Civilazations in Southwest Asia

1. CIVILALIZATIONS IN
SOUTHWEST ASIA
ANCIENT PERIOD

2. SOUTHWEST ASIA
(Also known as the middle east)
• Has played a large role in human history. It is
the world’s earliest civilization developed in
southwest Asia
• Three major religions (Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam)

3. ANCIENT PERIOD

4. MAJOR CONTRIBUTION
• Assyrians – Mesopotamians (farming, agriculture, and
metallurgy)
• Aztecs – (Geometry and Astronomy)
• Egyptians – (Ancient Architecture, Art of Writing,
Medicines and Surgery)
• Greeks – (Progressive Philosophy, Weapons and Naval
Warfare)
• Indians – (Mathematics Astronomy and Medicine)
• Indus Valley Civilization – (City Sewage and Drainage
Plans)
• Romans – (Political and Social Structures)

5. • ASSYRIANS
• (Agriculture, Farming and Metallurgy)
• Agriculture was mainly an economic activity for Assyrians. Farmers mostly farmed cereal
crops, such as barley for flour and beer, and wheat or trigo for bread. They also planted
vines. Cows were utilized to pull plows. Horses were also brought in to be used as pack
animals and for transportation.
• They were also experts in the use of Iron. This metal was used to make swords, axes,
and spears.
• AZTECS
• Geometry – Recognized for their amazing circular calendars and practice of human
sacrifice. They used hand, heart, and arrow symbols to express fractional distances when
estimating land areas.
• Astronomy – The Aztecs used a complex calendar system characteristic of Mesoamerican
civilizations. It combined a count of 365 days based on the solar year with a separate
calendar of 260 days based on various rituals.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTION

6. EGYPTIANS
• Ancient architecture
• Stone, the most durable of all building materials, was used to construct the
pyramids, tombs, temples, and palaces of the ancient Egyptians.
• Art of writing
• The Egyptians invented writing as a means of expressing their thoughts. This art of
writing were produced by priests, their writing became known as 'Hieroglyphy'
or'sacred writing.'.
• Medicines and surgery
• The ancient Egyptians used highly professional procedures in their medical practice.
They were physically and surgically advanced. They also treated a wide range of
illnesses, including dental, gynecological, gastrointestinal, and urinary problems.
They have the ability to detect diabetes and cancer.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTION

7. GREEKS
• Progressive Philosophy
• One of the key points of Ancient Greek philosophy was the role of reason and
inquiry.
• Weapons
• Ancient Greek weapons and armor were primarily designed for solitary battle. A
composition consisting of an armies shield wall that needed heavy frontal armor
and medium-ranged weapons such as spears, was their primary strategy.
• “NAVAL WARFARE” refers to the strategies of military operations over the sea.
INDIAN
• Mathematics
• Indian mathematicians contributed to the study of trigonometry, algebra,
arithmetic, and negative numbers, among other fields. The most importantly,
India was the birthplace of the decimal system that we still use today.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTION

8. • Astronomy
• Ancient Indian astronomers used the stars and planets to make astrological charts and
read prophesies, developing advanced mathematical models and developing a variety of
interesting theories.
• Medicine
• During the sixth century BC, an Indian known as Sushruta is the “father of surgery”
documented more than 1,100 diseases, catalogued the use of various medical herbs, and
wrote directives for performing surgical procedures including rhinoplasty and skin grafts.
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
• City sewage
• Underground sewers made of properly planned bricks, and an unique water management
system.
• Drainage plans
• The system of underground drainage was the most remarkable component of design
during the Indus Valley civilization.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTION

9. • ROMANS
• Political
• By freeing law from the clutches of religion and ethics the Romans built up a concrete
theory of legal rights.
• Social structures
• Ancient Rome was made up of a structure called a social hierarchy, or division of people
into differently-ranked groups depending on their jobs and family.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTION

10. SUMMERIAN
• Gilgamesh
• King of Uruk, reign about 2900-2700, he is the most famous of the early Sumerian rulers, and is best known
for his imaginary adventures in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the world's earliest epic poem. He was described as
the son of the goddess Ninsun but then he was also describe as an arrogant ruler of Uruk.
AKKADIAN EMPIRE
• Sargon the great
• Sargon, also known as Sargon of Akkad, was an ancient Mesopotamian prince (reigned c. 2334–2279 BCE)
He is the world's first great empire builders, conquering all of southern Mesopotamia as well as parts of
Syria, Anatolia, and Elam (western Iran).
• Sargon's reign provided stability. He built roads and irrigation canals, extended trade routes and
encouraged science and the arts.
• Naram-sin)
• While Sargon was known as "King of Kish," military leader Naram-Sin was known as "King of the Four
Corners" (king of the universe) and a "living god," He was the first Mesopotamian ruler to claim divinity,
claiming the title "God of Akkad" and "King of the Four Quarters, King of the Universe." He defeated present
day Iran.
KINGSHIP & ADMINISTRATION

11. • BABYLONIAN EMPIRE
• Hammurabi
• Hammurabi was an Amorite First Dynasty king of Babylon, who took the throne after his
father, Sin-Muballit, died in the year 1792 BC. Throughout the land, he constructed new
canals, temples aqueducts. Hammurabi is best known today for enacting the Code of
Hammurabi, a new system of laws.
• Nabopolassar
• Was the first king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. He declared himself king of Babylonia in
626 after pushing the Assyrians out of Uruk. After Assurbanipal, the Assyrian monarch,
died. He took the throne of the Chaldeans around the year 630.
• Nebuchadnezzar the II
• He is commonly referred to as Nebuchadnezzar the Great and is considered the empire's
greatest king. Nebuchadnezzar is remembered for his military conquests in the Levant,
as well as his construction projects in Babylon, his city, and his role in Jewish history.
Nebuchadnezzar was the Chaldean dynasty's longest-reigning monarch, ruling for 43
years.
KINGSHIP & ADMINISTRATION

12. ASSYRIAN EMPIRE
• Shamshi-Adad I
• Shamshi-Adad I renamed the long-abandoned town of Shekhna (now known as
Tell Leilan) ubat-Enlil (meaning "the house of the god Enlil") Shamshi-Adad I was
an excellent organizer who maintained strict control over all aspects of state
administration, from high policy to the appointment of officials and the
distribution of commodities.
• Tiglath Pileser III
• Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria (reigned 745-727 B.C. ), was a skilled warrior
and administrator who built the foundation for the Late Assyrian Empire.
Tiglath-Pileser also conquered Tyre and defeated Israel, dividing the kingdom in
half and colonising the northern half as the province of Megiddo and conquering
the southern half as a vassal state. He also began the ” the most important
phase of Assyrian expansion. He ruled Syria and Palestine, and eventually (729
or 728) he merged the Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms.
KINGSHIP & ADMINISTRATION

13. • Sennacherib
• King of Assyria (705/704–681 BCE), Son of Sargon II, he made Nineveh his capital, building
a new palace, enlarging and renovating the city, and creating inner and outside city
walls that still stand today.
• Ashurbanipal
• Ashurbanipal was a popular king who built the first systematically organized library in the
ancient Middle East in Nineveh. Ashurbanipal was able to gain materials from Babylonia
and the surrounding areas by using threats and he was known for being cruel to his
enemies.
PERSIAN EMPIRE
• Cyrus the great
• Cyrus took the chance and led from the front. He believed that by witnessing their
commander lead, his men or team would acquire confidence. " Cyrus assumed he could
motivate his army, and he yelled to his warriors, "Forward now, bravest of the brave!" In
short, Cyrus has been remembered as more than a great man who established an empire
throughout history.
KINGSHIP & ADMINISTRATION

14. • Darius I
• Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who ruled the Achaemenid
Empire as the third King of Kings from 522 BCE until his death in 486
BCE. Darius the Great was an Achaemenid emperor known for his
administrative skills, large-scale construction projects, and
generosity toward the various peoples who lived under his rule.
• Xerxes I
• Xerxes the Great, or just Xerxes, was the fourth King of Kings of the
Achaemenid Empire, ruled from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and
successor of Darius the Great, and he was nearly 8 feet tall, making
him the tallest Persian of all time. He is best known for his massive
invasion of Greece from across the Hellespont (480 BCE), which
included the battles of Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea.
KINGSHIP & ADMINISTRATION

15. • Upper Class- Highest ranked of position
• Middle Class- Landowners, worked the farms, baked the
bread and built the walls
• Lower Class- Slaves
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

16. • Judaism- The people who practice Judaism are called Jews
• Judaism started in a desert in southwest Asia. Abraham is the one that
started this religion.
• Christianity - The people who practice Christianity are called Christian.
They believe there’s only one god, and he created the heavens and the
earth.
• Islam - The people who practice Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are
monotheistic and worship one. All-knowing god, who in Arabic is known
as Allah. They believe that nothing can happen without Allah's
permission, but humans have free will.
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS