The document provides an overview of several ancient civilizations that arose along major river valleys between approximately 3500 BC and 640 AD. It discusses the Mesopotamian civilizations of Sumer, Akkadia, Babylonia, and Assyria located along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It also summarizes the Egyptian civilization in the Nile River valley, the Indus River valley civilization in India, and the civilizations that arose in Central and South America including the Incas, Aztecs, and Mayans. Additionally, it briefly outlines the dynastic history of ancient China and the Phoenician city-states.

1. ANCIENT
CIVILIZATIONS
THE CIVILIZATIONS OF
THE GREAT RIVERS
Mgr. Aneta Crkoňová, SSAG

2. ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
 Era of palace economy, first cities and city-states on written record
 Oriental despotism – ruler is a descendant of gods (absolute power)
 Each civilization has its own polytheistic religion (temples and sacrifices)
 Civilizations located in the valleys around great rivers for practical reasons:
 Rivers were source of life in deserts of jungles
 Regular floods brought fertile soil
 Rivers provided fish
 Important source of building materials (clay, reeds)
 Easy means of transportation

3. DIVISION OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
 ANCIENT ORIENTAL CIVILIZATIONS
a) STATES WITH IRRIGATION SYSTEM:
MESOPOTAMIA, EGYPT, INDIA, CHINA
a) STATES WITHOUT IRRIGATION SYSTEM:
PHOENICIA, PALESTINE, PERSIA,
HITTITE
 CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS: GREECE AND ROMAN EMPIRE
(ANTIQUITY)

4. MESOPOTAMIA
• Euphrates and Tigris = cradle of the civilization
• Part of FERTILE CRESCENT (modern Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran)
• Agriculture: barley, wheat, sesame, fruit (apple, plum, cherry, pear), onion,
garlic, ...
• Inhabitants were tribes of Semitic nomads that settled (free peasants,
craftsmen, traders, slaves, warriors, priests and scribes)
Mesopotamia was divided into 3 areas:
 SUMER (south)
 BABYLONIA (middle)
 ASSYRIA (north)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVf5kZA0
HtQ

6. SUMER
3 500 BC – 2 300 BC
SUMERIAN CONTRIBUTIONS:
 IRRIGATION SYSTEM – Clever system of canals, ditches and dykes
 CALENDAR/SYSTEM OF METROLOGY – lunar way of counting time, number
system based on the number 60
 BUILDING TECHNIQUES – sun-dried bricks (adobe)
 METAL-WORKING TECHNOLOGY – bronze tools and weapons
 WHEEL – transport cart and potter‘s wheel
 SCRIPT – cuneiform (scratching in a wet clay with the pointed end of a reed)

7. - City states: UR, URUK, LAGASH,
KISH, LARSA, ERIDU AND
- In the middle of the city was
ZIGGURAT (centre of religious
and economic life)
- Society divided into 4 classes:
NOBILITY, CLIENTS,
COMMONERS, SLAVES)
- Around 2 300 BC Semitic people
led by SARGON conquered Uruk
and created AKKAD EMPIRE
1st MULTINATIONAL EMPIRE
(contrast to city-states) = AKKAD
EMPIRE

8. AKKADIAN EMPIRE
2 300 BC – 2 154 BC
- Land of Mesopotamia
- named after the capital
(Akkad)
- The territorial state with
movable army, administrative
apparatus and network of
roads
- Famous sovereigns:
SARGON OF AKKAD (or
Sargon the Great) and
NARAM-SIN

9. BABYLONIAN EMPIRE
1 900 BC – 1 600 BC
- 6th ruler of Mesopotamian city-
state BABYLON (BABEL) started to
dominate - HAMMURABI
- Establishment of bureaucracy,
taxation, centralized government,
stability after turbulent times
- King‘s power was in his army and
administration
- Division of the society was similar
to Sumerian
- famous CODE OF HAMMURABI: ,,
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.“

11. ASSYRIA
1 900 BC – 612 BC
• Around the city of ASSUR
• Established traders in Anatolia (traded with metals and fabrics)
• Assyrians were excellent soldiers using chariots and savagery
• In the 8th century BC the Assyrian empire was the most powerful empire
in the Middle East
• The Neo-Assyrian empire was destroyed by Neo-Babylonian empire
• Famous library of king ASHURBANIPAL in the city of NINIVEH (the oldest
copy of the EPIC OF GILGAMESH)

12. NEO-BABYLONIAN
EMPIRE
626 BC – 538 BC
 Represented by the CHALDEANS
(tribe)
 The last empire before the rise of
PERSIA
 ISHTAR GATE, THE HANGING
GARDENS OF SEMIRAMIS,
MARDUK TEMPLE

13. PALESTINE (JEWISH NATION)
• In 1 200 BC Jews were tribes of Semitic nomads
looking for a place to settle (main historical
resource is HOLY BIBLE (old testament)
• After imprisonment in Egypt and escape with
Moses and settled in Palestine
• SAUL founded the kingdom and his son David
its capital – JERUSALEM
• SOLOMON built great temple (wailing wall)
and wrote the masterpiece Song of the songs
• Invaded by Neo-Babylonian empire, Assyria,
Romans
• The oldest monotheistic religion-
JUDAISM (Yahweh)

14. NORTH – ISRAEL
SOUTH - JUDAH

15. PERSIA – THE FIRST ACHAEMEDIC
EMPIRE (550 BC – 330 BC)
• IRANIAN EMPIRE based in Western Asia founded
by CYRUS THE GREAT who unified tribes of shepards
• Strong army – he conquered Mesopotamia, Palestine,
Phoenicia, Egypt, Turkey and fought with Greek city-
states in Asia Minor
• DARIUS I. reformed the empire: stronger army, division
of an empire to 20 satrapies with satraps as governors,
new roads and currency = DARIC and started the
Persian wars
• XERXES invaded mainland Greece – BATTLE OF
THERMOPYLAE
• ALEXANDER THE GREAT defeated Persia in 330 BC and
he created a new empire
• ZOROASTRIANISM – one of the world‘s oldest
continuously practiced religions, it is about the constant
battle of good and evilhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXFebggoweE

17. Periodization of
ancient egypt

18. E
G
Y
P
T
• One of the most remarkable civilizations
• In the valley of THE NILE RIVER – ,,THE BLACK LAND“ (very fertile
soil), the desert was referred to as ,,THE RED LAND“ (function of
protection)
During PREDYNASTIC PERIOD there were 2 regions:
 UPPER EGEPYT (south)
 LOWER EGYPT (north, Delta of the Nile)
• Regions were unified in 3 100 BC by PHARAOH MENES (Meni) who
established the first dynasty and capital – MEMPHIS (Mennofer)
• Pharaohs were despotic rulers with absolute political, religious and
judical authority
• Administrative apparatus was represented by NOMARCHS (provincial
governors)
• The important role had priests and scribes
• Other inhabitants: warriors, free peasants, traders and slaves (they
built the pyramids)
•5 000 BC – 640 AD

20. • Egyptian script used more then 2 000 HIEROGLYPHIC characters and was written
on PAPYRUS
• The tombs of pharaohs were in the VALLEY OF THE KINGS and in PYRAMIDS
built during the period of OLD KINGDOM with SPHINX (head of human and body
of a lion)
• The 1st pyramid was DJOSER (step pyramid) and the best known are the pyramids
of KHUFU (Cheops), KHAFRA and MENKAURE in GIZA
• 150 year of chaos during the 1ST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD unified in MIDDLE
KINGDOM
• Egypt was usually under attacks from sea nations and in 2ND INTERMEDIATE
PERIOD = ERA OF HYKSOS (Semitic people who conquered Egypt)
• New weapons: horse-drawn chariot, sword, new arrowheads, shield, metal helmet
• Unification in NEW KINGDOM under THUTMOSE III.
• AKHENATEN founded a new city AKHETATEN and established the new religion –
AMUN (polytheism)-> ATEN the Sun god (monotheism)

22. Egyptians believed in afterlife and reincarnation in case when
body of the dead stayed preserved – MUMMIFICATION
The organs were removed from the body and put into a
CANOPY and the body put into SARCOPHAGUS with amulets
They also wrote BOOK OF THE DEAD – funerary text, to assist
the dead person on his/her journey

23. FORMER EGYPTIAN GODS (polytheism)

25. • New kingdom was the golden age of Egypt
• Most famous pharaohs were TUTANKHAMUN
(the richest tomb discovered by HOWARD
CARTER) and RAMESSES II. (The most
powerful of the Egyptian empire)
• Ramesses II. got to war with the HITTITE
EMPIRE (Anatolia) and after the BATTLE OF
KADESH (1285 BC) – the biggest battle of
ancient history, they reached the agreement
• Later the Hittite empire was destroyed by the
SEA PEOPLE who also caused decline of New
kingdom -> 3RD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
• LATE PERIOD was the restoration of the
Egyptian kingdom. In 525 BC conquered by
ACHAEMENID EMPIRE under CAMBYSES
• Legacy: mathematics, geometry,
architecture, astronomy, medicine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYVZFWHKWKI

26. INDIA
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
(3 300 BC – 1 300 BC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYVZFWHKWKI

27. • Cities HARAPPA and MOHENJO-DARO build in
90-degree street pattern (grid system)
• The oldest sanitation system (running water,
private pools, drainage system)
• The civilization of the VEDIC AGE (1500-500 BC)
created the CASTE SYSTEM that divided Indian
society into social classes:
 BRAHMINS (priests)
 KSHATRIYAS (rulers, warriors)
 VAISHYAS (merchants, craftsmen)
 SHUDRAS (servants)
 DALITS - UNTOUCHABLES (cleaners)
• The ancient language of SANSKRIT
• In the Ganges – MAGADHA EMPIRE (territorial
state which spread buddhism)

28. Ancient India was the birthplace of 2 of the world‘s religions –
BUDDHISM AND HINDUISM
- Buddhism, one of the oldest world religions was founded by PRINCE
SIDDHARTA GAUTAMA in 6th century BC worships no God, but aims to reach
the enlightment - nirvana

29. CENTRAL AMERICA

30. THE INCAS (PERU)
• firstly a small tribe in THE ANDES mountains
and then developed America‘s first cities
• Ruler PACHACUTI expanded the territory
with agreement or conquest
• administrative, political and military center in
CUSCO
• Official language QUECHUA and QUIPU –
recording devices fashioned from strings
• No markets, government distributed the
goods and leftovers were stored in capital
• Upper class: kings, priests, government
officials, commoners
• Lower class: servants, farmers, artisans
• GOD OF THE SUN (they believed the king is
related to him – oriental despotism)
• Conquered by FRANCISCO PIZARRO in 16th
century (ruler ATAHUALPA refused to
convert to Christianity)
• MACHU PICCHU – the lost city in the
mountains
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO5ktwPXsyM

31. THE AZTECS (MEXICO)
• According to their legends origin is in a place
AZTLAN somewhere in NW Mexico
• Class system: king or high priest, nobility,
merchants, artisants, commoners, farmers, slaves
• Commoners had to pay tribute in goods or services
(crops, jewellery, clothing, or labour)
• Boys were trained to combat from early age
• The more captives they took, the higher social rank
would be
• They held human sacrifices (they cut the beating
heart out )
• AZTEC CODICES (law, history, prophesy,
astronomy, ritual calendar) books made from tree
bark and painted on deerskin or agave fiber paper,
it was burnt by the Spanish for pagan content
• Conquested by HERNANDO CORTES in 16th
century https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaWDXwmjf_Q

32. THE MAYANS
(YUCATAN)
• Todays GUATEMALA and BELIZE
• They had no political center
• Society was organized into a number
of independent states
• Agriculture: maize, beans, squashes,
chilli peppers
• Temples (CHICHEN ITZA), El Castillo
– Temple of Kukulcan (feathered
serpent)
• Mayan calendar predicted the end of
the world
• Human sacrifices (e.g. Well of
Sacrifice where the victims were
drowned for the Rain God)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK9yv5wAoY0&t=312s

33. CHINA
DYNASTIC
HISTORY BEGAN
AROUND 1 500 BC
VALLEY OF YELLOW
RIVER AND YANGTZI
(LONG) RIVER

34. • QUIN SHI HUANG unified the city
states and founded the empire
he ruled as the first emperor in 221
221 BC
• He passed many reforms: common
law code, administration, banned
and burned many books, built the
GREAT WALL OF CHINA and a
massive new national road system,
as well as the city-
sized mausoleum guarded by
the TERRACOTTA ARMY
• FORTUNE-TELLING and the
WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS are the
oldest customs of Chinese
civilization

35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpy5BMhMYYw

36. • Agriculture was based on a millet grown in
the north and rice grown in artificial pools –
paddies
• The fertile soil of Chinese Yellow river is
called loess
• CHINESE SCRIPT is the oldest script that has
been used with few changes
• Inventions: compass, paper, ink, silk, tea,
porcelain, gunpowder
• Mandate of Heaven – the idea that
someone is in power because god wants
them to be
• CONFUCIANISM – philosophy founded by
CONFUCIUS, based on education, family and
and traditions, the system has a hierarchy
• TAOISM – founded by LAOZI, philosophy
about living in a harmony and the natural
way

37. PHOENICIA (3 200 BC – 2 750 BC)

38. • Independent city-states TYRE, SIDON,
BYBLOS located in todays Syria,
Lebanon, Israel
• Founded daughter cities on the coast
of Mediterranean sea – most famous
CARTHAGE
• Great craftsmen and traders
• ships (BIREME and GALLEY), glass,
dyes (TYRIAN PURPLE POWDER from
murex sea snail shell), luxury and
common goods (fish, fabrics), 1st
money (coins)
• basic of LATIN ALPHABET (22
characters),1st ROUND EARTH theory
and early democracy
• EL – one universal God of love, mercy
and the enemy of violence

39. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvzXRtAe0Mw

40. REVISION FOR
THE TEST
NEXT WEEK