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Western River Civilizations

Western River Civilizations. The “Fertile Crescent ”. Narrow region of good farmland along the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile Rivers of the Middle East. “The Crossroads of Civilization”. Egypt. Cities. Pharaoh (king) Was worshipped as a god (religious role)

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Western River Civilizations

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  1. Western River Civilizations

  2. The “Fertile Crescent” • Narrow region of good farmland along the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile Rivers of the Middle East

  3. “The Crossroads of Civilization”

  4. Egypt • Cities

  5. Pharaoh (king) Was worshipped as a god (religious role) Ruled with absolute power (political role) Had a vizier (chief advisor) who ran day-to-day government Government

  6. Religion • Polytheistic (multiple deities) • Ra, the chief god in the Egyptian religion, was the god of the sun

  7. The Book of the Dead • Technical text which describes the ritual process of mummification; may be one of the earliest scientific medical manuals in history (although it does contain magic spells!)

  8. Egyptians believed that after death, one’s soul was judged – “good” souls went to the Happy Fields of Food – “bad” souls were fed to a giant crocodile

  9. Akhenaton • 1353 – 1336 BC? • Born Amenhotep IV • Wife was Nefertiti • After his death, he was reviled and many likenesses of him were destroyed throughout Egypt

  10. Akhenaton believed in a single god (monotheism) named Aton

  11. Jobs & Social Classes

  12. The Pyramids

  13. The Pyramids were tombs and portals to the afterlife for Egyptian pharaohs

  14. The Sphinx

  15. Tutankhamun • 1333 – 1324 BC • Not really important as a pharaoh • Importance lies in the discovery in 1922 of his unlooted tomb • Died at 19 • Murdered?

  16. “King Tut”

  17. Public Works • The Egyptians built a complex system for harnessing the annual flooding of the Nile River to irrigate their farmland • They also undertook numerous construction projects of massive scale

  18. Writing = Hieroglyphics

  19. Ancient Mesopotamian Civilizations

  20. Mesopotamia = “between the rivers”

  21. Mesopotamian city-states • Each city was an independent country • Each had its own king • City-states sometimes cooperated, sometimes fought each other • Had common culture and religious beliefs

  22. Hammurabi, King of Babylon • 1795 – 1750 BC (?) • Also built an empire that controlled all of Mesopotamia • Ruled by force of law – required that all 300 laws be posted for all citizens to see and know • Brought justice

  23. The Code of Hammurabi = the world’s first standardized set of written laws

  24. Criminal Law Deals with offenses against others, such as robbery, assault, and murder Usually lead to physical punishments Civil Law Deals with private rights and matters, such as contracts, inheritance, taxes, marriage, and divorce Usually lead to financial punishments Criminal law vs. Civil law

  25. Ishtar & Ba’al

  26. Zoroaster • 600 BC? • Persian prophet • “Illuminated” by the one god Ahura Mazda • Wrote the holy texts Zend-Avesta & The Gathas

  27. Zoroastrianism • One good god – Ahura Mazda • One evil “tempter of men” – Ahriman • After Ahura Mazda destroys Ahriman, there will be a Judgment Day where all souls will be weighed on the good and bad committed in their lives • Would later be a strong influence on the development of Christianity

  28. Jobs & Social Classes • Kings and priests were at the top of the social ladder, followed by people of means and property • At the bottom of the social scale were farmers and slaves

  29. Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon • 630 – 562 BC • Babylonian king of the Bible • Depicted as cruel • Conquered the Israelites and took them into slavery in Babylon

  30. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

  31. The Epic of Gilgamesh • Epic poem • Tells of the Sumerian hero-king Gilgamesh and his friendship with the savage man Enkidu • After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh seeks immortality • Also tells a story of a great flood, similar to the Bible’s Noah story

  32. Ziggurat = a pyramid temple

  33. Cuneiform = Sumerian writing system

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