I What is History A Herodotus Circa 484 420 BC Greek writer of the History of the Persian Wars o Better described as the research into the Persian Wars Father of History Historion inquiry questioning investigation into the past Any person or document left behind from a specific time period B Primary source C Secondary source Writing of a modern historian who has studied primary sources and has come up with a combination Textbooks are an example D Types of evidence Documentary or material evidence o Documentary any kind of written evidence o Material objects physical things E Questions F Interpretation More than just one history Many different types of history II How to read a source Level One Who When What Main storyline Level Two Intended audience Why was it written What assumptions are made Level Three Is this document reliable and or accurate What can I learn about the society person who created this document How does it relate to its context Section 3 on exams III Understanding Dating systems Year of king s rule Olympic years Significant events Jewish calendar o Greeks every four years o Amno Mundi AM 5774 the year we are in right now o Getting time from the supposed origins of the world Islamic Calender o Amno Hegirae AH 1435 o Muhammad s move Christian calendar o Amno Domini AD 2014 2014 CE o Also called CE for Common Era o Textbook uses this method AD CE common era BC BCE before Common Era 21st century AD 2000 our century 20th 1900s 19th century 1800s Etc 5th century 400s works with either AD or BC What is Western Civilization Mediterranean sea Civilization comes from Latin word meaning citizen people together in cities When where to begin c 8 500 BC o Domestication of animals c 8 400 BC Jericho o Close to the Dead Sea c 6 500 BC atalh y k o Ancient city found in Asia Minor o Potentially first map c 3 200 BC first written documents o Where we are starting our class o Sumerians in Mesopotamia IV Birth of Ancient Civilizations Mesopotamia I Mesopotamia Greek word Meso middle of Tamia rivers o The land in the middle of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates Modern day Iraq Part of the fertile crescent o Bit of a paradox o Can t rely on rain but have to rely on rivers Irrigation Small self governing cities o Soldiers force workers to dig ditches Powerful militaries strong kingship and religious o Leader is sent from the gods First writing is inventories and lists o Used as a way to organize people Vast cities in Mesopotamia were made from clay bricks baked by the sun and are close to the rivers Four Mesopotamian Civilizations Very similar in the way they live and work the land all four use cuneiform and irrigation to work the fields develop a complex calendar seafarers Invented the wheel and writing inventories and lists II Sumerians One of 4 major civilizations in Mesopotamia Black stone statues Started in independent city states political system kingship o City of Gilgamesh Common language and religion polytheism Slavery period of conquest o If you conquer a city you can get slaves o Children of slaves slaves Stratified societies with classes of people o Slaves on the bottom soldiers priesthood kings and their families on the top Elite free poor slaves Kings were not considered to be gods Gods had special powers live forever control nature i e floods Kings were supposed to be closed to the gods and favored by them close association with gods Two ziggurats with two gods in city of Gilgamesh water and love Two Main Western Language Groups Semitic Indo European doesn t appear until later o Spoke a different language than the Sumerians III Akkadians Semitic Leader was Sargon Stele of Naram Akkadian o More artwork o Shows king with army Adopting Sumerian gods irrigation IV Assyrians Create the first real Mesopotamia empire known for massive cities made out of mud bricks with ziggurats and giant walls surrounding the city o Walls keep people in and keep people out o With gates and people protecting them Nineveh center of the Assyrians Inscription about king after he conquered o Whose weapons Asher has sharpened o Asher Assyrian god o Audience is subjects as well as anyone else who might try to go up against him in the future o King s warning if you fight against me you re fighting Babylon center of power primarily in the South Fought with Assyrians Ishtar Gate of Babylon created tiles glaze from fired colored clay Law Code of Hammurabi o Not the first law code or the longest but it s the most intact V Babylonians against Asher from this period o Survives in different forms Clay tablets Stone Monument o Imported Hammurabi standing and receiving the law code from the god of Justice inscription he was chosen to spread the law from the gods o He kept the monument in the middle of the city but very few people could read at this time Buildings one to two stories high in the middle of the structures VI ziggurat was a large center doubling as a temple part of the palace complex VII Gilgamesh Epic poem Unfairness of Life Backstory written around 2 000 BC in Sumerian culture Story of a young wild king who upsets a lot of people People begin to pray for to the gods for help Gods send down a monster named Enkidu to teach him a lesson Gilgamesh becomes best friends with Enkidu Gods are furious and kill Enkidu Enkidu has been shown what the after life looks like and it s not good Sit in darkness Dust is their food All of us will die and there is nothing after death even if you re a king Gilgamesh freaks out when Enkidu dies and he doesn t want to die He goes on a journey seeking ever lasting life Gods tell him that ever lasting life is for the gods VIII Cuneiform Clay used a writing surface Used reeds to write with Not an alphabet has symbols The Birth of Ancient Civilizations Egypt Israel and Asia Minor I Egyptians Nile River goes through a dryer area than the Mesopotamia R and is seen as the giver of life o Similar to the Mississippi River but upside down o Nile flows northward Delta is called the Lower Egypt but is actually in the North Egyptians developed early sailing techniques and sailed by wind Irrigation is essential in Egypt o Planned irrigation around natural river risings Life giving high waters Not flash floods Kings o Associated with the river o Claimed to control the river with sacrifice Egyptian history is divided into three main eras o Old Kingdom 3 000 2 200 BC Pyramids were only built in the old kingdom Built from stone o Complex organized Freed labor NOT slaves Found mostly in