Zambezi River to the border of the Indian Sea. Their artwork told stories and had practical use. The architecture is made up of huge stone buildings. The two Rainforest Kingdoms, Congo and Benin were located in climates that stayed hot all year round. They had extended families and traced their descendents through mothers. They were educated through stories told by griots. They traded surplus food for goods from the savannas.

7. The Obelisks of Axum The obelisks of Axum are tallest single stone obelisks in the entire world. It is taller than any of the other obelisks in Egypt. They mark the tombs of the kings. No one knows the exact way that they were able to be put up. All that is known is that they must’ve had a very high level of wealth, intelligence and technology. The first obelisks were built in Ancient Egypt. It is a slender stone shaft with four sides that taper to a pyramid-shaped top. The were generally placed at the entrances to temples and tombs. Some were more than 80 feet tall. The workers had to hoist them up to its final upright standing position. Even to this day there are many obelisks in the United States of America. Only we don’t consider them as obelisks, but instead as monuments. The United States placed its obelisk in New York City's Central Park in 1881. It is about 70 feet tall and weighs more than 200 tons. The Washington Monument would also be considered to be an obelisk. The Washington Monument was built for the same reason as the obelisks in Axum. They were both to honor great people.

8. The Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant is a special box that is more than 3,000 years old. It is said to contain the original ten amendments on the stone slabs that they were carved on. According to the legends, Moses had gone to Mount Sinai and received laws that must be followed from God. The most prominent story of the Ark comes from Ethiopian tradition. According to the Bible, the Queen of Sheba was actually Queen Makeda of Ethiopia. After shed adopted Mosaic laws for the people of Ethiopia, she sent her son Menelik and members of his staff to steal the Ark and bring it to Axum. There, it remains—sheltered in the Church of Saint Mary. Only one person in the entire world knows if the Ark is truly there and if in it actually holds the original ten amendments. A monk will regularly go into the church to care for the Ark and what is in it. When he is no longer able to continue his job, he will choose his successor, one that is worthy of caring for it. Axum’s past has a strong connection to Christianity and Judaism.

9. Islamic Civilizations Islam is the world's second largest and fastest growing religion. Having more than 1 billion followers. Islam was founded and taught mainly on the teachings of the prophet Mohammed. In Arabic Islam means to surrender to Allah or the God. There are two branches or sects of Islam, the Sunnis and the Shi’ah. They split in to two parts because they couldn’t agree on who should have been Muhammad’s successor. Muhammad was born in Mecca (Saudi Arabia). When he went to the mountains to pray an angel, named Gabriel came and claimed that Allah was the true God. When started teaching this the government was afraid that he was trying to take away their power, so they banished him from Mecca and he left along with his followers to Medinah, which means the city of the prophet. The Muslims were able to create a powerful Arab Empire because of their good warriors and that they were inspired and driven by their religion. Also they let the people that they conquered practice their religion. The people that they conquered would also adopt the Arab culture. The Arab rulers would be influenced but the customs of the conquered people. The Islamic Empires were wealthy because of there trade. They used caravans to trade with other civilizations such as Baghdad and China. They traded spices, cloth, glass and carpets for rubies, silk, ivory and gold.

10. The End