ancient history of the middle east
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Ancient History of the Middle East. The Sumerians – 4000 BC -› 1700 BC. First villages were built in Fertile Crescent Successful farming settlements grew into city-states Erech , Ur, Kish Drained marshes for farming Worshipped in Ziggurat Priests controlled daily life - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Ancient History of the Middle East
The Sumerians – 4000 BC -› 1700 BCFirst villages were built in
Fertile CrescentSuccessful farming
settlements grew into city-states◦ Erech, Ur, Kish◦ Drained marshes for
farmingWorshipped in ZigguratPriests controlled daily
lifeDeveloped writing
system – cuneiformInvented wheel, sail, plow
Egyptians – 3000 BC -› 300 BCFounded in Cultural
Hearth of Nile River Valley
Series of 3 stable Kingdoms
Trade and agriculture important◦ Nile River is “beating
heart” of regionReligion
◦ Pharaohs were divine◦ Belief in the afterlife
Eventually conquered by Greeks (Macedonians)
Located in Northern Mesopotamia
Briefly controlled Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Northern Tier
Eventually conquered by subjects (Babylonia)
Assyrians – 2500 BC -› 600 BC
Israelites/Hebrews – 1700 BC -› ?Founding father was
AbrahamTheir history is
written in the BibleLived in Canaan
(modern-day Israel)Divided into 12 tribesBecame a monarchy
under King DavidConquered by the
Assyrians in 800 BCHebrew people still
live today
Hittites – 1800 BC -› 1100 BC
Ruled Fertile Crescent and Asia Minor
Warlike peopleAdopted cuneiform
and other techs. from Babylonians
Mastered iron and had fast, light chariots
Transported culture, but didn’t contribute anything culturally
Babylonians - 1700 BC -› 539 BCConquered territory
in Fertile CrescentHammurabi – 282
laws◦ Stressed equality and
justiceBuilt the Hanging
Gardens◦ One of the Seven
Ancient WondersConquered by the
Persians
The Phoenicians – 1550 BC -› 300 BC
Formed a maritime trading kingdom in Lebanon
Cedar trees and murexEstablished trade
coloniesBuilt fast ships with keel
◦ Invented BiremeSpread knowledge
w/alphabet◦ 22 consonants
Traveled to British Isles
Persians – 600 BC -› 330 BC
Also known as Achaemenid Empire
Empire at height extended from India, into Europe, and throughout M.E.
Began in modern-day Iran
Founded by Cyrus the Great◦ Great military leader◦ 3 innovations
Fought in “off-season” Mounted cavalry on
camels Used engineers in army
The Persian EmpireDarius I divides
kingdom◦ 20 provinces◦ Based on
ethnicity◦ Satrap ruled each
Built roads to increase commerce and aid communication
Standardized coinage
Persian Religion - ZoroastrianismAncient Persians
believed in many godsMagi were
intermediariesZoroaster (600BC?)
prophesied to be bornMagi tried to kill himLife was battle
between good and evilGods Ahura Mazda
(good) and Ahriman (bad)
The Greeks (Macedonians)334 BC -› 146 BC
Greeks small city-states
Major victory over Darius II at Marathon
Gold discovered in Macedonia in 359 BC
Challenge GreeksAlexander the Great
becomes leader of Greece and Macedonia (334 BC)
Rise of the GreeksSoldiers,
hoplites, organized into phalanxes
Innovations◦ Wore shoes◦ Full body armor◦ Tower shield◦ 12 ft iron spear◦ Short-bladed
sword◦ Formations (300-
ish)
Alexander vs. Darius IIIUsed cavalry and
infantry togetherDefeated Darius at
Issus and GaugamelaAlex pushes army
into IndiaDied in 323 BCEmpire dividedGreek culture
blended with Middle East – Hellenistic civilization
Alexandria, Egypt
Hellenistic CultureGreek culture
was transported to Middle East through conquest
Aspects of the indigenous cultures were diffused with the Greeks
Roman Empire – 27 BC -› AD 476 Extended from Rome
to control much of Middle East by 115 AD
Army held empire together
Trade flourished, roads built throughout empire◦ Still used today
Increased spread of ideas and technology◦ Leap year calendar◦ Language
The enduring Roman influence is reflected pervasively in contemporary
language, literature, legal codes, government, architecture, engineering, medicine, sports, arts, etc. Much of it is
so deeply imbedded that we barely notice our debt to ancient Rome.
Consider language, for example. Fewer and fewer people today claim to know Latin — and yet, go back to the first
sentence in this paragraph. If we removed all the words drawn directly from Latin, that sentence would read;
“The.”-Reid, T. R. (1997). "The World According to Rome". National Geographic
192 (2): 54–83. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/.
Christianity in RomeConstantine
spread Christianity
Moved capital to Constantinople
Split in Empire◦ Bishop of Rome
(Pope)◦ Eastern Patriarch
Byzantine Empire lived on after fall