Mesopotamia and Egypt

Mesopotamia and Egypt

1. RIVER CIVILISATIONS

   • First civilisations
   • River flooding fertilized land
     • Abundant harvests
       • Enough food for large populations
   • Examples
     • Mesopotamia
       • Tigris and Euphates
     • Egypt
       • Nile
     • India
       • Indus
     • China
       • Huang He and Yangtze
   • Importance of writing
     • Mesopotamia 3500 BC Cuneiform Taxes, trade, population record
   • Characteristics
     • Political power: king
     • Social hierarchy
     • Large-scale building works

2. Civilisation

   • Large states or groups of cities
   • Urban life
   • Writing
   • Share customs and beliefs
   • Great rulers
     • Emperors Kings Pharaos

3. MESOPOTAMIA

   • Natural environment
     • Between rivers
       • Tigris
       • Euphrates
     • Dry, irrigated by canals
     • Commercial links
   • Society
     • King
     • Nobles
     • Priests
     • Officials Scribes
     • Merchants
     • Craftmen
     • Peasants
     • Slaves
     • Women
       • Under the authority of men but some rights: properties, buy and sell goods, jobs.
     • Code of Hammurabi
   • Religion
     • Polytheistic
     • Gods & Goddes
     • Temples
       • House of Gods
       • Zygurats
   • Art
     • Architecture
       • Arch
       • Vault
       • Mud bricks & stones
     • Sculpture
       • Statues: kings, gods, animals
       • Reliefs: Political & religious scenes
     • Epic of Gilgamesh
   • City-states & empires
     • Sumer
     • Akkadian Empire
     • Babylonian Empire
     • Assyrian Empire
     • Neo-Babylonian Empire
     • Persians conquered the region
       • 6th century BC. End of Mesopotamia civilisation.
   • Science & inventions
     • Use maths, astronomy, time measurement...
     • Invent wheel, sailing boat...

4. EGYPT

   • Natural environment
     • River Nile
     • Floodings
     • Black land/ red land
   • Geography
     • Lower Egypt
     • Upper Egypt
   • History
     • Old Kingdom
       • 3100-2050 BC
       • Menes, 1st pharao
       • Giza pyramids
       • Capital: Memphis
     • Middle Kingdom
       • 2050-1580 BC
       • New territories (South)
       • Capital: Thebes
     • New Kingdom
       • 1580-31 BC
       • New territories: Libia, Syria
       • Pharaohs: Tutmose I Amenhotep III Akhenaten Rameses II
       • Foreign invasions: Assyrians Persians Greeks Romans
       • Large constructions
   • Society
     • Pharao:
       • Absolute power
       • God
       • Hereditary: dinasties
     • State: run by many people
       • Civil servants
       • Noblemen
       • Priests
       • Scribes
       • Soldiers
     • Other social groups
       • Peasants
       • Craftmen
       • Merchants
       • Servants
       • Slaves
     • Women
       • More rights: properties, in heritage, divorce, work...
   • Religion
     • Polytheistic
       • Gods: Ra, Isis, Osiris, Horus...
       • Animals: cat, crocodile...
       • Natural forces: River Nile...
       • People: the Pharaoh
     • Life after death
       • Mummies, sarcophagus, tombs...
     • Temples
   • Art
     • Craftsmen: working teams, Pharaoh's officials
     • Painting
       • Frontalism Hierarchical order No perspective Idealised Static
     • Religious or political meaning
     • Sculpture