The first three thousand years of Western history began in two great river-valleys

Mesopotamia in southwest Asia Egypt in upper Africa

Agriculture and the first cities were born in these regions These two regions founded scientific and mathematical

knowledge, architectural advancements, legal systems, forms of government, and religious systems

These cultures were also responsible for the world’s first writing systems

The Ancient Middle East

Mesopotamia means “land between the rivers”Today this region is most of Iraq and parts of

Iran, Turkey, and SyriaThis area is also known as the Fertile CrescentIt is so named because of the agriculturally rich

land This rich soil is watered by two major rivers

TigrisEuphrates

Mesopotamian Literature

The Sumerians were the first people to inhabit Mesopotamia

These people were nomadic and settled in Sumner between 5000 and 4000 BC

The Sumerians dug canals to irrigate the crops

They used mud to build their houses because there was no stone or timber in the area

They also used the mud for pottery and clay tablets

Sumerians

On the tablets, the Sumerians recorded their laws, financial transactions, and literature

The Sumerians lived in city-states- a large town or city and all its surrounding land

These city-states were laid out around great pyramid-like temples called ziggurats

Ziggurats were six or seven stories high, layered like a wedding cake, and each level was brightly painted a different color

A Priest-King lived in each Ziggurat

Sumerian Ziggurat

The Priest-King was believed to be the earthly representation of a local god

Some city-states had populations in the tens of thousands

Most city-states were in sight of each other, however, each one preferred to remain separated

For this reason, the Sumerians never formed a centralized government

Priest-Kings

Egyptian drawing of Priest-King

The Sumerians were known for their beautiful metalwork and sculpture

They developed a mathematical system with a number base of 60

They also devised a very precise twelve-month calendar based on the cycles of the moon

Their most important invention was the world’s oldest system of writing: Cuneiform

Cuneiform is a type of wedge writing using a stylus, or pointed stick on wet clay tablets

Artistic and Scientific Achievements

Sometime before 2000 BC, the Sumerians were conquered by a Semitic people who built a capital city on the banks of the Euphrates River

The city was called Babylon which means “gate of the gods”

The people of Babylon became known as Babylonians

Under the Babylonians, the Sumerians lost all identity

The Babylonians took everything that the Sumerians had done , adopted it, translated it into their language (Akkadian), and took credit for all of it

Fall of Sumeria

Around 1792 BC, under the reign of Hammurabi, Babylon became the religious and cultural center of western Asia

The Code of Hammurabi was a collection of 282 laws that controlled every aspect of Babylonian life, from building codes to marriage and divorce

The code was based on a concept of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” and breaking any of the laws could result in death

Hammurabi

Hammurabi Bust

In 900 BC, the Assyrians, a fiercely warlike people, came into Mesopotamia

They built their capital city on the banks of the Tigris and called it Nineveh

They created a magnificent library containing the clay tablets of Sumerian and Babylonian literature

Over time, the library of Nineveh fell into decay and became buried under the earth

In the 19th century, archeologists began to dig up the remains of the library

The Library of Nineveh

Library of Nineveh

Excavated Ruins of the Library

In 612 BC, the Assyrians were overthrown and Babylon rose again

Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler who rebuilt Babylon

The city became famous for its Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the World

Babylon was also known for a great ziggurat that historians have identified as the biblical Tower of Babel

“Babel” was the Hebrew name for Babylon

The Rebirth of Babylon

Tower of Babel

Babylon fell to Cyrus the Great of Persia in 539 BC

It remained a center of trade and culture for several centuries, until a new port was established on the Euphrates

After that, Babylon fell into ruins

The Fall of Babylon

Ancient Egypt existed for almost three thousand years

Egypt is also named “the gift of the Nile”The Nile River served the same purpose in

Egypt that the Tigris and Euphrates served in Mesopotamia

The Nile provided the water source necessary for fertilizing crops in the middle of the Sahara Desert

It also made Egypt a thriving trade community

Egyptian Literature

The Nile also provided PapyrusPapyrus is a reed that grows along the banks

of the Nile RiverThe Egyptians developed an early form of

paper from these reedsThe etymology of the word paper comes from papyrus

Using papyrus, Egyptians kept written records and shared ideas and literature

Papyrus and Paper

Egyptian civilization survived for more than twenty-seven centuries under thirty-one dynasties

Dynasties are successive ruling familiesThe greatest years of the Egyptian civilization

are divided into three erasThe Old Kingdom ( 2700-2200BC) – pyramids

are constructed; autobiographies and prayersThe Middle Kingdom (2000-1800BC)- Egypt

expanded political power and economy; hymns and songs

The New Kingdom (1600-1100 BC)- peak of political power; period known for lyric love poems

Twenty-Seven Centuries

Pharaoh

Priests and Scribes, Merchants, Professionals

Workers, Peasants, Slaves

Social Structure

The Pharaoh was not only a political leader but also a spiritual leader

He was seen as a godIt was the pharaoh’s destiny to live with the

gods after deathThe pyramids were built to ease the

pharaoh’s journey to the afterlifeThey contained the pharaoh’s body and his

earthly possessions

Role of the Pharaoh

Hieroglyphs- one of the earliest systems of writing created by the Egyptians

A fascination with death pervaded Egyptian culture

The Cult of the Dead were a group of Egyptians who protected the Book of the Dead

The Book of the Dead , considered religious literature, was a “travelers guide” to the afterlife, containing everything that the deceased needed to have or know after death

Literature and the Cult of the Dead