Ancient
Kingdoms of the Nile- pg 24
-Nile River floods every year, fertilizing valley; attracted
many Stone Age farmers
Geography of the Nile
Valley- without Nile,
Egypt would be like desert surrounding it, which protects it from invasion (desrt
also limited where people could settle)
~"Black Land"-
rich, irrigated, not more than 10 miles wide along Nile
~"Red Land"-
sun-baked desert
-grew
wheat and flax=> clothing
-Nile rises in highlands of Ethiopia & lakes of central
Africa; spring rains make Nile flood & brings silt to land
-Egyptian
cooperated to control floods
-two parts of Egypt (later united by Menes in year 3100BC to
make world's first unified state, map pg 26)
-Upper-
from cataract of Nile to within 100 miles of Mediterranean
-Lower- delta where Nile
empties into Mediterranean
-Nile- served as trade route and helped govern towns along
river (kings sent officials along river)
Three Kingdoms of Egypt
-Old Kingdom- pharaohs organized strong, centralized state;
claimed divine right, absolute power (Egyptians believed pharaohs were gods);
depended on vizier (chief minister) to supervise government things like tax
collection, farming; Ptah-hotep wrote Instruction
of Ptah-Hotep; pyramids at Giza built and were tombs for ternity
-Middle Kingdom- turbulent, Nile didn't rise as regularly;
corruption, rebellions common; Egyptians occupied Nubia (gold-rich)
Hyksos (foreign invaders) occupied delta region with
horse-drawn chariots; impressed by Egyptian customs, beliefs, names; after 100
years, new leaders drove Hyksos out & set up New Kingdom
-New Kingdom- pharaohs created new empire; powerful rulers
included Hatshepsut (woman who exercised all rights of pharaoh) and Ramses II
(most powerful ruler of Egypt, pushed Egypt to Syria); after Ramses II, Egypt
gradually declined & invaders conquered Nile region
Egypt & Nubia (aka Kush)
-Egypt traded or fought with Nubia (to south) for centuries
but conquered it under Ramses II
-Egypt decline=> Nubia independence
-750BC- Nubian kings conquered Egypt but respected Egyptian
traditions
-650BC- Assyrians with iron weapons conquered Egypt &
pushed Nubians back to homeland, where they ruled for 1000 more years
Egyptian
Civilization- pg 28
-Egyptians believed in eternal life
-Religion- gods & goddesses
-Amon-Re: sun god, center of worship
-pharaoh- god to the Egyptians, linked to Amon-Re
-Horus- Son of Osiris & Isis, killed Set, his uncle
-Osiris- ruled over underworld, god of Nile, controlled
annual flood that made land fertile
-Isis- believed to have first taught women to grind corn,
spin flax, weave cloth, care for children
-Akenaton- challended powerful priests of Amon-Re in favor of
Aton, a minor god; wife, Queen Nefertiti, supported; Pirests of Amon-Re resisted
changed, common people afraid to abandon old gods, nobles deserted pharaoh
because he didn't defend empire
Afterlife Beliefs
-souls ferried across Lake of Fire to hall of Osiris to pass
test; heart weighed against feather of truth- sinners fed to crocodile-shaped
Eater of Dead, worthy souls to Happy Field of Food
-Book of the Dead-
contained spells, charms, formulas for dead to use In afterlife
-mummification- at first only for rulers & nobles but
eventually ordinary Egyptians won mummification rights
Society:
pharaoh/royal family=> priests/priestesses=> nobles=> merchants,
scribes, artisans => peasant farmers=> slaves
-peasants
mostly farmers, off-seasons men expected to serve pharaoh building palaces,
temples, tombs
-women higher status than elsewhere
Learning
-hieroglyphics- pictograms, kept important records
-demotic- simpler than hieroglyphics for everyday use
-Rosetta Stone
-doctors skilled; performed complex surgeries, prescribed
medicines
-studied heavens, mapped constellations, developed calendar
with 12 months (30 days each with 5 days at end of eyar)
-practical geometry developed
Arts & Literature
-pharaohs, gods larger than human figures
-great buildings- temples of Ramses II at Karnak had 80 foot
columns (Romans later adopted techniques)
-Literature- folk tales popular (Tale of Sinuhe), practical advice Instructions of Ptah-Hotep
City-States
of Ancient Sumer-
pg 34
-Sumer- present day Middle East, builders of earliest known civilization
-Fertile Crescent- arc from Persian Gulf to Mediterranean
coast; few natural barriers, rich soil; crossroads of people & ideas
-Mesopotamia- "between the rivers"
-Tigris & Euphrates rivers run form present-day Turkey to Persian
Gulf
-rivers rose in floods that washed away topsoil and destroyed
-dry seasons people work together to channel water to fields
(priests/royal officials provided leadership)
-built dikes to hold back flood waters
-irrigation ditches carry water to fields
-built cities like Ur & Erech out of earth & water
(bricks of clay)
-trade brought riches to Sumerian cities (Sumerians made 1st
wheeled vehicles
-Sumerian Civilization
-courageous, resourceful war leaders emerged as hereditary rulers
-government-
-rulers- chief servant of gods, led ceremonies to please them
-responsible for maintaining city walls and irrigation
systems, leading armies, enforcing laws (scribes hired to collect taxes, keep
records, etc.)
Society-
Ruling family, leading officials, high priests=> lesser
priests, scribes=> merchants, artisans (artisans of same trade lived and
worked on same street)=> peasant farmers (some had land, most worked on
kind's/temple's land)=> slaves (captured in war or sold into slavery to pay
debts)
-women- at first mother goddess in farming communities but as
warrior leaders emerged, male gods replaced female; early city-states, wives of
rulers special powers & duties; women more dependent on men but had legal
rights
Religion-
-polytheistic; gods controlled nature, favored truth/justice,
responsible for violence/suffering
-cities build ziggurat- a temple pyramid- with shrine at top
where they prayed, sacrificed
-eternal afterlife; grim, no release- contrast to Egypt's
Happy Field of Food (pessimism because of Geography?)
Learning
-invented earliest known writing (cuneiform)
-grew out of system of pictograms priests used to record
goods brought to temple storehouses
-scribes studied for years; discipline strict
-developed basic algebra & geometry
-based number system on six- hour=60minutes, circle=360 degrees
-studied skies to make accurate calendar
-conquerors spread & sometimes adopted Sumerian ideas, learning.
Cities
of the Indus Valley-
pg 52
-located in
South Asia (aka subcontinent of India), contains 3 out of 10 of world's most
populous countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh)
-Hindu Kush
& Himalaya Mountain Ranges mark northern border of subcontinent, served as
partial barrier so Indians developed distinct culture, but some Hindu Kush
passes allowed migrating & invading people in/out
Three
Regions:
Northern -just -fertile, -rivers: | Deccan -triangular -lacks | Coastal -seperated -seas -rivers, |
-monsoon-
seasonal wind; in October, winter monsoons blow from northeast (hot, dry air
brought); in May/June, summer monsoons blow from southwest, bringing downpours
-shaped Indian life; too little water=famine too much=flood
Indus
Valley Civilization-
in present-day Pakistan, flourished for 1000 years, vanished; covered largest
area of any civilization until Persia 1000 years later; cities rivaled Sumer
-two main cities- Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro (twin
capitals?); dominated by massive hill-top structure, probably fortress or
temple; huge warehouses for grain
-cities carefully planned; grid pattern with rectangular
blocks, houses built of clay bricks- surprisingly modern plumbing; merchants
used uniform weights and measures
-signifies well-organized government, powerful leaders
(priest kings?); maybe knew math and surveying to lay out cities so precisely
-most people farmers- first to cultivate cotton and weave it into cloth
-some were merchants & traders; by hugging Arabian Coast,
they may have had contact with Sumerians, which may have stimulated them to
create system of writing
Religion-
-polytheistic; mother goddess, source of all creation
-worshipped sacred animals (ie. Bull) which may have
influenced later Indian beliefs
Theories
for Disappearance-
-damage to environment?
-too many trees cut to fuel brick-maker ovens?
-volcanic eruption blocked Indus & caused city flood?
-earthquake?
-1500BC-
Nomadic Aryans migrated with cattle & sheep, horse-drawn chariots, superior
weapons- overran Indus regions, cities abandoned, forgotten
Kingdoms
of the Ganges- pg
55
-Aryans
warlike; lauded warriors
-destroyed, looted cities in Indus valley- created new city
along Ganges River northeast (rather than Indus River in Northwest)
-migrated across Europe and Asia seeking water and pasture
for horses/cattle
-early Aryans- no cities, no stone seals/statues (nomadic)
-Vedas- collection of prayers memorized & recited by
Aryans for thousands of years
before written=> 1500bc-500bc called Vedic Age
-in the
Vedas…
-Aryans appear as warriors, fought in chariots with bows and arrows
-loved eating, drinking, music, chariot races, dice games
-valued cattle which provided them with food, clothing
Society-
-divided by
occupation
-three
groups- Brahmins (priests) => Kshtriyas (warriors) => Vaisyas (herders,
farmers, artisans, merchants) => Sudras (included Dravidians- people
conquered by Aryans-, not Aryans, farmworkers, servants)
-warriors
first enjoyed highest prestige but preist got most respect eventually because
they claimed that they alone could conduct ceremonies needed to win gods' favor
-class
divisions came to reflect social and economic status instead of Aryan or
non-Aryan eventually
-caste
system developed- social groups into which people are born and which they cannot
change
Religion-
-polytheistic
-gods/goddesses
embodied natural forces:
~Indra- god of war, chief deity, weapon was thunderbolt used
to destroy demons and announce arrival of rain
~Varuna- god of order and creation
~Agni- god of fire
-animals honored
-as Aryans
settled…
~some religious thinkers moved toward notion of single
spiritual power beyond many gods of Vedas (called Brahman)
-moved toward mysticism to find spiritual truth and commune
directly with divine forces
Civilization
-Aryan
tribes led by rajahs- most often a skilled war leader elected by assembly of
warriors and ruled with advice from elders from heads of family
-Aryans
slowly mingled with Dravidians and settled to farm or breed cattle
-colonized Ganges basin with tools of iron
-some rajahs had extended influence over many villages
-walled cities with multistory houses rose
-by 500BC,
new Indian civilization- due to acculturation, people shared Aryan and Dravidian
rooted culture
-Sanskrit-
written language- developed but oral traditions preserved
Literature
-two
ancient epic poems- Mahabharata and Ramayana-
recited
-Mahabharata- nearly 100,000 verses
-5 royal brothers (Pandavas) lose kingdom to cousins but
regain it and restore peace
-Ramayana-
-recounts deeds of hero Rama and bride Sita, who is kidnapped
by demon-king Ravana
-Rama rescues Sita with help of monkey general Hanuman
Early
Civilizations in China-
pg 59
-valued
ability to control flood waters, develop irrigation systems for flooding, and
build dikes
-prized
devotion to duty
Geography-
-"Zhongguo"-
Middle Kingdom
-isolated
by distance and physical barriers (belief that China was center of earth and
sole source of civilization)
-west and
southwest mountains- Tien Shan and Himalayas-, desert (Gobi desert) to the
north, Pacific to the east made China isolated
-traded
with neighboring people and eventually goods reached Middle East
- had
contact with nomadic invaders who they thought lacked skills and achievements of
settled society
Regions-
-heartlands
of China in valleys of Huang He and the Yangzi River
-fertile farming, transportation
-Xinjian,
Mongolia- harsh climates, rugged terrain, mostly occupied by nomads and
subsistence farmers)
-Manchuria
and Tibet (Xizang) also influenced by China
-nomads
repeatedly attacked and plundered Chinese cities; sometimes powerful rulers
conquered/made alliances with people of the regions
-need to
build in order to control flow of river=> strong government developed
-loess-
fine windblown yellow soil, carried eastward from Siberia and Mongolia
-settles to bottom of river and raises water level of Huang
He ("river of sorrows"); peasants labored to repair/rebuild dikes- if
dikes broke, land flooded and destroyed crops=> starvation
Shang
Rule
-capital
city- AnYang
-many large
palaces, rich tombs found
-noblewomen
of considerable status
-loyal
princes of Shang King and nobles governed most land- likely heads of clans who
claimed common ancestor (often mythical ancestor)
-resembled city-states of Sumer
Society
-royal
family => noble warriors (used leather armor, bronze weapons, chariots) =>
artisans/merchants => peasants
-peasants-
-lived in thatch-roofed pit house (floors dug below surrounding ground)
-worked fields with stone tools, repaired dikes, fought alongside lords
during war
Religion
-gods and
nature spirits
-Shang Di-
god
-belief that only spirits of greatest mortals could get ear of gods
-called on
spirits of ancestors to bring fortune and honor to family
-delicate
balance between yin (Earth, darkness, female) and yang (Heaven, light, male)
Writing-
-pictograms
and ideagraphs
-oracle
bones- priests wrote questions to gods on bones/shells and heated them until the
cracked, then interpreted cracks
-only
well-to-do could afford learning and calligraphy because of thousands of words
in language
-writing
fostered unity- Chinese all used same writing system but not always same spoken
language
Zhou
Dynasty-
-overthrew
Shang dynasty
-promoted
idea of Mandate of Heaven (divine right to rule):
~said that cruel rulers (Shang) ruined by gods, then Mandate
passed to other rulers who are just, good (Zhou); dynasty explained thus- good
rulers enjoyed Mandate; weak/corrupt rulers got Mandate withdrawn and passed on
-China
becomes feudal state under Zhou who let supporters rule over certain states
-feudal lords exercised power and profited from lands worked by peasants
-economy
grew
-ironworking knowledge allowed farmers to produce more food
-feudal lords organized irrigation works, made farming more productive
-began using money (copper coins with holes for stringing on
cords) which made trade easier
-roads, canals built by feudal lords
-population increase; people began farming Yangzi Basin
Achievements-
-decimal
system
-developed
system of writing numbers that served as basis for today's number system
-astronomy
studies => accurate calendar
-silk
(process secret) trade linked Middle East and China- Silk Road (a trading route)
developed
-first
books invented- Book of Songs
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