civilizations (cities) began about 13,000 years ago at the end of the first ice age →Mesopotamia around 8,000 years ago

•

imitation and conquest○

first cities began between Tigris and Euphraties rivers → spread to other parts of Near East •

competition of resources shaped emerging powers and independent cities → empires•

very dense○

Catalhoyuk = 9,000 years ago (south-central Turkey)•

wore wool cloth, made kiln-fired pottery, painted elaborate hunting scenes on plastered covered walls, weapons and tools from razor-sharp obsidian

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buried ancestors under house○

agriculture○

Catalhoyuk developed highly organized and advanced society•

Before Civilization

primates with human characteristics originated in Africa 4-5 million years ago•

break is 11,000 BC○

Paleolithic = "Old Stone Age", Neolithic = "New Stone Age"•

Homoinids from Africa made tools with fire 160,000 years ago•

made jewelry, painted walls of caves, buried dead with meaningful objects, flowers○

Neanderthals flourished 200,000 years ago •

population in Africa expanded → better nourished and better technologies○

pace if development speeded up dramatically around 40,000 BC•

evidence of development of language○

Lascaux (France) discovered in 1940 •

hierarchical structures uncommon○

no domestic animals → couldn't transport goods → no material possessions → no rank or status•

Societies of the Stone Age

11,000 BC showed changes in climate →managed food production•

stable○

settlements could trade with one another and could accumulate and store wealth on large scale•

specialization, status, and rank•

The Building Blocks of Civilization

some humans followed game but others stayed behind○

climate began to warm and cold loving animals receded northward (Scandinavia)•

switch from food-gathering for subsistence to food production○

within a few thousand years →most momentous transformation in human history•

warmer climate →wild grains flourished → food supply increased geometrically → settlements possible

•

domesticated animals, cultivated plants•revolution occurred over span of 1,000 years•storage pits = 11,500 BC•

supported domestic animals →meat, milk, leather, wool, bone, horn, animal power to pull○

deliberate cultivation → support larger populations → compensate for disasters •

The Neolithic Revolution

city = center of administration and commerce with a large and diverse population, often protected by wall

•

seasonal, grain-producing settlement → 6800 BC building○

3 acres and 3,000 people (more dense than Catalhoyuk)○

irrigation, earliest known pottery (easier to store)○

earliest city = Jericho (between Israel and Jordan)•

stored agricultural surplus → hierarchy •agriculture → dependence on land, seasons, and weather → spectulations about supernatural•

exotic goods and luxury items = most frequent objects (marines shells, semiprecious stones like trade = important element in development of early settlements•

The Emergence of Towns and Villages

Chapter 1 - Early CivilizationsThursday, September 19, 2013 11:10 AM

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exotic goods and luxury items = most frequent objects (marines shells, semiprecious stones like turquoise and lapis lazuli)

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Mesopotamia = "Land Between Rivers"•Urban Development In Mesopotamia

settled in fertile marshlands○

earliest cities of Mesopotamia founded by Ubaid people•

shrines → imporessive temples○

early evidence of central structures that served religious, economic, and administrative functions•

The Ubaid Culture

most famous = Uruk○

White Temple at Uruk○

Ubaid settlements became more prosperous and more highly organized communities•

temples built in every Sumerian city, reflecting central role of worship •Sumerians invented writing•

Urbanism in Uruk, 4300-2900 B.C.E

writing evolved as a practical recording technology to support economic pursuits•

resembled the thing it represented○

became to not only symbolize physical object but to evoke idea associated with object○

pictograms•

cuneiform○

development of new stylus made of reed•

symbols invented for every possible phonetic combination in the Sumerian language, reducing number of necessary pictograms

•

only small amount of people able to read and write → House of the Tablet (scribal school)•

The Development of Writing

each thought own god was better than others →warfare○

great centers of Sumerian civilization shared common culture and common language but religion did not produce peace

•

many were war prisons (limit of 3 years)○

non Sumerians could be held indefinitely○

slaves weren't racist yet○

aristocracy → free persons who had land and artisans/agricultural laborers•

The Culture of Sumer

competition for resources among city-states →warfare•

did not see themselves as humble servants of the city's god (own wealth and glory)○

example: Gilgamesh who rose to power through legendary reputation through military conquest and personal heroism → so powerful he ignores needs of cities (complaints of citizens)

○

priestly rulers of Uruk Period → king ship (Early Dynastic Period) ruled by families•

The Early Dynastic Period, 2900-2500 BCE

Uruk Period, gods were connected with natural world•

finest palaces, temples, costliest clothing, etc.○

Early Dynastic Period, gods were powerful lugals who ruled as kings•

humans exist merely to provide for their gods and gods depended on humans for sustenance•kings thought they ruled by divine sanction and were set apart, including priests•negligence of duties brought disaster on themselves as well as people•

Sumerian Religion

Sumerians developed high degree of self-reliance and ingenuity (neither god nor environment trustworthy)

•

Bronze Age○

no copper during Uruk Period, so imported and then mixed with arsenic (later tin) to produce bronze•

deadly in warfare

2 and 4 wheel chariots drawn by donkeys○

invention of wheel•

seed drill, map making, lunar calendar, architecture•

Science, Technology, and Trade

competition among Sumerian cities reached new level 2500 BCE•

how powerful lugals had become○

Royal Tombs of Ur show wealth of city's ruling families•

but still didn't try to take over all of Sumer•

The First Empires

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vulnerable to imperialism of Sargon Akkadian○

but still didn't try to take over all of Sumer•

adopted cuneiform and other Sumerian culture○

Akkadians = predominant people of central Mesopotamia•

Akkadian governors to rule cities (collect taxes, impose his will)○

by 2350 BCE, Sargon conquered cities of Sumer and then all of Mesopotamia•

politically, only Mesopotamia; economically, Ethiopia to India○

56 years○

first known empire•

Ishtar (Akkadian) = Inanna (Sumerian)○

tried to lessen rivalry of Sumerian cities by appointing a single Akkadian high priest or priestess (member of own family)

•

Sargon named daughter, Enheduanna as high priestess and the kings of Sumer after fall of Sargon continued to do the same

•

Sargon's grandson Naram-Sin extended conquests•

Sargon and the Akkadian Empire

after Naram-Sin, Akkadian rule fell → briefly Iranian invaders gained control → dissolved to collection of rival city-states

•

great ziggurat at Ur (70 ft)○

2100 BCE, Ur-Nammu and son Shulgi from Ur became new dynasty•

pursued military conquests, centralized government, commercial expansion and consolidation, patronage of art and literature

○

Shulgi had extensive laws (protection of widows and orphans), limitations on death penalty on crimes•

Semitic people○

Shulgi's grandson was deposed by own general (Amorite descent) •

used land as bases for war•

The Dynasty of Ur and the Amorites, 2100-1800 BCE

Hammurabi became ruler of Babylon•

recognized military intelligence, diplomacy, strategic planning (used writing as weapon)○

first ruler in history to understand that power need not be based on force•

empire stretched from Persian Gulf to Assyria

when they were tired out, he would attack and turned his small state into what historians call the Old Babylonian Empire

○

portrayed himself as a friend to all as they all fought amongst each other•

to help unify territories, he made everyone worship Marduk•issued collection of laws, copies of which were inscribed on stone and set up in public places throughout his realm

•

"shepherd of the people, capable king" instead of ruling through fear and caprice•

The Empire of Hammurabi

above is aristocratic class, tied to king's court and active in bureaucracy (controlled community's wealth)

○

most laws appear to be aimed at free commoners•

far more numerous than in older civilizations of Sumer or Akkad○

bottom of society were slaves•

either sold as payment for debts or profit of a family with too many children○

also treated more harshly (shaved and branded)○

slaves didn’t come from war, but through trade•

crimes committed against higher man had more severe penalty•marriage arrangements reflected class differences (bride-prices, dowries)•women allowed right to divorce abusive or indigent husbands•men who divorces wife without cause has to provide financial support for her and children•

Law and Society under Hammurabi

empire went on for two more centuries until invaders from north sacked the capital and occupied it•

unifying state religions○

diplomacy (effectiveness of writing)○

legacy shaped conceptions of kingship in ancient Near East•

Hammurabi's Legacy

land was renewed every year by flooding of the Nile RiverEgyptians did not have to wrest survival from a hostile and unpredictable environment•

The Development Of Civilization In Egypt

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land was renewed every year by flooding of the Nile River○

Nile made Ancient Egypt a narrow, elongated kingdom•

bureaucratic state headed by pharaohs who were regarded as living gods○

Ancient Civilization enjoyed remarkable continuity thriving as independent and distinctive entity even after it was conquered by Alexander the Great until its assimilation into the Roman Empire

•

Intermediate Periods = when central authority broke down•

"Predynastic Egypt" = period before emergence of pharaohs and their royal dynasties•

farming community○

first known permanent settlement in Egypt at southwestern edge of Nile Delta (Merimde Beni Salama)•

Sophisticated fortifications and built elaborate shrines to honor their gods○

towns in Lower Egypt were more numerous, but first Egyptian cities developed in Upper Egypt•

Nile bound cities together•

Predynastic Egypt, c. 10,000-3100 BCE

developed by Manetho○

Archaic Period = system for numbering the ruling dynasties•

Zero Dynasty = early kings instrumental in bringing about unification of Egypt•

stability and longevity of Egyptian civilization

refers to not only individual king but whole apparatus that sustains his rule○

pharaoh = "great household"•

lasted only a couple generations○

kingship in Mesopotamia tended to be personal rule, dependent on charisma of particular individuals•

Egyptians had efficient palace bureaucracy•tough to legitimize rule all over Egypt•

The Power Of The Pharaoh

development dates back to 3200 BCE = pictograms begin to appear in Mesopotamia○

hieroglyph = "sacred carvings" was Egyptian system of pictographic writing•

hieratic = cursive script•not much writing left after development of writing on papyrus•some think Egyptian is survival of root language of Fro-Asiatic groups•became to be known as Coptic•

Language and Writing

rely on funerary texts from tombs of elite to reconstruct achievements of particular individuals•Egyptians obsessed with death•know little about ordinary people•

pharaoh was intermediary between land, people, and their gods○

papyri and art of Third Dynasty tell us about "great household"•

mostly members of own family○

nomarchs = provincial governors installed by pharaoh to impose tax and recruit labor•

The Old Kingdom, c. 2686-2160 BCE

Imhotep rose through ranks of pharaoh's administration to become prime minister (right-hand man of Djoser)

•

earlier pharaohs buried at Abydos○

designed Step Pyramid•

step pyramid is layers of mastabas○

mastaba = low rectangular structure build entirely of brick with a flat top and sloping sides•

Great Pyramid built for Khufu•

labored when fields were underwater during Nile's annual flood○

once thought to be work of slaves, pyramids were actually built by tens of thousands of peasant workers

•

Imhohtep and the Step Pyramid

small minority of upper-class

pharaoh and extended family → class of nobles (priests and officials) → scribes were chosen from sons of these families → everyone else

○

social pyramid of Old Kingdom Egypt was extremely steep•

commoners' belief in the pharaoh's divinity made them willing subjects•

The Society of the Old and Middle Kingdoms

female commoners recognized as person in their own right and were allowed to initiate complaints to defend themselves and act as witnesses, to possess property of their own, and to dispose of it (all without sanction of a male guardian or representative, as was typically required in other ancient

•Women in the Old Kingdom

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without sanction of a male guardian or representative, as was typically required in other ancient societies - and in most modern ones until 20th century)

queens ruled beside pharaoh○

barred from holding high office (besides priestess and queen)•

gender divisions were less clearly defined among peasantry•

men had many wives○

women did not enjoy sexual equality•

developed solar calendar after observing sun for religion○

lagged far behind Sumerians and Akkadians in science and mathematics as well as application of new technology

•

also developed effective irrigation and water-control systems•did not adopt labor-saving devices until later because manpower was virtually inexhaustible•also did not need written laws due to customs and proclamations of pharaoh•

Science and Technology

nurtured by Nile and guarded by deserts and seas, they thought they were the center of the universe

○

Egyptians saw themselves as superior to all other civilizations•

Osiris was first pharaoh → betrayed by brother Seth → Isis revived him long enough to conceiver son, Horus

○

heart of Egyptian religion = Osiris and Isis (brother and sister as well as husband and wife)•

Seth, angry, cut up Osiris' body and scattered it all over Egypt (all of Egypt is a part of Osiris)•

start of mummification○

Isis, with help of Anubis (god of afterlife), found, reassembled, and preserved pieces of Osiris•

Osiris avenged by Horus and became god of underworld•

Egyptian Religion and Worldview

full of dangers○

body's ka (life force) would have to roam Duat (underworld), searching for House of Judgment○

death = right of passage; journey to be endured on the way to an afterlife that was more or less like one's earthly existence, only better

•

if judged worthy, enjoy immortality ○

judged by Osiris and 42 other judges•

vital organs were removed and then treated with chemicals (except for heart, which played key role in ka's final judgment)

•

"coffin texts" (books of dead), accompany body to speed ka's journey•ma'at = truth, order, justice•special rituals were only for royals until Middle Kingdom when most Egyptians could have it as well•

Life and Death in Ancient Egypt

monuments less impressive○

Fifth and Sixth Dynasties of Old Kingdom (2494-2181 BCE) showed slow erosion of pharaonic power•

hurt heart of Egyptian political theology ○

growing power of pharaoh's nomarchs○

pharaoh not incarnation of Horus or Ra, but merely god's earthly son•

extraordinary costs of building efforts in Fourth Dynasty (economy) → resentment in provinces ○

change in climatic conditions → disrupted regular inundations of Nile → famine in countryside ○

Nubians built up, restricted Egyptians access to precious metal deposits around First Cataract○

loss of power•

power diminished○

pharaoh's claims to be in peace with ma'at wasn't credible anymore•

central authority of pharaoh in Memphis collapsed○

First Intermediate Period = Egypt ceased to exist as a united entity•

families from Herakleopolis and Thebes both claimed to be legitimate pharaohs of all Egypt•

access to education○

opportunities for creation of art○

possibilities for personal advancement○

wealth became more widely and evenly diffused •

The End of the Old Kingdom

warfare continued between two for over a century•

reign marks beginning of Egypt's Middle Kingdom & reestablishment of unified governmentTheban king Mentuhotep II conquered northerners and declared himself ruler of united Egypt•

Life in the Middle Kingdom

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centered at Thebes, not Memphis

reign marks beginning of Egypt's Middle Kingdom & reestablishment of unified government○

architect Amenemhet seized power after pharaoh's death and established himself and descendants Egypt's Twelfth Dynasty

○

Amenemhet's descendants stayed for 200 years, exploited trade with South•Nubia firmly under Egypt's control•

demonstrate great resourcefulness of Twelfth Dynasty○

Amenemhet constructed Walls of the Prince in Sinai to guard against Near East•

good shepherds → tend flock•

trust no one: not a brother, not a friend, not intimate companions, crush local ambitious nobles

detailing duties and perils of high office → advice○

literature written by and for kings•

Egyptian's sense of own superiority shattered•

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