Do Now:1. What major

rivers are seen on this map?

2. Why is this region called “the Fertile Crescent”?

3. What civilizations were located here?

RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS

MESOPOTAMIA

Essential Question: What were the important characteristics of the civilizationsin Mesopotamia?

Warm-Up Question:Why was the Neolithic Revolution such a big deal?Which of the 5 characteristics of civilizations do you think is most important?

RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONSThe discovery of farming during the Neolithic

Revolution allowed nomadic people to settle into villages and towns; these eventually became

civilizations

The world’s first civilizations all began in river valleys

The first civilization began in an area known

as Mesopotamia

ChinaIndus Valley

Ancient Egypt

Mesopotamia means “land between the rivers” and is often called the

“Fertile Crescent” or referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization”

The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flooded once per year, leaving behind fertile soil ideal for

farming (a perfect place to start a civilization)

The first civilization that developed in the “Fertile Crescent” of Mesopotamia

was the kingdom of Sumer

Surrounding deserts and the lack of natural barriers attracted outsiders to Mesopotamia and made the Sumerians vulnerable to attack; this led

to other kingdoms rising in Mesopotamia

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSADVANCED

CITIES: Sumerian city-states

were protected by high walls

At the city center was a temple called a ziggurat

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONSSPECIALIZED WORKERS:

At the top of society were priests, and then kings

In the middle were skilled workers, like merchants

At the bottom, were common farmers and slaves

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS

(COMPLEX INSTITUTIONS) RELIGION:

Sumerians and Babylonians were polytheistic (many gods)

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS

(COMPLEX INSTITUTIONS) RELIGION:

The Hebrews in Palestine were the first monotheistic (single god) faith in history (Judaism)

The holy book of Judaism is the Torah; God gave Moses the Ten Commandments which serve as moral laws

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS

GOVERNMENT:Babylonian King

Hammurabi created the first legal code

Hammurabi’s Code had 282 laws based on justice and retaliation (for example: “an eye for an eye”)

The code had different punishments for the various levels of society

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS WRITING:

Sumerians made the world’s first writing called

cuneiform

WRITING:–Phoenicians

simplified cuneiform to a 22 letter alphabet

–Phoenician

merchants spread the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean world

–The alphabet influenced Greek, Latin, and English

LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS TECHNOLOGY:

Sumerian inventions include the wheel, sail, plow, and bronze metalwork

After thousands of years of civilization in river valleys, the world’s first empires appeared

River valley civilizations were complex societies with advanced technologies, cities, workers, writing, and

institutions (religions and governments)

Like river valley civilizations, empires

were advanced societies with well-organized,

centralized governments The difference is that empires conquer and rule over a variety of

formerly independent people

“EMPIRE” defined: a group of several

different nations or people united and ruled over by a monarch (like

an emperor or king)

The nations that are ruled over obey and

serve the mother country of the empire

In the first ancient empire we learn about, the mother country of the empire was Persia

Major Empires Persian Empire

Mauryan and Gupta Empires in India

Han Dynasty in China

Mesopotamia: River Valley to Empire

The fertile soil and lack of

natural boundaries (like

mountains) in Mesopotamia

led to the Mesopotamian

civilizations being the target

of frequent invasions and

conquests

One of the most important ancient empires was Persia (present-day Iran)

The Persians grew into a powerful empire under Kings Cyrus and Darius

The “10,000 Immortals”: Persia’s elite fighting force

With a powerful army, the Persians conquered Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India

Persia’s religion was Zoroastrianism (based on the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster)

This religion viewed life as a struggle between good and evil; the Persians

believed in Heaven and Hell as consequences for how they lived their lives

Zoroastrianism influenced the views of the afterlife in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

The Persian Empire at its Height How did the Persians control such a massive empire?

PERSIA’S SYSTEM OF CONTROLPersia controlled their lands in a variety of ways

Persian kings were tolerant; they

allowed conquered people to keep their

languages and religions

This kept the conquered people content and less

likely to rebel

PERSIA’S SYSTEM OF CONTROLRather than

destroying or looting

conquered cities, King

Cyrus would show respect

for local customsAs the mother country of the empire, the

Persians were definitely in chargeHowever, life was tolerable under Persian rule, so this made most conquered people content

THE PERSIAN EMPIRE AT THE HEIGHT OF ITS POWER

King Darius divided the empire into twenty provinces, each one was ruled

by a satrap (local governor)

Satraps served as the “eyes and ears” of the Persian

kings in their respective provinces

They collected taxes from

the people of the provinces and informed

the king of any uprisings

PERSIA’S SYSTEM OF CONTROL

PERSIA’S ORGANIZED EMPIREThe Persians built a network of roads in order to collect taxes, improve communication, and facilitate trade throughout their empire

PERSIA’S ORGANIZED EMPIRE

The Persians used metal coins with standardized values to help promote trade