The Ancient Near East

The Fertile Crescent (Near East river valleys with rainfall & drainage)
1. Valleys & Cities
  1. cities arose only where conditions existed for raising food in river valleys
2. The Old Stone Age (Pelo) 25,000 BCE
  1. nomads used stone and wood put to fire for tools (bow & arrow)
3. The New Stone Age (Neo) 8000 BCE
  1. farming in small villages/advances in science and technology
4. The Bronze Age 3000 BCE
  1. tools made from copper and tin
5. Writing
  1. Used mainly for business transactions
6. History & Prehistory
  1. History began with writing (legends)
Mesopotamia (Land between the rivers)
1. Sumer (3200 BCE)
  1. became small states that governed areas of 10 miles
2. Akkadians
  1. King Sargon - conquered sumer cities and built empires (2371-2316 BCE)
3. 3rd Dynasty of Ur (Sumerian City)
  1. took back control from Akkadians but around 2000-1900 BCE, no one controlled the region
4. Amorites (Old babylonians)
  1. Hammurabi (The Greast King) 1792-1750 BCE - famous for law code (collection of old and new legal judgments)
5. Hittites, Kassites, & Hurricans
  1. The Hittites plundered the Amorites and went home w/the spoils but the Kassites established themselves there for 300 yrs. (1600 BCE)
Mesopotamian Culture
1. Cuniform (3000 BCE)
  1. tokens (8000 BCE) were replaced clay tablets that had wedge-shaped strokes with a combo of pictographs and ideograms
2. Mathmatics
  1. sexagismal/base 60 system - what we use today for keeping time ex. 60min/hr, 60sec/min
3. Engineering
  1. most important invention was the wheel (3500-3000 BCE)
4. Literature
  1. Gilgamesh (2000 BCE) - about Gilgamesh (King of Urk) on the search for immortality. Enuma Elish (epic poem) - describes the pagan creation story and the great flood.
Egypt & The Nile
1. Egyptian Dynasties - 31 families ruled the first 3,000 yrs of Egypt history divided into 6 periods
  1. 1. Archaic (Early Dynasty) 3100-2700 BCE - they unified the Nile Valley that flowed regularly & gentle
    1. 2. Old Kingdom 2700-2200 BCE - This period Pharaohs were regarded as gods and not merely representatives of the gods. The greatest pyramids were constructed at this time
      1. 3. First Intermediate 2200-2050 BCE - Nomads took the Pharaohs control of government; this led to civil wars.
        4. Middle Kingdom 2050 -1700 BCE - the period of stability. everything went back to normal until the people know as the Hysksos invaded
        5. Second Intermediate 1700-1550 BCE - The Hysksos ruled but were eventually expelled by Ahmose who founded the 18th dynasty and launched the era of the New Kingdom
        6. New Kingdom 1550-1100 BCE - Egyptians regained power and came into conflict with the Hittites and fought many battles but the most famous one was fought at Megiddo 1457 BCE (the battle field of Armageddon)
Egyptian Culture
1. Religion
  1. polytheist; worshiped the god of the dead (Anubis - human body, jackal head) , the sun god (ra - human body, hawk head), pharaohs were regarded as a god. They also practiced syncretism -two gods join as one. During NK only pharaohs and fam and nobles were mummies
    1. The Book of the Dead (a collection of prayers and spells concerned w/the afterlife) - the god Osiris would cast judgement and weigh the soul in the afterlife
2. The Amarna period - religious phase
  1. The Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty turned his attention away from wars to the inner world of the spirit
  2. Amenhotep IV adopted the name Akhenaton (devoted to Aton) 1375-1358 BCE. He was monotheistic and worshiped Aton (the disk of the sun). He changed Egypt's national god.
3. Architecture, Hieroglyphics, the Calendar
  1. Pyramids - tombs for divine royalty. Subterranean tombs - valley of the kings of Thebes where King tut's tomb was discovered
  2. Hieroglyphics - religious, office and archival purposes written on papyrus
  3. Calendar - used a 12m solar calendar, 30d/m, 5 days added after 12m

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The Ancient Near East

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