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Ancient River Civilizations

The document summarizes four ancient river valley civilizations: 1) Mesopotamian civilization along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians. 2) Egyptian civilization along the Nile river, known for pharaohs, pyramids, and hieroglyphic writing. 3) Harappan civilization in the Indus river valley, known for urban planning and undeciphered writing. 4) Yellow River (Chinese) civilization, including the Shang dynasty known for bronze casting, and later Zhou dynasty known for iron production and silk trade.

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Ancient River Civilizations
4 River Valley Civilizations • Mesopotamian Civilization Tigris-Euphrates Valley (c. 3300 BC - c. 2000 BC) • Egyptian Civilization Nile Valley (c. 3200 BC - c. 1000 BC) • Harappan Civilization Indus Valley (c. 3200 BC - c. 1300 BC) • Yellow River (Chinese) Civilization Yellow River valley (c. 2000 BC - c. 200 BC)
Mesopotamian Civilization
• Greek word: "Land between two Rivers" Situated in the Tigris-Euphrates valley. Divided into 3 phases.
Sumerians • They have the distinction of being the first people to form a city-based civilization. (c. 3300 BC.) • Cities established: Ur, Uruk and Lagash. • Based in South Mesopotamia.
• Developed the cuneiform script: The earliest known writing system in the world. • Means: "Wedge-shaped"
• The earliest Sumerian writing simply evolved from these pictures baked on clay tablets, which were turned into symbols. • The region was vulnerable: It was so flat that it was open to frequent invasion.
Akkadian Empire • From North Mesopotamia. • Conquered the Sumerians (2350 BC) and established the world's first empire: "Akkadian Empire"
• Straddled both Northern and Southern Mesopotamia. Leader: Sargon of Akkad -one of the world's earliest empire builder.
Third Dynasty of Ur • 2100 BC: Sumerians appeared back as the Third Dynasty of Ur. • Ur III came to preeminent power in Mesopotamia after several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule.
• Monument: Ziggurat of Ur. Type of stepped pyramid with successively receeding levels.
• The dynasty lasted for only a hundred years before being overthrown by nomadic tribes, clearing the way for the later emergence of the Babylonian Empire.
Egyptian Civilization
• c. 3200 BC: King Menes formed a dynastic kingdom by uniting Northern and Southern Egypt.
• King Menes Claimed to be the "first" pharaoh to rule Egypt. Succeeded in uniting Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.
• 3000 BC: the Egyptians had developed a system of writing: "Hieroglyphics" based on pictures and symbols.
• Enigmatic among all the ancient civilizations. • These periods were interspersed with periods of instability, known as the Intermediate periods.
The Old Kingdom • Lasted from c. 2700 BC to 2200 BC. • Rule: centralized, with the title of Pharaoh given to the monarch. • Pharaoh: considered to be of divine origin. Three pharaohs: Khufu, Khafra and Menkaura.
Khufu • Cheops, Egyptian king who built the Great Pyramid at Giza and ruled as the second king of the Fourth Dynasty.
• Base:13.1 acres • Height: 481.4 feet • Composed: 2,300,000 separate blocks; 2 1/2 tons.
Khafra • Chephren, the builder of the second pyramid on the famous Giza Plateau called: "Khafra is Great"
Menkaura • He built the smallest pyramid at the Giza plateau, and is called: "Menkaure is Divine"
PYRAMID The most visible and magnificent symbols of the Egyptian civilization.
Significance • Pyramids acted as staircases for this spiritual journey. • The pyramids protected the king's body and the goods that were to be taken to the next world.
• Scholars: The pyramids, along with other smaller structure, were monuments dedicated to the dead.
• Mummification -which involved processing the dead bodies by filling the dried corpses with spices, wrapping in linen and sealing in cases. The mummies were then placed in the monuments, the pyramids reserved for the pharaohs and their family.
The Middle Kingdom • Stretched from c. 2050 BC to 1650 BC. • This period saw the beginning of expansion of Egyptian empire through conquests. • Invasions from western Asia by a warring group called Hyksos put an end to this kingdom.
The New Kingdom • Covered the period from c. 1565 BC to 1085 BC. • The Pharaohs expanded the empire to make Egypt the most powerful state in south-west Asia.
• Hatshepsut: first woman pharaoh. The longest reigning female pharaoh in Egypt, ruling for 20 years in the 14th century B.C. • Considered one of Egypt's most successful pharaohs. • Built temples and monuments, resulting in the flourish of Egypt.
• Akhenaton, whose wife was Queen Nefertiti, built magnificent buildings and temples constructed during this period. • Amenhotep IV Akhenaton • Amenhotep (“Amun is Pleased”) to Akhenaten (“Servant of the Aten)”
• Queen Nefertiti -She encouraged and supported her husband in his revolutionary ideas and together they took on the religious establishment.
• The civilisation lost its way as external powers dominated over Egypt, till, in the 1st century B C, it became a province of the Roman empire.
Harrapan Civilization
• Situated mostly in the Indus valley, there are no pyramids or ziggurats.
Uniform brickwork structures and buildings. The uniformity of the excavated sites is overwhelming.
• Came down to a regular grid pattern. 1. The bricks were of standard dimensions. 2. The width of main roads, streets and lanes were standardised too, and most run either north-south or east-west. 3. The house followed the same plan, and the drainage system was advanced. Very high degree of organisation and centralisation of governance.
• The world's pioneers in the spinning and weaving of cotton. • They had trade relationships with the Mesopotamians.
• They used a form of pictographic script, which, unlike the cuneiform script of Sumerians and the hieroglyphics of Egypt, has not yet been deciphered.
• The Harappan civilisation just faded and blinked out of existence, replaced by an entirely different culture – the Vedic culture.
Yellow River (Chinese) Civilisation
Shang Dynasty • 1700 BC: Shang dynasty came to power and it held sway till c.1027 BC.
1. They built large palaces and tombs. 2. Their cities were built mostly of wood, and were surrounded with massive earthen walls for protection.
• King and his family: at the top of the social hierarchy, helped in administration by aristocratic families. After death, their bodies were buried in tombs.
• The Shang dynasty was famous for the art of bronze casting. • Ruins of Yin Eleven major Yin royal tombs and the foundations of palaces and ritual sites containing both weapons of war and the remains from animal and human sacrifices.
• Developed a unique system of writing, in which there was no link between the written and spoken language. - people in different regions could learn the same set of characters, yet speak in very different ways.
Zhou Dynasty • Ruled till 256 BC. Dynasty was the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history.
• Carried on the culture of the Shang dynasty. 1. Cast iron production- started in China, and the iron was used to create weapons and agricultural tools. 2. Large scale water projects for irrigation were undertaken. 3. Silk became the most important item of trade, and was traded with dominions as far away as Greece.
• 771 BC: an invasion by the north nomads broke this dynasty. • Finally ending in 256 BC.
Arigato Gozaimasu