Mesopotamia:
- Cities and States that emerged in the area:
- Mesopotamia started with the emergence of ancient urban societies
- Some of the most highly developed ancient and socially complex states were in Mesopotamia
- Historically important cities: Uruk, Nippur, Nineveh, Assur and Babylon.
- The Amorites established established cities on the twin rivers
- The Amorites named Babylon their capital, which is when it became important
- Babylon became known for it's color and luxury
- The walls of the city and it's palace were decorated with beautiful glazed brick
- Ashur, named the sun-god by the Assyrians, was in the middle of the Tigris River
- The world's first cities began around 4000-3500 B.C. in Mesopotamia
- Found in the 3rd millennium B.C.
- Ashur is in modern day Iraq
- Used as the religious capital
- Used as burial for kings
Nile River
- Located in Africa, flows through Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi
- Life was dependent on the river
- Cities were centered around the river
- Trade by the river
- The "Chief" of transport
- People of the Nile River were called Egyptians
- 3 classes of society
- Dark skin and hair - the people
- Religion was based on nature
- Sun God - Re/Ra
- God of the Nile - Hapi
- Egyptians believed in life after death - mummys
- Put things that were needed for life in the grave for the afterlife
Yellow River:
- Central - Eastern China
- Named after the yellow clay that blows across northern China
- Approx 3000 miles long
- Located in central and northern China
- The river begins in central China
- Begins in the Bayan Har Mountains
- Had a lot of floods
- One of the most deadly disasters (floods)
- 10% of the land is suitable for farming
- Hard to trade because of the mountains
- Had to live off their own crops & livestock
- Believed in supernatural powers - when needed something, they'd ask that specific god
- Women were unable to own property
- Leader of the Yellow River Valley Civilization was Shang King
- Ruled from the city of Anyang
- Aristocratic warlords - ruled over specific territories
- Family was very important - chose marriages and son's jobs
- Shang King could remove any of the military leaders
- Didn't have a written language for a a long period of time
- Yin was the capital of the Shang Dynasty
Emperors and Kingdoms
- Indus River - no known kingdoms
- China-
- Xia Dynasty was the first known dynasty along the Yellow river.
- Shang Dynasty - slaves would be killed if a king died
- Western Zhou - father to son kingdom passing down
- Eastern Zhou - Western had to relocated after getting attacked
- Mesopotamia River Valley
- Babylon Nation and Dynasty- Founded by Samuabum, powerless nation for beginning
- Babylonian Empire- Didn't last long because emperor died
- The Neo Babylonian Empire- The capital was Babylon
- The Old Kingdom- Pharaohs were buried in the pyramids - they had absolute power
- The Middle Kingdom- Egypt had strong armies; Pharaohs were hidden in tombs after death
- The New Kingdom- Became a world power
Indus River Valley
- 3300 BC to 1900 BC
- Southwest Asia
- Present day Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and China
- Natural borders of the Himalayas and Arabian Shea sheltered area from attacks and disease
- The Indus River System branched into 7 great rivers - today
- Lots of forests, jungles, plains, deserts, mountains, etc
- Good soil for groups and transportation/trade
- Fertilized the land when it flooded
- Provided irrigation
- Similar to Hinduism
- Seal of animals and swastikas
- Believed in life after death
- Worshiped Mother Goddess
- Worshiped animals
- Literate
- Indus symbols
- Wore colorful robes
- Skilled in pottery, weaving and metal working
- Used axes, spears and daggers but no armor
- Harappan Civilization (4 different classes)
- Cities were set up in perfect grid patterns (like New York City)
- Urban sanitation system
- Lothal, Harrappa, Mohenjo daro
Decline of Early River Valley Civilizations
- Known as the Akkadian Empire
- Fell in 1950 BC
- They were attacked by the Amorites
- It is unknown why they couldn't defend themselves well enough
- Babylonian Empire/Dynasty
- Leader: Nebuchadnezzar died...collapsed to the Romans
- Ancient Egypt Empire
- Along the Nile River
- Most powerful during the Ramesside Period
- Invaded and conquered by foreign power (Lybians, Nubians, Assyria
- Early Yellow River Valley Civilizations
- The Xia Dynasty was the first ever recorded Chinese civilization
- Subsided - famine & overrun by the Shang Dynasty
- Indus Valley Civilization
- Floods destroyed the irrigation system and the buildings
- Constant flooding caused the people to stop taking care of their civilization and crops
- Build dams which flooded cities and plains had no more crop land
- The constant neglect caused the civilization to fail
- Aryans invaded and took over
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