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Period: 5000 BCE to 1100 BCE
Mesopotamian Civilization
The area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers is Mesopotamia. (p. 55) Fertile land supported early growth, and over time settlements grew. (p. 57) Other people start conquering the area. -
Period: 4500 BCE to 730 BCE
The Ancient Egyptians (until New Kingdoms only)
Ancient Egypt was founded by hunter-gatherer groups off the Nile river, the longest river on earth, and A. Egypt civilization developed along a 750-mile stretch of it in northern Africa. It was divided into Upper and Lower Egypt. Most of Egypt was desert, but periodic floods covered the land with fertile silt ideal for farming. Ancient Egypt's time consisted of the First and Second Dynasty, the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom. Pharaohs ruled Egypt since the First Dynasty. -
3300 BCE
Egypt: Egyptian Hieroglyphics
The Egyptian's writing system was one of the world's first, and along the way, they also learned how to make papyrus for them to write on and store away writing. (p.102) -
Period: 3000 BCE to 2000 BCE
Sumerian Society
Most people were farmers, but the center of society were urban areas. Some cities had more than 100,000 residents. Sumerian's had city states that sometimes fought each other for farmland. (p. 60-61) Would later consist of the Akkadian Empire. (p. 61) -
Period: 2300 BCE to 1700 BCE
Harappan civilization
Located in the Indus River Valley, and it grew as agriculture and irrigation improved. It was named after the Harappa city of Pakistan because these ruins were found near the city. Apparently, the city Harappa and Mohenja Daro were built near fortresses, where defenders could overlook the city. The Harappans developed India's first writing system, indoor plumbing system, and high-quality tools. They also developed a system of weights and measures. Cause of destruction is unknown. (p.126-128) -
2050 BCE
Egypt: Mentuhotep II's rule
He began the Middle Kingdom when he defeated his rivals and once again reunited all of Egypt. He led a period of stability and order; before him, Egypt was in chaos without a real leader. (p 96) -
Period: 2000 BCE to 1800 BCE
The Aryans
The Vedas, religious writings, were how historians learned about the Aryan Migration. They were nomads in the beginning but settled down into villages and farmed. They lived in a society based on family ties and did not build big cities; villages were governed by rajas. Villagers would farm land for the raja. Aryan groups often fought each other due to tension between rajas. They did not read or write, but rather memorized information in Sanskrit, a spoken language (later written). (p.128-9) -
Period: 2000 BCE to 70 BCE
The Greeks
The first settlers were the Minoans, on the island of Crete which led them to spend lots of time on the sea trading. The first true Greeks were Mycenaeans, and they built fortresses all over Greek mainland. Greek would eventually become a smart, wealthy and beautiful nation.The Greeks created city-states for protection and security. In their capital of Athens, they founded democracy after being ruled by aristocrats and tyrants. Also, the Greeks used myths and Olympian Gods to explain the world. -
Period: 2000 BCE to 1500 BCE
Ancient Kushites (part 1)
It was the first great kingdom in the interior of Africa, South of Egypt. (p.107) It developed in the fertile area provided by the Nile's floods. They were rich with gold, copper, and stone which led to their wealth and history. The first King of Kush was a rich village leader and he made the capital Kerma, where it was protected by the Nile's cataracts. The culture soon became more complex, army stronger, and Egypt feared them enough that they decided to conquer Kush for themselves. (p.108-9) -
Period: 1800 BCE to 1200 BCE
The Babylonians
Once a Sumerian town, it wasn't until the 1800s BC that it became home to a strong government of its own. The Babylonians rose as an empire, with Hamurabi as its King. The empire started to become prone to invasions after the death of Hamurabi and eventually came to an end. -
1754 BCE
Babylon: Hammurabi's Code
It was a set of 282 laws that dealt with everyday life such as marriage, injury, and murder. Ideas from this law code are still found in our own today. This law is important because it was written down for all to see and follow, so there would be no argument of someone broke the law. (p.73) -
Period: 1600 BCE to 1 BCE
China River Valleys
Farming in China started by the Huang He and Chang Jiang, where their floods provided fertile silt like the Nile did. These settlements would become civilizations, which would begin the five dynasties that were to come: Shang, Xia, Zhou, Han, Qin. Throughout the times of each dynasty, there were discoveries and advancements, for example, the making of water channels, Chinese writing, political systems, Confuscianism, built the Great Wall, irrigation system, sundials, seismographs, accupuncture. -
Period: 1550 BCE to 300 BCE
The Phoenicians
(Occupied current Lebanon)They weren't strong military wise, but still succeeded to create a wealthy trading society on the sea that was nevertheless often led by foreign governments. Mountains bordered them north and east; the Mediterranean bordered the west side. Due to this, the Phoenicians became expert sailors in order to trade via sea to ports all over the Med. sea.Their trade was heavily based on cedar tree timber (local resource). -
1500 BCE
Israel: Phoenician alphabets
The Phoenicians created alphabets, a set of letters that could be rearranged to form words. This was originally made to record their trade, but this development heavily impacted the Ancient World and our own, as our English language was based on their alphabet system. (p.77) -
Period: 1500 BCE to 930 BCE
The Hebrews
The Hebrews were ancestors of Israelites and Jews. They started off as herders but would later become a very influential civilization. A man named Abrahan had received godly revelation to move west from Mesopotamia, where he later settled in Canaan. His descendants migrated to Egypt, and their growth made the Pharaoh fear that they might overpower him, so they made them slaves. Moses, God-sent, led the Israelites out of Egpyt. They returned to Canaan, and several kings would unite them. (p202,5) -
1200 BCE
Egypt (Hebrews): The Exodus
A leader named Moses appeared among the Israelites to bring them out of Egypt. God-sent, when the Pharoah refused to free the Israelites, a series of deadly plagues struck Egypt. The Israelites were freed. (p.203) -
1200 BCE
Greece: The Dark Age
Destroyed by earthquakes and European invaders, the Mycenaean civilization crumbled as Greece fell into warfare and disorder, a period called the Dark Age. The time left no written records. -
Period: 1200 BCE to 612 BCE
The Assyrians
They came from northern Mesopotamia and briefly gained control of the Babylonian Empire, now nonexistent. Soon, they were overrun by invaders and took 300 years to recover. However, they had built a strong army and began conquering the Fertile Crescent, parts of Asia Minor and Egypt. (p. 74) They had a fierce reputation, iron weapons and chariots that lead them to victory every time. They ruled from Nineveh, by local leaders that collected heavy taxes. (p. 75) -
Period: 1000 BCE to 670 BCE
Kushite Dynasty (part 2)
By 850BC, they had regained power and independence from the Egyptians. Kings ruled from the city of Napata. By the 700s BC, a Kushite King conquered Upper Egypt as it was getting weaker. Shabaka was a Kushite pharaoh that started the Kushite Dynasty in Egypt, where he embraced Egyptian culture and restored it. (p.110) The Kushite Dynasty dissolved when Assyrians from Mesopotamia drove the Kushite forces completely out of Egypt. (p.111) -
716 BCE
Egypt: Merging of Egypt and Kush
Piankhi, a Kushite, continued to attack Egypt after his father, King Kashta, had seized the chance to take over Upper Egypt. Piankhi captured many cities, including the ancient capital, with the belief that the Egyptian gods had destined for him to do this. By the time of his death, his kingdom extended north from Napata to the Nile Delta. (p. 109) -
670 BCE
Egypt: Assyrians invaded Egypt
The powerful Assyrians invaded Egypt during the Kushite Dynasty, attacking them with iron weapons that held out better than the bronze weapons that the Kushites had. They were steadily pushed southward, and in a decade, completely removed from Egypt. (p.111) -
Period: 612 BCE to 539 BCE
The Chaldeans
They were a group from the Syrian desert that led attacks on the weak Assyrians, which destroyed the empire. The Chaldean king, Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon into a beautiful city(neo-babylon), and built an empire of his own. Babylon became a center for astronomy and math. They studied the Sumerian culture and built temples to the Sumerian gods too. (p.75) -
Period: 600 BCE to 371 BCE
Spartans
The Spartans were very focused on military strength, and even women participated in the training. Sparta was led by two kings who also led the army. However, officials controlled day-to-day activities and relations with their city-states. Within their society were helots, slaves who dared not rebel due to the Spartan army. -
Period: 550 BCE to 330 BCE
Persian Empire
Persia became an empire under Cyrus the Great when his revolt against Medes succeeded. Cyrus conquered much of Southwest Asia, Mesopotamia, and central Asia. He ruled the largest empire in the world. Although his son took over after his death, he was soon killed in a rebellion. Persia was without a clear leader until Darius I decided to kill all his rivals and take the throne; the empire expanded again. After the Persian wars, Xerxes I took over and tried to conquer Greece again but failed. -
500 BCE
Greece: Democracy
A new leader, Cleisthenes, decided that aristocrats already had too much influence and with the help and support of the people, he was able to overthrow aristocracy. In its place, he developed the world's first democracy. Only free males were allowed to vote, and were done so by a show of hands at a hill where they would all gather at. (p.238-9) -
500 BCE
China: Confucianism
Confucianism was a set of moral values, or ideas, that Confucius believed the Chinese people needed. It focused on morality, family, society and government. He was a man that grew up in poverty and felt that China was overrun by dishonest and rude people, after years of dedicated education, he became a respected teacher in order to spread his ideas. His students were later compiled into a book called Analects and Confucianism would later grow into the fundamental philosophy of Asian people. -
431 BCE
Greece: Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War was between Athens and Sparta that was threatening to destroy Greece. The Spartans declared war when they surrounded the city of Athens, but Athenians stayed within their city in hopes that the Spartans would leave. Spartans tried burning off their crops, but Athens had food from the sea to eat and their navy also attacked Sparta's allies so they had to defend other Greek cities. At the same time, a disease swept through Athens killing thousands. By 404 BC, Sparta won. -
Period: 359 BCE to 323 BCE
Macedonians
Phillip II became king of Macedonia and used his first year to remove all invaders, before starting invasions of his own. His main target was Greece, and he easily attacked Athens. Due to the defeat, the rest of Greek agreed for Phillip to be their leader. When he died, there was a surge of rebellion, but Alexander, his son, stopped the revolts. He rebuilt the empire and expanded it to Macedonia, Asia Minor, Egypt and the Persian Empire. Through this Greek culture was spread throughout. -
Period: 320 BCE to 500
The Gupta Dynasty
Under the Guptas, India was once again united and prosperous. The first emperor was Candra Gupta I, who had much of northern India in his control. His son, a brilliant military leader, had taken control of almost all of the Ganges River Vally by the end of his reign. Gupta rulers were Hindu, and the religion was their major religion. However, Guptas also supported Jainism and Buddhism. Their university at Nalanda became one of Asia's greatest centers of Buddhist studies.(p.144) -
Period: 320 BCE to 184 BCE
The Mauryan Empire
A military leader named Candragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire when he seized control of the entire northern part of India. They had a complex government with a huge army and spies. They had thousands of war elephants which contributed to their many victories in conquests. With the money from heavy taxes, the empire grew very quickly, ruling almost all of India. The empire ended when the last king was killed by one of his own generals. (p.142,3) -
270 BCE
India: Asoka
Asoka was Candragupta's grandson, and he became king after his father died. He extended the Mauryan rules over most of India and made his own empire stronger and richer. There were constant conquests and warfare but all stopped when Asoka converted to Buddhism. He now had time to improve the living standards of his people. Buddhism was heavily encouraged and missionaries were sent out all over Asia. (p.143) He died in 233BC. -
Period: 250 BCE to 300
Later Kush (part 3)
The Kushites reappeared on the map because they devoted themselves to agriculture and trade in hopes of birthing a country of riches and wealth again. Within a few centuries, the kingdom of Kush became powerful. Meroe was the new capital and economic center, surrounded by sources of gold and ebony forests and iron. Their trade network may have stretched all the way to China. Because of trades, the Kushite culture became heavily influenced by foreign culture but still remained unique. -
221 BCE
China: Qin Unifies China
Qin was legalist, and he created a strong government with strong laws and harsh punishments. He burned all the books and set a universal language and currency for the nation. -
200 BCE
Greece: Creation of water screws
The water screw, a vital device still used in farming today, was first made by Greek engineers, specifically Archimedes. The device brings water from a low level to a higher level. In addition to the water screw, they also invented recreational things like toys, puppets and coin-operated machines. -
100 BCE
India: Inoculation
The Indians practiced inoculation, injecting a person with a small dose of a virus to help one build up immunity to a disease. The doctors at the time were already writing down knowledge about medicine and medical skill. -
66
Jerusalem: Revolt against Rome
Zealots were a rebellious group of Jews that believed that Jews should answer to anyone but God and as a result, they refused to obey Roman officials. They revolted in AD66 but was unsuccessful. By the time the fighting ended, the war had wrecked Jerusalem into ruins. -
375
India: Candra Gupta II's rule
This emperor helped Gupta society reach its peak, and the empire continued to grow across northern India as the economy strengthened and the people prospered. Their culture was rich with fine art and literature; because of him, outsiders admired the empire's wealth and beauty. Furthermore, their social cast system strengthened his rule and kept the empire stable. -
Latin/English Alphabet
The current set of 26 alphabets was inspired by the Pheonician alphabet. -
Inoculation: smallpox vaccine
The smallpox vaccine that we have today, as well as many other vaccines, were all inspired by inoculation that the Indians discovered. The vaccine works by the deliberate injection of smallpox pus into the skin, which produces less severe smallpox or immunity altogether. -
America: Civil War
Before the Civil War, American slaves sang about Moses (he freed the Israelites from Egyptian slavery) to keep their hopes of freedom alive. -
America: Democracy
The democracy created by founding fathers of the United States was a copy of the democracy made in Athens, but America's is a Representative Democracy which instead of having every single person directly take part in the votes, they elect representative. -
Our language: How Greek influenced our words today
Terms like "Midas touch", or the "Achilles heel" or even the word "tantalizing" seems to have Greek roots. Midas was a king who turned everything he touched into Gold; Achilles was a warrior who had an arrow shot into his heel; Tantalus was punished for offending the gods, and he stood in water that rose to his chin, but if he tried to drink it would go away. The Greek Titans inspired the word "titanic" and Odysseus, a Greek hero, inspired the word "odyssey".