North Africa & Southwest Asia

1. North Africa & Southwest Asia Early Cultures

2. Egypt, in North Africa, and Mesopotamia, in Southwest Asia, were the earliest known human civilizations.

3. The earliest civilizations date back only about 5,000 years.

4. Mesopotamia, the site of the first permanent human settlement, grew between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. Today, Syria and Iraq occupy this area.

5. Mesopotamia and other early civilizations are known as the Bronze Age because of their use of metal bronze, a mixture copper and tin.

6. The people of Mesopotamia built irrigation systems to control flooding. They also developed a 12-month calendar based on the phases of the moon to better predict the coming of the flood waters. Barley, and possibly wheat, were grown for the first time. The plow was used here for the first time, as well.

7. A city-state was made up of the city and the farmland around it. City-states were theocracies.

8. A theocracy was a form of government ruled by an individual who was both the religious leader and the king. These priest-kings had almost absolute power.

9. A theocracy is a form of unlimited government.

10. Empire-group of states under one ruler

11. Babylon’s greatest king, Hammurabi, wrote a set of laws known as the Hammurabi Code.

12. The Babylonians developed a number system based on 60. We have borrowed the 60 minute hour, the 60 second minute, and the 360 degree circle from the Babylonians.

13. The Phoenicians were one of the most important traders. They were located mainly in what is today Lebanon. They developed an alphabet that gave rise to the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin alphabets still in use today.

14. Ancient Egypt Egypt grew out of a river valley, the Nile.

15. The Nile River is the longest river in the world. It runs north from its source for 4,160 miles. At the Mediterranean Sea it forms a great delta.

16. Delta-a fan-shaped or triangular piece of richly fertile land.

17. Pharaoh means great house which probably refers to their lavish or fancy palaces.

18. Polytheistic means many gods. This describes most religions of ancient times. The pharaoh ruled as a god, so Egypt’s government was a theocracy like Mesopotamia.

19. Important Egyptian gods • Horus-god of light • Hapi-river god • Re-sun god • Osiris-god of the harvest and eternal life

20. Egyptians embalmed (preserved immediately after death) the bodies of their dead. They embalmed their dead because they believed in life after death, and they did not think the soul could exist without the body.

21. The mummies of poor people were buried in caves or in the desert sand. Rich people’s mummies were placed in coffins in very elaborate tombs. Many of these tombs contained fabulous treasures.

22. The biggest tombs were called pyramids, and they belonged to the pharaohs.

23. Ancient Egyptian system of writing is called hieroglyphics, a form of picture writing with about 800 signs. Language experts only learned to read hieroglyphics in 1821.

24. Hatsheptsut was the first female pharaoh.

25. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are major world religions. All three are examples of monotheism-the belief in one supreme god.

26. Judaism is the oldest of these three religions. It was first practiced by the Israelites. Today the followers of Judaism are known as Jews. Their holy book is known as the Torah.

27. Judaism important holy days Rosh Hashanah-New Year’s Day on the Jewish calendar Yom Kippur-the holiest day in Judaism, also called the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur is observed by a 24-hour period of prayer and fasting.

28. Christianity is the world’s largest religion. It is made up of people called Christians. Their holy book is known as the Bible.

29. Christians were persecuted in the Roman Empire until about A.D. 300. Then the emperor, Constantine the Great, proclaimed Christianity was to be a lawful religion. At this point, Christians were no longer persecuted.

30. Like all great empires, Egypt grew weak and was eventually conquered by the Greeks and Romans.

31. The spread of Christianity was achieved through the work of individuals and missions. The teachings of Jesus were carried across the globe by missionaries who built churches, schools, and hospitals to take care of new Christians.

32. Europe, especially Rome and Constantinople, became the center of Christianity. For hundreds of years the Christian church shared power with the rulers of many nations of Europe.

33. Jesus’ birth Palm Sunday-when Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph Good Friday-day of his crucifixion, death on the cross Easter-the day Jesus rose from the dead, the most important day of the Christian calendar Important events in the life of Jesus

34. Islam is the world’s second largest religion. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. The Muslim holy book is the Koran.

35. There are three holy cities in Islam: Mecca, Madinah, and Jerusalem.

36. Ramadan • A very important holiday on the Muslim calendar. • In this month, according to Muslim beliefs, God began to reveal the Koran to Muhammad. • Muslims observe Ramadan by fasting from dawn to sunset and refraining from any acts that take their attention away from God.