History & Cultures of Middle East

1. Chapter 17

2.  The region of North Africa, Southwest Asia,
and Central Asia is the birthplace of three
world religions—Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam. Since their beginnings thousands of
years ago, these religions have spread
throughout the world. They also have had a
great impact on the history of the region.

3.  How does religion affect the lives of people
today?

4.  The early
civilizations of
Mesopotamia and
Egypt had a great
impact on later
civilizations.
What do you view as the
greatest human achievement?
Sending people to the moon,
perhaps, or inventing the
computer?

5.  https://app.discoveryeducation.com/learn/vi
deos/FA2F9D52-A7AD-41BF-9478-
74342BCF38D7?hasLocalHost=false

6.  Present-day Iraq
 People settled along Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
 Irrigation: to control flooding and carry water
to their fields, they built walls, waterways,
and ditches.
 Cities develop.
 Also known as
Ancient Sumer

7. Sumer
Babylon
Phoenicia
Persia
Egypt

8. - 1st civilization in Middle east – Sumer
- Citizens lived by raising grain and dates, farming
together
- City-States
- By 3500 B.C.E., most
successful farming areas
became city-states
- Each had its own farmland,
ruler, god/goddess, laws, and
army
- Rival city-states often fought
each other

9. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4U0SXz2DJs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF8e2vbRAYk
(History of the Middle East)

10. - Religion
 Sumerians believed the gods were all-powerful
 Gods sent disasters if they were angry so they needed to keep
them happy
- Ziggurat – huge, many-tiered temple from which
priest controlled the daily lives of people
- Collected taxes in form of crops which were used as
offerings to the gods and to support city-state
Temple schools taught young men to read and write and
work as scribes (keeping temple records)

11.  Packet 1st four pages- due Wes.
 Vocab:
 Theocracy
 Cuneiform
 Covenant
 Prophet
 Caliph

12. ◦ A System of Writing
 Developed a system of writing to record information pertaining to
trade, government, and ideas
 Writing was important for cultural diffusion
 Early writing was pictographs but later phonetic symbols were added
(this made it possible to write words like “Heaven”)
 To write, a stylus (sharpened reed) was used on clay tablets which
was then baked
 Later – this form of writing was given the name cuneiform (because
it was wedgelike and cuneus is Latin for wedge)
 Cuneiform spread across Fertile Crescent

13.  City-state: each city and the land around it
formed its own government.
 Large, steplike temples
 Polytheism: worship of many gods and
goddesses.
 Theocracy: government controlled by
religious leaders.

14.  One of the first calendars
 Used the wheel & plow
 Cuneiform: early form of writing
 few natural barriers to prevent conquest
 Hammurabi conquered region & created a
code of law.

15.  Cuneiform = early Sumerian writing
 Hammurabi’s Code provided a legal system

16. ◦ Other Achievements
- Wheel and sail helped with trade
- Plow, accurate calendar, geometry and arithmetic
- Set up a system of measurement based on number
60 (60 seconds in 1 minute, 60 minutes in 1 hour,
360* in a circle)

17.  https://app.discoveryeducation.com/learn/vi
deos/062FE1E6-9FB3-46DB-A44A-
A0466F50572B?hasLocalHost=false

18. - tried to make the punishment fit the crime (if a
person blinded another person, he would be blinded)
- laws were carved in stone and placed where
everyone could read them
- foundation for later people and future codes of law
– A code of law – Babylon – 1700 B.C. – Hammurabi
conquered most of Mesopotamia and create a
single code of laws to govern all areas
- 282 laws regulating economic, social, and moral affairs
- distinguished between major and minor crimes

19. - If a builder builds a house for a
man and does not make its
construction sound, and the house
which he has built collapses and
causes the death of the owner of
the house, the builder shall be put
to death.
– What should be done to the carpenter who builds a
house that falls and kills the owner?

20. - If a man be in debt and is unable
to pay his creditors, he shall sell his
wife, son, or daughter, or bind them
over to service. For three years
they shall work in the houses of
their purchaser or master; in the
fourth year they shall be given their
freedom.
– What happens if a man is unable to pay his debts?

21. - If a son strikes his father, they
shall cut off his hand.
– What should happen to a boy who slaps his father?

22. - The spread of iron – 1500 B.C. – Hittites invaded the Fertile
Crescent
- Conquered the land and adopted ideas like cuneiform and
brought some back to Asia Minor
- Best known for mastery of iron
- Iron weapons help them win wars

24. - Developed an alphabet of 22 letters
- This alphabet was later adopted by the Greeks
who added 4 letters
- This alphabet spread through the West
- Phoenicians moved into northern Fertile Crescent
(Lebanon) while Hittites were in Fertile Crescent
- Set up city-states along Mediterranean coast and
earned a living through trade and commerce
- Didn’t build an empire but set up small city-states in
North Africa and Spain
“carriers of civilization”

26. - Each province corresponded to a homeland of a
specific group
-The Persians tolerated diversity and allowed those
they conquered to
keep their own languages, customs, and religions
-Each province had a satrap (governor) responsible for
collecting taxes
and keeping order
- Special inspectors checked on the satrap
- “eyes and ears of the king”
- Stretched from Asia Minor to Indus Valley
- Government
- Darius I divided the empire into 20 provinces

27. - Communications and trade
- Improved and expanded roads connecting the empire
- 4 capital cities with relay stations for fresh horses to -
make it easier to spread information across the empire
- Good roads and peace through the empire made trade
easier
- Darius made a uniform system of coins

28. -Zoroastrianism – Persian religion founded by
Zoroaster that deals with the forces of good and
evil
-The writings of Zoroaster became known as the
Zend-Avesta
Played a major role in the way Persians
treated conquered people.

29. Alexander the Great, of Macedonia, set out to
conquer the world in 334 B.C.
Conquered the Persian Empire
When Alexander died, his empire was divided
– his legacy is the ease that Greek culture
blended with the cultures of Middle East
Alexandria, Egypt – library houses research
in science, mathematics, medicine and
philosophy

30. Roman conquest
By A.D. 115 – the Roman Empire expanded and trade went
from the Persian Gulf to the Atlantic
Christianity
Byzantine Empire – ruled Middle East from A. D. 330 for
another 1000 years
Blended Middle Eastern, Roman, Greek, and Christian

31.  Developed along the Nile River
 Protected from invaders by deserts
 Class-structured society

32.  Religious society
 Pharaohs: rulers of Egypt that were viewed as
gods.
 Pyramids owned by pharaohs
 Hieroglyphics: Egyptian form of writing.

33.  Ancient Egypt also a theocracy

34.  Trade important to Mesopotamia & Egypt.
 Ideas from these cultures spread around the
world through trade.
 Another trading empire, Phoenicia, developed
in modern-day Lebanon.

35.  How have Mesopotamian achievements
influenced life today?

36.  Three major world
religions began in
Southwest Asia
 Monotheism: belief
in one God.
Is there a synagogue, a
church, or a mosque in your
community?

37.  Oldest of the religions
 Israelites were the first followers
 Covenant: agreement
 Prophet: messenger of God

38.  Abraham = made a covenant with God
 David = created first Israelite kingdom
 Moses led Israelites out of Egypt & received
Ten Commandments

39.  Judaism gave rise to Christianity
 Preached by a Jewish teacher named Jesus
 Christianity spread to Europe
 World’s largest religion

40.  Originated in Mecca—
modern Saudi Arabia
 Caliphs: leaders of Islam
 Muslims became leading
merchants in Asia & Africa.
 Baghdad, Cairo, & Damascus
became centers of
government.
 Introduced system of
writing numbers

41.  Five Pillars of Islam = Muslim acts of worship
 Islam practiced by Muslims
 Muhammad = greatest prophet of Islam

42.  At the time it developed, how did Judaism
differ from other religion?

43.  In modern times,
ethnic, cultural, and
economic
differences have led
to conflict in the
region.
Do you think people of very
different backgrounds can live
together peacefully?

44.  Ottoman Empire ruled
region from late 1200s
to early 1900s.
 Independent countries
then replaced large
empires.
 Discovery of oil brought
wealth & conflict to the
region.

45.  Resentment of European rule
 Wave of nationalism
 Many independent countries formed in 1970s
 Fall of Soviet Union led to more independence
in 1990s.
 Several ethnic groups such as the Kurds &
Palestinians still seek nationhood.

46.  After WWII, the United Nations created the
Jewish state of Israel
 Led to conflict with the region’s Arabs
 Wars & other conflicts resulted and continue
to this day.

47.  Few rich, mostly poor
 Some countries rich from oil, others are not
 People have turned to Islam to solve their
problems.
 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran
 1980s Iran-Iraq War
 1991 Persian Gulf War

48.  Iran revolution overthrew shah & set up an
Islamic republic

49.  There has been a dramatic growth in
terrorism
 Terrorism: use of violence against civilians
to achieve a political goal.
 rise of al-Qaeda
 Iraq & Afghanistan wars

50.  Revenue = government income
 Arabs often angry with U.S. for support of
Israel
 9/11 = al-Qaeda

51.  How have the different conflicts in Southwest
Asia affected the rest of the world?

52.  Rapid population
growth has created
challenges for the
region.
What challenges in your life
have forced you to make
changes?

53.  Deserts largely empty of people
 Rapid population growth though
 Better health care
 Cities growing quickly: Istanbul, Cairo,
Tehran, & Baghdad
 Overcrowding & lack of jobs a problem

54.  Why are cities in the region growing, and
what problems do they face?

55.  Religion, especially
Islam remains
extremely
important
throughout the
region.
What are the main religions in
your community? What
practices do their believers
follow?

56.  Muslims believe in the Five Pillars of Islam
 Hajj: holy journey
 Saints: Christian holy people
 Dietary Laws: state which foods they can and
cannot eat & how food should be prepared
and handled.

57.  Quran = holy book

58.  Arabic is the prevailing language
 Hebrew, Turkish, & Farsi languages also
spoken.
 Epics: tales or poems about heroes &
heroines.

59.  “The Thousand and One Nights” = reflects life
during the Arab Empire

60.  Muslims have developed a distinct
architecture style
 Mosques: Islamic houses of worship
 No humans depicted in Islamic art
 Calligraphy: the art of beautiful writing
 Carpet making popular

61.  Why beliefs do Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam share?

62.  Living standards
vary widely in the
region, as do the
effects of European
& American culture.
How different do you think
urban and rural families are in
your community or state?

63.  More than 50% live in cities
 Many dwellings lack running water &
electricity
 Bazaar: traditional city marketplace

64.  Standards of living vary widely
 Wealthy countries have built schools,
hospitals, & airports
 Poor countries face emigration due to lack of
opportunity
 Many farmers still work small plots of land for
their families only.

65.  People a mix of wealthy & poor living mostly
in urban areas.

66.  Family life plays a major role in society
 Holidays are an important occasion
 Men play the dominant role
 Women expected to dress modestly
 Young people attend school

67.  Today many women in cities have an
education and jobs
 Some countries, women still cannot vote or
travel
 Some countries, women have become prime
minister like Turkey & Israel

68.  Describe how the status of women differs
around the region.