Download - The Middle East: Cradle of Civilization
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The Middle East:
Cradle of Civilization
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Multiple groups shaped the early history of the Middle East
• Sumerians • Babylonians• Assyrians• Egyptians• Hebrews• Persians
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Sumerians• First of the
civilizations in this area
• Influenced the Babylonian and Assyrian civilizations
http://ragz-international.com/sumeria.htm
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Sumerian Firsts
• Cuneiform writing• System of numbers
based on 60 (led to our 60-minute time segments and 360 degree circle
• Cities – often more like small nations
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumerlanguage.html
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Sumerians
• Temples were originally the main institution of the cities.
• As the cities grew military leaders replaced the priests. The leaders eventually became kings.
Ziggurat Remains at Ur:http://www.hope.edu/bandstra/RTOT/CH1/CH1_BAB.HTM
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• King Sargon contributed to the start of Semitic language.
• A group of nomads, called Amorites, founded the village of Babylon, built on the Euphrates.
Babylonians
http://www.crystalinks.com/babylonian.html
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Semitic Groups
• Their king Hammurabi was famous for his legal code
• His kingdom included Sumer, Akkad, Assur, and Ninevah
• His idea of justice was “an eye for an eye.”
http://members.tripod.com/clayt/Humanities/Hammurabi.html
At left, pictures the giving of the laws
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Babylonians• Admired Sumerian
society
• Used the Sumerian language.
• Reshaped many Sumerian tales to create “The Epic of Gilgamesh.”
http://www.piney.com/Gil01.html
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Egypt • Villages along the
Nile were split into two countries; Upper and Lower Egypt.
• Pyramids were the symbol of the afterlife and still are associated with Egypt.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/maps/mainmap.html
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Hieroglyphics• Like the Sumerian
system, based on pictures
• Eventually changed to a system where the symbols could also represent sound
• Written on papyrus, a material made from the reeds of the Nile
http://www.elismorrowsch.com/classroomnews/lp6hiero.htm
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Egypt• Religion was the key
aspect.• Worshipped gods that
were associated with Nature.
• Pharaoh Amenhotep (right) changed Egyptian religion by creating the worship one god: Aton.
http://www.crystalinks.com/akhenaten.html
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Egyptian creations• For a short
period, monotheism
• Surveying – a result of the yearly flooding of the Nile
• Geometry• 12-month, 365
day calendarPyramids of Giza http://www.culturefocus.com/pyramids-2.htm
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The Middle East is the birthplace of three major religions
• Judaism
• Christianity
• Islam All are monotheistic
(having only one God)
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The Hebrews• Recorded their
history in the Bible.
• Believed in one God with whom they had a covenant- an agreement that He would protect them as long as they obeyed Him
Fragments from the book of Ecclesiastes:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/wsrp/educational_site/dead_sea_scrolls/qohelet.shtml
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Hebrews• Famine caused
them to travel to Egypt, where they were enslaved by the pharaohs.
• Moses, their leader, saved them from captivity.
• Given the Ten Commandments http://clipart.christiansunite.com/10651020
61/10_Commandments_Clipart/10_Commandments002.gif
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Hebrews• Released from
Egypt, they fought against the Philistines and others for their promised land
• Succeeded in 1025 under the leadership of David, later the king of Israel http://www.israelmybeloved.com/land/
pics/map_davidkingdom_med.jpg
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Hebrew Legacy
• Monotheism (specifically, Judaism)
• Greater respect for human life than previous Middle Eastern societies
• Deep concern with moral behavior
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Persian Culture• Group of Aryan
tribes migrated to what is now Iran in about 2000 B.C.
• Overwhelmed the natives and seized control
• Name comes from Persis, or Pars, an area that was one of the most powerful http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/persia.htm
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Persian empire
• Created by the conquests of Cyrus the Great and his son-in-law, Darius I
• Divided into provinces, it was connected by a system of roads and relay stations
(relief from Persepolis - Darius
http:// www.livius.org/da-dd/darius/darius_i_0.html
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Persians Practiced
Tolerance• Allowed some political freedom
• Respected native customs and religions
• Result was minimized dissent and chances of rebellion
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Fell to Alexander the Great in 331 B.C.
http://aztec.lib.utk.edu/~kidder/alex1.html
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Zoroastrianism
• Official Persian religion• Dominant from 500 B.C. until Islam
replaced it in 7th century A.D.• Still practiced in a few areas• World is governed by two opposing forces,
good and evil, who are fighting. However good will eventually prevail.
• Followers of good will be rewarded with eternity in paradise
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Zoroastrian gods
One of the symbols of Ahura Mazda, the sun god
http://www.bamjam.net/Iran/Persepolis.html
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Persian literature
• Ethical and moral works primarily
• Best known form is poetry, although prose exists
• Poetry used to preserve history, first in pre-Islamic times, and again during 9th and 10th centuries
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Shah-nama
• National epic of Persian people
• Written by Abu’l-Qasim Firdawsi
• Used existing stories
• Used Persian vocabulary as much as possible
• Intended to preserve national identity in the wake of Islamic conquest
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Shah-nama
• A history of Persia from the beginning of the world to the Arab conquest
• Describes the creation and the earliest kings’ fights with the demons of darkness
• Long cycle of wars between the Persians and the Turan
• Reign of Yazdigird, last pre-Islamic ruler of Persia
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Shah-namaMain Characters
•Rustam—(Father)
•Suhrab—(Son)
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Rustam
• Greatest hero
• Spans three centuries
• Adapted into an English poem by Matthew Arnold
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Islam
• Originated 6th century A.D.
• Founded by Mohammad, a citizen of Mecca
• Mohammad received revelations from the angel Gabriel.
• Revelations became the Koran
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From the city of Mecca where Mohammad lived, Islam spread with the conquest of what are now Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
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Islamic Beliefs
• One God, Allah, who is creator and sustainer of all things
• All are required to submit to his will; Islam means submission
• Five Pillars – submit, pray five times a day, perform acts of charity, fast during
Ramadan, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca
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Islamic Beliefs5 Pillars of Islam
•Worship only Allah
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Islamic Beliefs5 Pillars of Islam
•Turn to Mecca & pray five times a day
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Islamic Beliefs5 Pillars of Islam
•Perform acts of charity
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Islamic Beliefs5 Pillars of Islam
•Fast during Ramadan
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Islamic Beliefs5 Pillars of Islam
Make a pilgrimage to Mecca
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Place of other religions
• Torah and New Testament held to be scriptures
• Islam is the final and perfect one in a series of religions, including Judaism and Christianity
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Islam remains the major religion of the area
However, the area has sites sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
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Arabic literature
• Odes – usually committed to memory, but later recorded
• Religious commentaries, primarily on the Koran
• History
• Philosophy
• Science
• Fiction began later than others
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Rumi• A founder of a
group of Islamic ascetics known as the whirling dervishes
• A major Islamic poet
• A best-seller even today with a CD to his credit-Madonna recorded one of his poems.
• A writer of passionate love poetry- to Allah
http://www.shira.net/dervturk.htm
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One Thousand and One Nights
• Most famous Arabic lit
• A collection of fables & folktales• Framed by the story of
Shaharazad, who used the stories to save her life
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European nations’ actions have impacted the Middle East
After World War I, the British, who with the French had taken over Arab territories, established a Jewish homeland in
Palestine.
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When the British withdrew in 1948,
the State of Israel was proclaimed.
Arabs protested bitterly and violence over this issue is a major part of newscasts today.
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1. What does “The land between two rivers mean”?
2. Name two firsts invented by the Sumerians
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3. Who’s code was based on the principle, “eye for an eye”?
4. Name the writing system the Egyptians invented
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5. What did a pyramid symbolize for the Egyptians?
6. What was one invention of Egyptian science?
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7. What was one key religious difference unique to Hebrew culture?
8. Which culture enslaved the Hebrews?
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