THE GREAT RIVER CIVILIZATIONS

1. THE GREAT RIVER CIVILIZATIONS Mesopotamia – region of the Middle East that is between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. (also called Fertile Crescent)

2. SUMER Sumerians – lived in the Fertile Crescent and built the first great civilization. - Lived in southern Mesopotamia. - Societies were formed because people were organized to get jobs done.

3. SUMER Irrigate – bringing water from the river (Tigris & Euphrates) and water their crops. - Built canals and water raising devices to water fields. - Built dikes to stop floods and hold water in lakes.

4. SUMER City-states – self-governing city that also governs nearby villages. - Walls around each city-state protected the citizens from outside invaders.

5. SUMER The Growth of Cities - 12 city-states run by a group of citizens and a chosen leader. - Were war-like people who always attacked each other. - Each city-state had a marketplace, temples, and houses.

6. SUMER Division of Labor - Skilled workers – copper, stone, pottery, weaving leather. - Leaders and managers, traders, merchants, boat builders. - Priests and priestesses.

7. SUMER Inventions - Land measurement – called IQU now called an acre. - Grain measurement – developed the quart as standard. - Time measurement – based on the number 60.

8. SUMER Inventions - Writing – started history by being able to record things. - Put marks in clay and then baked them to make them hard.

9. SUMER Pictograms – simple pictures of common things. (cattle, grain, people) Cuneiform – the first true writing.

10. SUMER Cuneiform - Allowed civilizations to record laws, customs, history, and make education possible, improve business, and helped religion grow.

11. SUMER Cuneiform Cuneiform Cylinder of Nabopolassar Recording Repair of the City Wall of Babylon, Mesopotamia, BabylonNeo-Babylonian Period, Reign of Nabopolassar, 625 - 605 B.CEmory University

12. SUMER Scribe – after 12 years of studying, a student would become an official writer.

13. SUMER Polytheism – belief in many gods and goddesses.

14. SUMER Ziggurat – temple where Sumarians would worship, some were 6 to 7 stories high.

15. SUMER Society in Sumer - Society was made of different classes. - Nobles were the wealthiest class, they owned all of the land. - Some nobles were relatives of the king and priests.

16. SUMER Society in Sumer - Most people were commoners. - Commoners were merchants, scribes, farmers, skilled workers. - Commoners could become wealthy by buying land.

17. SUMER Society in Sumer - Clients were the 3rd class of people in Sumer. - Clients were people who worked for nobles or priests. - They were sometimes given land to work on, but not own.

18. SUMER Society in Sumer - Most slaves were prisoners of war, some were slaves due to punishment. - Slaves were the 4th and lowest class in Sumer. - Slaves could buy freedom if they could earn or borrow money.

19. SUMER Empire – a group or lands of people ruled by one government

20. BABYLON Babylonians – ruled Mesopotamia from 1900 to 1700 B.C.E. Hammurabi – the greatest Babylonian King.

21. BABYLON - Hammurabi built dams across the Euphrates River giving him power to control the river’s water flow. - This included floods & droughts.

22. BABYLON Code of Law – written collection of laws that apply to the people ruled by one government. - This was Hammurabi’s greatest accomplishment.

23. BABYLON The Code of Law covered: - Criminal laws - Rules for business - Trade - Banking

24. BABYLON The Code of Law covered: - Land ownership - Military Service

25. EGYPT Nile River – was the river that ran through the Egyptians land. - Egyptians depended on the flooding of the river so that there could be rich crops.

26. EGYPT Nile River – was the river that ran through the Egyptians land. - The Nile is the world’s longest river. It flows over 4000 miles.

27. EGYPT Calendar – split into 12 months, based on the rising and setting of the moon. - The Egyptians created the calendar so that they knew when the river was going to flood.

28. EGYPT - The flooding of the Nile began in May and ended in September due to heavy rains. - Sometimes too much water meant flooding of the villages.

29. EGYPT - The water from the rains was poured into ditches which carried it to the fields.

30. EGYPT Annual Flooding Inundation – May through September. - River is flooding. - People are free to work on building projects.

31. EGYPT Annual Flooding Emergence – September to February. - Water returns to the river. - People trap water in ponds and plant seeds in mud.

32. EGYPT Annual Flooding Drought – February to May. - River is normal. - People harvest their crops.

33. EGYPT “The Gift of The Nile” - Left a strip of land that was rich farming soil. - Silt left behind by the water. - Could have been 5 to 15 miles wide.

34. EGYPT The Pharaoh Pharaoh – ruler of Egypt who lived in a “great palace”. - Had great power, expected to rule fairly. - Were worshipped as a god.

35. EGYPT The Pharaoh - Collected taxes, planned building projects, enforced laws. - Had nobles and officials to help. Menes – was the first Pharaoh.

36. EGYPT Religious Beliefs - Each village worshipped its own god. - Gods often pictured as animals. Re – first god recognized by all Egyptians, he was the Sun God.

37. EGYPT A Surplus of Food - Mediterranean coast-traded for cedar and pine timber. *used for boats and furniture - Surplus of wheat, barley, and dates used for trade. - African coast- traded for ivory, ebony, pet monkeys.

38. EGYPT Arts and Crafts - Used a potter’s wheel. Skilled workers of copper and gold. Other skilled workers *carpenters *jewelry makers *linen weavers *builders

39. EGYPT Love of Life - Liked to look beautiful *rubbed oil in skin *wore make up *men and women wore jewelry - Acrobats and musicians

40. EGYPT Building Pyramids - 1st pyramid was built for Pharaoh Zoser. Pyramids – were built as tombs, or burial places, for the pharaohs. Mummification – preserving the bodies of the dead with spices and minerals. - The mummies were then put in elaborate wooden boxes.

41. EGYPT Building Pyramids - “The Great Pyramid” was built in 2600 B.C.E. - About 80 pyramids were built in the valley of Giza.

42. EGYPT “The Great Sphinx”

43. EGYPT “Mummies” **After being buried, bodies started to decay, so the Egyptians started mummification** - process took 70 days - washed body, then applied oils - removed the brain - removed organs - put organs in jars

44. EGYPT “Mummies” - Then body was again washed and filled with salt - Body was then covered in salt and left for 40 days - Decorated body with jewels and dyes - Wrapped in linen - Mask placed over head - Funeral ceremony

45. EGYPT Egyptian Writing Hieroglyphics - (“sacred writing”) picture writing.

46. EGYPT Egyptian Writing * Officials * Tax collectors * Engineers - Scribes were important people

47. EGYPT Egyptian Writing - Used sharp reeds as pens. - Recorded on stone, walls, and paper. - Made ink from soot, ground plants, and water.

48. EGYPT The “Old Kingdom” - Age of Pyramids. - 2700 to 2200 B.C.E. Imhotep – advisor to the Pharoah, first to become famous without being king. - Designed 1st pyramid

49. EGYPT The “Middle Kingdom” 2050 - 1850 B.C.E. - A rise in the middle class (there were neither nobles nor peasants)

50. EGYPT The “Middle Kingdom” Types of jobs in the middle class - scribes - traders - government workers - land owners