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The First Civilizations

6,000 B.C. – 587 B.C. The First Civilizations. The Nile River 750-mile stretch to the delta provided easy travel to Mediterranean Sea Predictable annual floods provided fertile land Climate and irrigation allowed for 2-3 crops per year. Ancient Egypt. Old Kingdom (2680 B.C. – 2180 B.C.)

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The First Civilizations

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  1. 6,000 B.C. – 587 B.C. The First Civilizations

  2. The Nile River • 750-mile stretch to the delta provided easy travel to Mediterranean Sea • Predictable annual floods provided fertile land • Climate and irrigation allowed for 2-3 crops per year Ancient Egypt

  3. Old Kingdom (2680 B.C. – 2180 B.C.) • Pharaohsorganized a strong central state, were absolute rulers, and were considered gods • Egyptians built pyramids at Giza • Usedhieroglyphicsand wrote onpapyrus Egypt (cont)

  4. Middle Kingdom (2050 B.C. – 1650 B.C.) • Large canal project created arable farmland • Hyskos conquered lower Egypt • brought horse-drawn chariots and bronze Egypt (cont)

  5. New Kingdom (1570 B.C. – 1080 B.C.) • Powerful pharaohs created a large empire that reached the Euphrates River • Hatshepsut encouraged trade • Ramses II expanded Egyptian rule to Syria Egypt (cont)

  6. Achievements • Geometry (to build pyramids) • Calendar (accurate 365 days) • Later added a leap year • Medicine (including preserving bodies) Egypt (cont)

  7. Khufu the Washington monument 346 feet

  8. Egyptians were polytheistic • Amon-Re, sun god, was most important • Osiris, judged the dead and was associated with the Nile • Believed in an afterlife • Mummification prepared people for death Egypt (cont)

  9. The Fertile Crescent • Formed by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers • Flooding not as predictable as Nile • Required canals and dikes to control water levels Empires of the Fertile Crescent

  10. Sumer • Cuneiform • Arch • Ziggurat • Wheel Fertile Crescent (cont)

  11. no wood in the area; steel had not yet been invented bricks at the top of the structure to get it as close as possible to the sky, where the people believed the gods lived

  12. Babylonians • Code of Hammurabi • Harsh Punishment “eye for an eye” • Varied according to status • Women had some legal and property rights Fertile Crescent (cont)

  13. Persians • Cyrus the Great • Conquered people treated fairly • allowed to keep religions and laws • Secret agents kept king informed Fertile Crescent (cont)

  14. Persians (cont) • Darius I • Organized Persia into territories • Promoted trade and commerce • Standardized monetary system • Built Royal Road • 1,500 mile road with fresh horses • Tolerant of religious practices Fertile Crescent (cont)

  15. Persians (cont) • Xerses I • Focused on military • Tried to conquer Greece • Defeated Spartans • Burned Athens • Defeated at Salamis Fertile Crescent (cont)

  16. Phoenicians • Traders that went as far as England • Created the alphabet • Lydians • Developed money economy Fertile Crescent (cont)

  17. a triangle S Canaanite to Phoenician to Greek to English

  18. Monotheistic – believe one god created the universe • First five books of the Bible are the Torah • Law similar to Hammurabi • Higher value on human life Judaism

  19. Abraham • Father of the Jewish people • Told to leave his home to create a great nation • Blessed with a lot of children Judaism (cont)

  20. Moses • Raised in the Pharaoh's court • God tells Moses to lead his people on an exodus from Egypt to the promised land • God gives Moses the Torah and the Ten Commandments Judaism (cont)

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