Introduction to Ancient Civilizations

Mr. D’Orazio, PA @ 71

Mesopotamian Civilization 3100 BCE – 539 BCE

• Mesopotamia ~ “Between the Rivers” in Greek.

• Series of civilizations that lived between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers around present-day Iraq.

• The area around these rivers is known as the “Fertile Crescent”

Mesopotamia – Important PeopleSargon (2300 -2215 BCE)• King of Akkad who first

united the various settlements in Mesopotamia under one government.

• Among the first rulers to create a unified, multi-ethnic empire.

Mesopotamia – Important PeopleHammurabi (1792-1750 BCE)• King of Babylon who wrote

one of the first written codes of law in history – The Code of Hammurabi.

• His laws were among the first that protected the weak from abuse by the strong.

Mesopotamia – Important PeopleAshurbanipal (685 -627 BCE)• King of Assyria who was

known as a lover of learning.• His library at Nineveh

housed thousands of written documents on tablets.

• The library is now at the British Museum, London.

Mesopotamia – Important PeopleNebuchadnezzar II (634-562 BCE)• Last of the great Babylonian

kings.• Primarily known as a military

leader.• His Hanging Gardens of

Babylon were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Mesopotamia – Important ContributionsThe Wheel• Invented in Mesopotamia

about 5000 years ago.• Originally three pieces of

wood tied together with leather and wooden rods.

• It made transportation and farming easier and quicker.

Mesopotamia – Important ContributionsDevelopment of Writing• A kind of symbol writing called

Cuneiform developed from picture writing.

• A series of wedge shapes in soft clay that were hardened into tablets.

• First used for making lists, cuneiform became used for letters, records, contracts, legal documents and eventually literature.

Mesopotamia – Important ContributionsMathematics• Used a number system based

on 60 and developed the concept of zero.

• Today’s 360-degree circle and 60-minute hour come from Mesopotamia.

• They also knew basic geometry and had an approximate value for pi (π)

Mesopotamia – Important ContributionsAstronomy• Early astronomy developed

from the observations of Babylonian priests.

• They believed the movement of the stars could forecast (predict) events on Earth.

Mesopotamia – Important ContributionsCities• After the development of

agriculture, villages developed along the Tigris-Euphrates rivers.

• These later became city-states, which had an urban center, surrounding villages, and farmland.

• The most famous cities included Ur, Uruk, Nineveh and Babylon

Mesopotamia – Important ContributionsArchitecture• Each city erected a temple to

their particular god.• The largest were stepped

structures called Ziggurats made of mud brick.

• Structures similar to the ziggurat can be seen in pyramids in Egypt and temples in Central America.

Mesopotamia – Important ContributionsKingship• Early city-states developed

government based around a king.

• The king was believed to be appointed by the gods. The gods also give the king his power.

• Kings served as military leaders, magistrates, administrators and servants to the local god.

Mesopotamia – Important ContributionsWritten codes of law• Early kings needed written

laws to ensure justice and equal protection.

• Hammurabi’s code is among the best preserved of these early law codes.

• Laws dealt with contracts, wills, business dealings, and crime and punishment

Egyptian Civilization 3100 BCE – 30 BCE

• Egypt – Greek word• Egyptians called their land

Kemet – “Black land””• Series of kingdoms that

developed along the Nile River Valley in present-day Egypt.

• Egypt flourished by managing the waters of the Nile through flooding and irrigation.

Egypt – Important PeopleKhufu (2589–2566 BCE)• Early Egyptian pharaoh

(king) • Mostly known for

construction of the Great Pyramid and the Great Sphinx at Giza

Egypt – Important PeopleHatshepsut (1508–1458 BCE)• One of the few women to

become pharaoh of Egypt• She is usually depicted in

mens clothes.• Her 22-year reign was

marked by growth in trade and massive building projects.

Egypt – Important PeopleThutmose III (1481–1425 BCE)• Became pharaoh on the

death of his stepmother Hatshepsut.

• He was ancient Egypt’s greatest military leader

• Egypt’s empire stretched from Syria to present-day Sudan.

Egypt – Important PeopleTutankhamun (1341–1323 BCE)• Became pharaoh at nine and

died at eighteen.• The discovery of his tomb in

1922 made ancient Egyptian culture extremely popular.

• Probably the most famous pharaoh in the world.

Egypt – Important PeopleRameses II (1303 – 1203 BCE)• Also known as Rameses

the Great.• Most powerful and

successful pharaoh in Egyptian history.

• Mentioned in the Biblical story of the Exodus.

Egypt – Important ContributionsHeiroglyphics• Heiroglyphs – Greek for

“Sacred Carvings.”• They were a form of picture

writing developed, in part, from earlier Mesopotamian script.

• Contained over 700 symbols for sounds, letters and words.

Egypt – Important ContributionsPapyrus• Papyrus was a reed that

grew along the banks of the Nile.

• Egyptians wove strands of papyrus to make a writing material similar to paper.

• The word “paper” comes from papyrus.

Egypt – Important ContributionsCalendars• The Egyptians developed

a 365-day year divided into 12 months.

• Such calendars enabled Egyptians to date their own written history.

Egypt – Important ContributionsLarge-Scale Irrigation• Egyptians depended on the

floodwaters of the Nile to provide enough water for their crops.

• They developed huge irrigation projects to deposit water and silt from the Nile into Egyptian farms and fields.

Egypt – Important ContributionsMathematics• Egyptians developed

geometry to determine land boundaries and build pyramids.

• They developed ways to measure area, volume, weight, and length.

Egypt – Important ContributionsArchitecture• Starting in the 4th century

BCE, temples and pyramids towered over Egypt.

• They were designed as tombs and storehouses for the gods.

• They are great feats of engineering, even by today’s standards.

Egypt – Important ContributionsShipbuilding• Egyptians first built

canoes and barges made of papyrus reeds.

• By 3000 BCE, they had invented sails and begun to build ships out of wooden planks.

Egypt – Important ContributionsPublic Administration• Egyptian government ran smoothly

thanks to the work of hundreds of clerks and civil servants known as scribes.

• They assisted tax collectors in keeping records of what everyone owed.

• The scribes would then distribute the money to various government projects, keeping accurate records of how the funds were spent.

Egypt – Important ContributionsReligion and the Afterlife• Egyptian religion emphasized

life after death.• They developed the process of

mummification to preserve the body for the afterlife.

• Organs were kept in special jars, which Egyptians believed protected them for eternity.

Greek Civilization 800 BCE – 140 BCE

• A group of competing city-states crowded in present-day Greece and among the islands of the Aegean Sea.

• Their language, art, architecture, philosophy, science, literature and culture spread across the Mediterranean and beyond.

Greece – Important Political/Military leaders

Solon (638-558 BCE)• Helped lay the

foundations for Athens’ democracy

Cleisthenes (570-508 BCE) • Known as the father of

Athenian Democracy

Greece – Important Political/Military leaders

Leonidas (540?-480 BCE)

• King of Sparta who bravely led 300 Spartans against the Persians at Thermoplyae in 480 BCE.

Themistocles (524-459 BCE)• Athenian politician and

general responsible for the Athenian navy.

• Led the Greeks at Salamis in 480 BCE.

Miltiades (550-489 BCE)• Olympic charioteer and

Athenian general against the Persians at Marathon in 490 BCE.

Greece – Important Political/Military leaders

Pericles (495-429 BCE)• Athenian statesman and general who led Athens during her Golden Age.• Commissioned most of the buildings on the Acropolis, including the Parthenon.• Expanded Athenian power across the Mediterranean.

Greece – Important Political/Military leaders

Alcibiades (450-404 BCE)• Athenian general during the second half of the Peloponnesian War against Sparta.• Proposed a disastrous invasion of Sicily that practically destroyed Athenian power overnight.• Changed allegiances several times, from Athens to Sparta to Persia and back to Athens.

Greece – Important Political/Military leaders

Alexander III (356-323 BCE)• Macedonian king known as Alexander the Great.• Built one of the largest empires in the ancient world by the age of 30.• Tutored by Aristotle, Alexander worked to spread Greek knowledge and culture from North Africa to Central Asia.• The years between Alexander’s reign and the rise of Rome are known as the Hellenistic Age, when Greece became the cultural standard for the known world.

Greece – Important Leaders in Philosophy

Socrates (470-399 BCE)-Among the most influential Western philosophers.- His ideas were mostly written down by his student Plato.

Plato (428-347 BCE)- Student of Socrates who expanded on his work in philosophy, ethics, and government .

Aristotle (384-322 BCE)- Student of Plato who wrote on a wide range of subjects: philosophy, science, government, ethics, logic, etc.

Greece – Important Leaders in Science/Medicine

Archimedes – Science, mathematics

Eratosthenes – Mathematics, geography

Hippocrates - Medicine

Pythagoras - mathematics

Euclid – Mathematics, particularly Geometry

Greece – Important Leaders in Arts/Literature

Herodotus - History

Aeschylus - Tragedy

Sophocles - Tragedy

Euripides - Tragedy

Aristophanes - Comedy

Homer - Poetry

Thucydides - History

Greece – Important ContributionsLanguage• Greek developed from Phoenician

and other langauges of the Mediterranean.

• For centuries, Greek was the language of culture and learning in the Eastern world.

• About 30% of words in English come either directly or indirectly from Greek, particularly scientific, academic, and mathematical terms.

Greece – Important ContributionsMythology and Literature• The Greek religion was the basis

for the Greek myths and legends, the first great works in Western literature.

• The Greeks perfected lyric and epic poetry – poetry that told stories.

• The greatest epic poems were the Iliad and the Odyssey, both written by Homer.

Greece – Important ContributionsTheater• Some of the first plays were

performed in Greece.• Thousands would gather in large

outdoor theaters to watch performances of tragedies and comedies.

• The greatest plays competed in an annual competition in Athens honoring the god Dionysus.

Greece – Important ContributionsSculpture and Pottery• The Greeks created many

beautiful works of art.• Greek sculpture began to

attempt to show the human body in an accurate way.

• Greek pottery was both beautiful and informational, painted with stories from mythology.

Greece – Important ContributionsArchitecture• The Greeks built beautiful

public buildings.• The buildings were noted for

lavish use of columns, harmonious proportions and a sense of structural balance.

• Greek architecture inspired buildings throughout our history.

Greece – Important ContributionsThe Olympic Games• The Olympic Games were first

held in 776 BCE at Olympia, and held every four years for the next 1100 years.

• Victorious athletes would receive a laurel crown and would be celebrated throughout Greece.

• The modern Olympics began in 1896 in homage to the ancient games.

Greece – Important ContributionsScience and Mathematics• Ancient Greek scientists and

mathematicians built on the advances of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

• Archimedes, Pythagoras, Euclid and Eratosthenes made new discoveries in science and mathematics.

• Hippocrates is considered the father of medicine.

Greece – Important ContributionsGovernment• The first democracy developed

in Athens in the 6th century BCE.• Athenian males who completed

military training could participate in the government-about 20% of Athens’ population.

• Athenian citizens directly made government decisions through voting. This is called direct democracy.

Greece – Important ContributionsPhilosophy• Athens’ decline in the 300’s BCE

began the great age of philosophy.

• Socrates, Plato and Aristotle developed new ways of understanding the world, human relationships, government, faith and ethics.

• Students today must still master the ideas of the great philosophers of ancient Greece.

Roman Civilization 700 BCE – 600 CE

• A city along the Tiber River in Italy, Rome built the greatest empire in ancient times.

• The Romans combined Greek knowledge with their own contributions in architecture, science, literature, military tactics, law and government.

Rome – Important Political/Military leaders

Romulus and Remus• According to legend, twin brothers who founded the city of Rome about 753 BCE.• Supposed descended from the Trojans, they were raised by a wolf.• Romulus would become Rome’s first king. Rome is named after him.

Rome – Important Political/Military leadersThe Roman Republic (509-27 BCE)

• Rome’s system of government for almost 500 years.• A Senate and several lesser assemblies represented the Roman people in government.• Elected consuls were the chief executives of the republic.• Many Roman institutions form the basis for our own system of government.

Rome – Important Political/Military leadersGaius Marius (157-86 BCE)

• Roman General and politician often called Rome’s third founder.• Reformed the Roman army – began Rome’s history as a military power.• Used political influence and military muscle to become elected consul 7 times.• His era would start the end of the Roman Republic and the shift towards empire.

Rome – Important Political/Military leadersSpartacus (109? – 71 BCE)

• Slave , possible ex-soldier and gladiator (fighter for entertainment) from Thrace, or present-day Bulgaria.• Leader of the Third Servile War (73-71 BCE), the largest slave rebellion in Roman history. • The rebellion came very close to succeeding before the slave army’s defeat in 71 BCE. Spartacus’ body was never found.• Spartacus’ story inspired slave rebellions and independence movements throughout the world, including the abolition movement in the US.

Rome – Important Political/Military leadersMarcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE)

• Orator, lawyer, philosopher and Roman senator.• Introduced Rome to the schools of Greek philosophy.• Introduced vast new vocabulary to the Latin language.• During the civil wars, became an outspoken supporter of the Roman Republic.

Rome – Important Political/Military leadersGaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE)

• Among the most influential Roman statesmen and generals in history.• Conquered Gaul (present-day France) and invaded Britain.• Eventually won a bloody civil war with his rival Pompey Magnus, becoming sole dictator of Rome.• Assassinated by the Senate amongst fears he was growing too powerful.

Rome – Important Political/Military leadersAugustus (63 BCE-14 CE)

• Caesar’s adopted son, then known as Octavian.• Defeated his rival Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE.• Senate made him princeps (First Citizen) in 27 BCE, basically making him the first emperor.• Given the title “Augustus” (divine one), he would found the Roman Empire and begin 200 years of near-constant peace.

Rome – Important Political/Military leadersRoman Empire (27 BCE – 476 CE)

• Form of government that replaced the Roman Republic.• In the beginning, the institutions of the Republic still functioned normally, but the real power lay with the emperor, known as the princeps (first citizen), imperator (commander) and pontifex maximus (high priest).• By about 280 CE, emperors ruled openly as absolute monarchs.

Rome – Important Political/Military leadersTrajan (53 – 117 CE)

• The first Roman emperor born outside Italy, in present-day Spain.• Commissioned a massive building program in Rome, including Trajan’s Column, Trajan’s Forum and Trajan’s Market.• His military conquests of Dacia and Mesopotamia stretched the empire to its greatest extent.• Still today considered amongst Rome’s greatest emperors.

Rome – Important Political/Military leadersDiocletian (244-311 CE)

• Started to move the empire away from traditional institutions towards an absolute monarchy.• Complete re-organization of the government and the military, helping the Empire to last at least another century.• Was the only Roman emperor to retire voluntarily. He spent his last years tending his gardens in his palace in present-day Croatia.

Rome – Important Political/Military leadersConstantine the Great (272-337 CE)

• The first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity.• The Edict of Milan of 313 proclaimed religious tolerance throughout the empire.• Established a new capital at Byzantium in Turkey, later known as Constantinople.• Convened the Council of Nicaea in 325, which helped develop Christianity as the official religion of the empire.

Rome – Important Leaders in Arts/Literature

Terence - DramaPlautus - Drama Virgil - Poetry

Horace - Poetry Seneca - PhilosophyOvid - Poetry

Rome – Important Leaders in Arts/Literature

Livy – History Tacitus - History Suetonius - History

Pliny the Younger – HistoryPliny the Elder – History/Science

Rome – Important ContributionsLaw and Legal System• Rome’s first legal code, the Law of

the Twelve Tables, was written around 450 BCE.

• This code developed into a complex body of laws that have influenced legal systems in Europe and the United States.

• The Romans also developed a system of courts, judges, jurors and lawyers that is still in use today.

Rome – Important ContributionsRepublican government• Rome’s first real government

was a republic, where officials represented the people.

• The Senate and other assemblies prevented one individual from gaining too much power.

• The US system of government is based to a large extent on the Roman model.

Rome – Important ContributionsMilitary Organization• For centuries, the Roman army

was considered the greatest in ancient history.

• Roman armies were well organized and disciplined with professional soldiers.

• Roman military strategies became models for future military commanders, even today.

Rome – Important ContributionsAlphabet and Language• Latin was the official language of

the Romans.• The Roman alphabet became the

basis for the alphabets of many European countries.

• Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Romanian all developed directly from Latin.

• Almost 60% of the words in English come from either Latin or a language related to Latin.

Rome – Important ContributionsArchitecture and Engineering• The Romans perfected the arch

and invented concrete.• They built arched bridges,

domed roofs, and monumental public buildings.

• Wherever the Romans went, their architects and engineers built massive projects.

• Many of these buildings are still standing, and still being used.

Rome – Important ContributionsWater Supply – City Planning• Aqueducts carried water long

distances to supply Roman cities with water for fountains and bathhouses

• Roman cities had apartment buildings similar to modern buildings, with five or six floors.

• Rome was filled with markets, shopping centers and even fast food restaurants.

Rome – Important ContributionsRoad System• A vast system of paved roads

bound the empire together.• The roads stretched for over

50,000 miles (80,450 km) across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

• Roman roads became the basis for Europe’s modern road and rail network.

Rome – Important ContributionsCalendars• The Julian Calendar was Rome’s

primary calendar.• The year was divided into twelve

months, many named after various gods and Emperors.

• January = Janus, a two-faced god.

• March = Mars, god of war.• July = Julius Caesar• August = Augustus.

Rome – Important ContributionsChristianity• Christianity was originally a sect, or

group, of the Judaism. It was based on the teachings of a Jewish religious leader named Jesus.

• Missionaries such as Paul used Roman cities and Roman roads to spread the new faith across the empire.

• By 395 CE, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

• Today, it is one of the largest religious movements on Earth.