World History

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2090

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Abram enters Canaan

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1446

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The exodus from Egypt

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612-539

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Chaldean or Babylonian empire

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605-536

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Judah's 70-year captivity in Babylon

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550-331

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Persian Empire

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Howard Carter

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British archaeologist who discovered the first steps of King Tut's tomb on November 4, 1922-it took Carter and his crew 10 years to complete the excavation of the tomb

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Monotheism

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belief in a single God, or a religion affirming that belief;there does not seem to be a time when Israelite worship was officially, as portrayed in the sources, anything other than monotheistic

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Zoroastrianism

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would become the state religion of Persia c. 224-651 AD-views the world as being divided between the spirits of good and evil. Zoroastrians worship Ahura Mazda as the supreme deity, who is forever in conflict with Ahriman, the spirit of evil

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Prior to the birth of Christ it can be difficult for scholars to fix dates

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Reason: No uniform reference point. Dating was often accomplished using a system called Regnal Dating which is based off the reign of kings.

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Problem with regnal dating?

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There may be overlapping reigns in a regal system; as new data emerges, things can change

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Mesopotamia, meaning land between the rivers is located in

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Iraq and Syria

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Fertile Crescent

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includes: Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Palestine

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Upper Mesopotamia

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home of the Assyrians

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Lower Mesopotamia

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home of the Akkadians, Babylonians, Sumerians

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Babylonia

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may be used to designate: the area of Akkad, the city of Babylon and the area of Sumer

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Near East

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may be used to designate Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt

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Far East

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may be used to designate India and China

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Semite

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peoples descended from Shem, son of Noah-refers to a member of any group of peoples of SW Asia chiefly represented now by Jews and Arabs

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Cradle of Civilization

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Sumer(oldest written records) is generally regarded as the 1st civilization-in 1877 AD digs uncovered its existence

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Civilization

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A culture that has attained a high degree of complexity, characterized by urban life

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Factors of civilization

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1. Cities and organized government
2. Specialization of labor
3. Monumental architecture and religious structures
4. Writing system and advanced technology
Summary: the combination of these developments differentiate 1st civilizations from earlier peoples

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Rivers

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deposited fertile silt on adjoining fields, provided water for crops, and served as avenues for trade-to construct/maintain irrigation works required the cooperation of large numbers of people

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Home

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a swampy flood plain that allowed for productive fruit and grain agriculture-also subject to irregular flooding-irrigation allowed for careers beyond farming

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Mesopotamia is marked by a succession of conquests

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Tigris/Euphrates area was open to invasion and saw constant warfare-each city wanted to enlarge its land and guarantee access to water and irrigation

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City-state

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urban region and agricultural land under city control (UR a leader) – roughly 12 of them dotted the region – population of about 30 K (maybe)

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Imperial state

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more extensive, politically centralized, poly-ethnic, and supported by a formal
military organization (Akkadians)

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Writing system called cuneiform

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consisted of wedge marks on clay (in time c. 300 “characters”) – it was complex & usually practiced by specially trained scribes – 1st readable documents c. 3200 BC

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Technology

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created wheeled vehicles & the potter’s wheel (1st true mechanical device)
1. mathematics using a base 60 system – utilized the plow & the sailboat
2. combined copper & tin to produce bronze (sharper/stronger) – period to c. 1500 BC: “Bronze Age”

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Slavery

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widespread – at times 40-50% of the population could be enslaved – why?
1. people were taken captive during conquests 2. slavery served as a means to pay off debt

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Religion

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polytheism – concerned with life “now” – afterlife was uncertain & gloomy
1. Mesopotamian people saw gods & demons everywhere
2. people hoped that appeasing the gods would bring security & prosperity to their cities
3. temples/priests were vital – Ziggurats: stepped pyramids with temples at their summit

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Akkad

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city (yet undiscovered) on the Euphrates which gave its name to an ancient northern
Semitic kingdom traditionally founded by Sargon I (aka Sargon the Great) who ruled c. 2334-2279 BC

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Sargon I built the world’s first substantial empire

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stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean
1. stationed garrisons in conquered lands & kept a standing army to quell revolts/launch new ventures
2. appointed governors/officials to administer territories
3. introduced plunder to sustain his forces

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Immediate successors extended Sargon’s empire – however, Mesopotamia lacks defendable frontiers

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...yeah...

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Babylon

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a city prominent under Hammurabi (ruled c. 1792-1750 BC) who made it the capital of Babylonia (area) – Babylon (now ruins) lay on the Euphrates c. 55 miles south of modern Baghdad

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While creating an empire, Hammurabi is best known for his law code

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1. one of the most complete to survive from the ancient world
4. class distinctions clearly expressed in the code: penalties varied with status of wrongdoer/victim
5. provisions regarding business transactions show the importance of trade in Mesopotamian life

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Termed “the gift of the Nile”

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Nile: c. 4,100 miles long, c. 5-15 miles wide varies by location/season
1. rose & fell with precision – peaked in September, then subsided
2. surrounding soil was renewed by the “Black Silt” left behind (a layer of fertile earth)
3. Egyptians could build an elaborate network of canals (some for irrigation; others for transportation)
4. provided reliable transportation – going south: wind – going north: current (flows into Med. Sea)

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Egyptians had one of the longest-lasting civilizations in history

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c. 3000 years – c. 30 ruling dynasties
1. possibly the 1st “national” government – Egypt functioned more like a unit than a city-state
2. Egypt’s location surrounded by deserts (Arabian, Libyan, Sahara) & water – offered protection

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Pharaoh

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was believed to be both a man & a god – absolute ruler of the land, a benevolent protector
1. he controlled sunrise, floodwaters, kept irrigation works in order, & maintained justice in the land
2. people expected that when the Pharaoh died, he would still assist his living subjects

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Pyramid

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a burial chamber for the pharaohs (c. 80 survive)
1. illustrated the skill of the Egyptian architects & the state’s ability to organize a work-force
2. Great Pyramid at Giza: required c. 84K people working 80 days a year, for c. 20 years (estimated),
originally c. 480 feet tall (tallest man-made bldg. until 19th C.) – c. 2 ? million limestone blocks

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Mummy

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a human being (or animal) embalmed or treated for burial – Egyptians wanted to live
forever; to achieve this, they believed the person’s body had to be preserved: “mummified”
3. corpse was: dried out with natural salts, coated with oils, wrapped in layers of tight linen bandages
4. after a waterproofing coat, placed inside a mummy case (protection) – entire process c. 70 days
5. who was mummified? at first Pharaohs, then anyone who could afford it, also animals: cats, etc.

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Hieroglyphs (means “sacred symbols” in Greek)

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Egyptian picture-writing – symbols could have various meanings (could be a word or a sound) – alphabet consisted of 24 hieroglyphs

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Rosetta Stone

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inscribed 196 BC & found near Alexandria in 1799 by Napoleon’s troops – contained
inscriptions in Greek, Egyptian demotic (popular script), & Egyptian hieroglyphics – Jean-François Champollion, unlocked the secrets of hieroglyphics in 1821-22 – housed in the British Museum

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Egyptians devised the first solar calendar

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they calculated a leap year (noting that each year was six
hours short) – they observed that the average period between floods was 365 days (used stars also)