North Africa & Southwest AsiaNorth Africa & Southwest Asia

Early Cultures

Egypt, in North Africa, and Mesopotamia, in Southwest

Asia, were the earliest known human civilizations.

The earliest civilizations date back only about 5,000 years.

Mesopotamia, the site of the first permanent human

settlement, grew between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. Today, Syria and Iraq

occupy this area.

Mesopotamia and other early civilizations are known as the Bronze Age because of their

use of metal bronze, a mixture copper and tin.

The people of Mesopotamia built irrigation systems to control

flooding. They also developed a 12-month calendar based on the phases of the moon to better

predict the coming of the flood waters. Barley, and possibly wheat, were grown for the first time. The plow was used here for the first

time, as well.

A city-state was made up of the city and the farmland around it.

City-states were theocracies.

A theocracy was a form of government ruled by an

individual who was both the religious leader and the king. These priest-kings had almost

absolute power.

A theocracy is a form of unlimited government.

Empire-group of states under one ruler

Babylon’s greatest king, Hammurabi, wrote a set of laws known as the Hammurabi Code.

The Babylonians developed a number system based on 60.

We have borrowed the 60 minute hour, the 60 second minute, and the 360 degree circle from the Babylonians.

The Phoenicians were one of the most important traders. They were located mainly in what is today Lebanon. They developed an alphabet that

gave rise to the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin alphabets still in use

today.

Ancient Egypt

Egypt grew out of a river valley, the Nile.

The Nile River is the longest river in the world. It runs north from its source for 4,160 miles.

At the Mediterranean Sea it forms a great delta.

Delta-a fan-shaped or triangular piece of richly fertile land.

Pharaoh means great house which probably refers to their

lavish or fancy palaces.

Polytheistic means many gods. This describes most religions of

ancient times. The pharaoh ruled as a god, so Egypt’s

government was a theocracy like Mesopotamia.

Important Egyptian gods

• Horus-god of light• Hapi-river god• Re-sun god• Osiris-god of the harvest and eternal life

Egyptians embalmed (preserved immediately after

death) the bodies of their dead. They embalmed their dead

because they believed in life after death, and they did not

think the soul could exist without the body.

The mummies of poor people were buried in caves or in the

desert sand. Rich people’s mummies were placed in coffins in very elaborate tombs. Many

of these tombs contained fabulous treasures.

The biggest tombs were called pyramids, and they belonged to

the pharaohs.

Ancient Egyptian system of writing is called hieroglyphics, a

form of picture writing with about 800 signs. Language experts only learned to read

hieroglyphics in 1821.

Hatsheptsut was the first female pharaoh.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are major world religions. All

three are examples of monotheism-the belief in one

supreme god.

Judaism is the oldest of these three religions. It was first practiced by the Israelites.

Today the followers of Judaism are known as Jews. Their holy book is known as the Torah.

Judaism important holy days

Rosh Hashanah-New Year’s Day on the Jewish calendar

Yom Kippur-the holiest day in Judaism, also called the Day of

Atonement, Yom Kippur is observed by a 24-hour period of

prayer and fasting.

Christianity is the world’s largest religion. It is made up of people

called Christians. Their holy book is known as the Bible.

Christians were persecuted in the Roman Empire until about A.D. 300. Then the emperor,

Constantine the Great, proclaimed Christianity was to

be a lawful religion. At this point, Christians were no longer

persecuted.

Like all great empires, Egypt grew weak and was eventually conquered by the Greeks and

Romans.

The spread of Christianity was achieved through the work of individuals and missions. The

teachings of Jesus were carried across the globe by

missionaries who built churches, schools, and

hospitals to take care of new Christians.

Europe, especially Rome and Constantinople, became the

center of Christianity. For hundreds of years the Christian church shared power with the

rulers of many nations of Europe.

Important events in the life of Jesus

• Jesus’ birth• Palm Sunday-when Jesus entered

Jerusalem in triumph• Good Friday-day of his crucifixion, death

on the cross• Easter-the day Jesus rose from the dead,

the most important day of the Christian calendar

Islam is the world’s second largest religion. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. The Muslim holy book is the Koran.

There are three holy cities in Islam: Mecca, Madinah, and

Jerusalem.

Ramadan

• A very important holiday on the Muslim calendar.

• In this month, according to Muslim beliefs, God began to reveal the Koran to Muhammad.

• Muslims observe Ramadan by fasting from dawn to sunset and refraining from any acts that take their attention away from God.