Mesopotamia & EgyptMesopotamia & Egypt B.C.E. = Before the Common Era

(B.C.= Before Christ) C.E. = The Common Era (A.D.=

Anno Domini/Year of Our Lord) ca. (circa) approximately Paleolithic Age: Stone tools (ca. 1

million to 10,000 B.C.) Neolithic Age: Domesticated

animals, pottery (ca. 10,000– 4,000 B.C.)

Bronze Age: Birth of Civilization (ca. 3100 – 1200 B.C.)

The Birth of Western Civilization:Mesopotamia ca. 4000 B.C. Hunter/gather societies Agricultural revolution Urbanization = Civilization

– Invention of writing– Specialization of labor– Social classes

The city-state: political identity

An archeologist‘s conception of a Mesopotamian irrigation project (ca. 4000 B.C.)

Sumerian cuneiform

A cuneiform letter in its envelope, ca. 1900 B.C.

Sumer and Mesopotamian Culture

First cuneiform tablets (3100 B.C.) Persistence of war King Sargon (2350 B.C.) The notion of community The palace and temple complexes:

social roles Religion and the order and chaos of the

natural world The law code of King Hammurabi (ca.

1792-1750 B.C.) Free citizens, commoners, and slaves Position of women

Worshipper statues from Sumer ca. 2600 B.C.

The Ziggurat of Ur in Sumer, ca. 2100 B.C.

Palace of Zimri-Lim in Sumer, ca. 1792 B.C.

Egypt: The Gift of the NileEgypt: The Gift of the Nile

Oldest continuous civilizationOldest continuous civilization Prosperity dependent on the annual Prosperity dependent on the annual

river floodriver flood Developed separately from other Developed separately from other

societies; few contacts with outsidesocieties; few contacts with outside Complicated theological and political Complicated theological and political

system; conservative and stratifiedsystem; conservative and stratified Stable government and social Stable government and social

structurestructure

Ancient Egypt (ca. 2700 B.C.)

•The benefits of the Nile river valley and the long dynasty of the kingdom

•The theocracy of the pharaohs

•Ma’at and the legitimacy of the pharaohs

•The sun-king, the upper class, commoners, and slaves

•Nomarchs (governors) & scribes

•The position of women

•Religion, cults, gods, and the afterlife

Ancient Egypt (ca. 2700 B.C.)

•The benefits of the Nile river valley and the long dynasty of the kingdom

•The theocracy of the pharaohs

Statue of King Menkaure and His Queen ca. 3100 B.C.

Egyptian Step-Pyramid ca. 2800 B.C.

The Pyramids at Giza ca. 2575 B.C.

Depiction of an Egyptian Funeral Ceremony

The Jews: Chronology

•Wander into Palestine and then Egypt (ca. 1900 B.C.)

•Led out of Egypt by Moses and invaded Palestine (13th century B.C.)

•Ruled by King Solomon: Palace and Temple of Jerusalem (ca. 961-922 B.C.)

•Enslaved by the Babylonians (586 B.C.)

•Subjected to other Mediterranean powers (until A.D. 1948)

The Jews: Government, Culture, and Religion

The prophets The myths of the Old Testament Monotheism: Notion of universal truth God’s intimate involvement in daily affairs The law and the Covenant: the chosen

people Genealogy, eschatology, and the concept

of history

OzymandiasOzymandiasBy Percy Bysshe ShellyBy Percy Bysshe Shelly

I met a traveller from an antique landI met a traveller from an antique landWho said: ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneWho said: ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,Tell that its sculptor well those passions readTell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.And on the pedestal these words appear --And on the pedestal these words appear --“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”Nothing beside remains. Round the decayNothing beside remains. Round the decayOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bareOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bareThe lone and level sands stretch far away.The lone and level sands stretch far away.