Population Old BaBylOnian EmpirE

→ Peasants – the most numerous group· shepherds

→Craftsmen
→merchants – imported mainly wood, metals and jewelry·
→Warriors
→priests and scribes – they directed the work and redistributed the
products·
→monarch – later assumed the organization of labor, descendant of the
gods·
→ slaves – acquired in wars or were inhabitants who went into debt and
could not repay the debt
First States
→- the most suitable conditions were in Sumer 3,500–3,200 BC
- First city-states (Uruk, Ur, Kish, Eridu, Lagash, Babylon,...)
→ small states: city and surroundings; they had city walls (building material –
clay),
→ in the center of the city the temple – ziggurat – was on an elevated terrace,
stepped; crops, treasures were also stored here, priests served here
Origin of Script
➔ pictorial font – the Sumerians used it to denote animals, products and
property·
➔ cuneiform script – originated from pictorial writing, they wrote on clay
tablets (Epic of Gilgamesh – about how King Gilgamesh of Uruk
sought immortality)
Formation of a territorial state
→2340 BC– Sargon I seized the government in Kish:= at first was a waiter in
a palace, then advisor to a king
→ founded the city of Akkad § conquered the surrounding cities → created the
Akkadian Empire
➔ king‘s support was from a lightly armed and mobile army
➔ He built a new administrative structure = loyal people
→The Akkadian Empire lasted only 150 years – after Sargon‘s demise,
separate city-states were restored
→ At the end of the 3rd millennium BC. nomadic tribes of the Amorites
entered Mesopotamia – they conquered individual cities, adopted Sumerian
culture and education (also cuneiform script)
→ BaBylOn
→ Hammurabi (Chammurapi) one of the most important monarchs
→ conquered all of Mesopotamia
→ appointed administrators to the conquered cities
→ support of power – military
Society → 3 classes → 1.privileged = code:· "an eye for an eye, a tooth for
a tooth" applied
→ 2. freelancers – retribution for wrongdoing
→ 3. dependants = slaves, no rights
➔ Oriental despotism: The monarch had all power, he was the supreme
representative of the state, the supreme judge, and the supreme
military commander
➔ It was claimed that the monarch was a descendant of the gods
➔ The Hittites [Hitajts] (Chetiti) conquered Babylon and the Old Babylonian
Empire ceased to exist (1549 BC)
Sumerian religion
➔ created a large-scale mythology and religious system – explaining
natural phenomena and the origin of the world· worshipping many gods –
polytheism
Sumerians already knew the story of the creation of the world and man and the flood
(Old Testament)
Sumerian culture
➔ They watched celestial bodies (they could estimate when there would be
floods)·
➔ calendar – the month had 4 weeks and the week had 7 days, the day was
divided into 12 two-hour parts·
➔ Medicine or surgery
➔ in mathematics – six-decimal system
Sumerian art
→ The temples of the gods were decorated with multi-colored geometric figures,
sculptures·
→wood for temples – from Lebanon
→ Naramsín's stele – depicts the military expedition of Sargon's grandson
Egypt seat of Memphis
→ riverfront of the river Nile → power of monarchs stable
→ According to the color of fertile mud, it was called black earth →expeditions to Nubia and the Sinai Peninsula (gold, silver, metals,
Formation of the Egyptian state slaves)pyramids the

→first pyramid was built by Djosher of the III Dynasty (built by Imhotep),
→Agricultural settlements merged into larger units for better organization = NOMES
it was stepped
→Lower Egypt – Nile Estuary· Upper Egypt – middle course of the Nile·
→the largest was built by rulers from the IV dynasty: Khufu (Cheops), Rachef
3100 – they merged and Meni is considered the founder of the state: (Chefren), Menkaure (Mykerinos)· stand near Cairo near Giza

capital – Memphis (Greek)

Ruler – Pharaoh → First considered a descendant of the gods, later a god. He
had all the power (judicial, political, religious)
→The offices were occupied by Pharaoh and his faithful group
Middle Kingdom 2061–1785 BC
→construction of the pyramids has exhausted the country → unrest → the power
of the pharaoh has been weakened, → nomadic tribes are entering Egypt
→Veset (Thebes) – XI dynasty came to power

→had political, religious and judicial power → reunited all of Egypt and established order

→Officials collected taxes, led military expeditions → XII dynasty – Senvosret I.

→Nomes were led by ancestral chiefs = responsible for paying taxes → renewed the wars of conquest to Nubia – cedarwood

→Important position – scribes mastered the intricate pictorial font HIEROGLYPHS - consolidated the power of the monarch·

→font – hieroglyphs (pictorial font) Since the 17th century BC.- to Egypt nomadic tribes of the Hyksos

→they wrote on papyrus scrolls (reeds of the Nile) with a brush in black or → they had new weapons - sabers, bows, cavalry· The country broke up into
red paint in columns smaller parts

→Egyptian history is divided by ruling families (dynasties) – about 31 →The Hyksos ruled the Nile Delta for 100 years, after which they were
expelled
Faith and thE aFtErliFE
New KINGDOM →1552–1070 BC
→in the other world, a person will continue to live → it was necessary to →XVIII-XX dynasty – III peak of Egyptian history (country united, power of
preserve the body – mummification (guts into containers – canopy), painted pharaoh consolidated, conquests)· Thutmoses III.
the body with oils and ointments, wrapped in linen stripes and placed in
sarcophagi State apparatus ➔ Egypt achieved its greatest expansion
→ the most important Egyptian conqueror
Old Kingdom → took control of Palestine
→2635–2135 BC- we don't know much about the first two dynasties (they resided
in Cinev) →capital of Veset – temple of the god Amun (god of air and fertility

→government of the III to VI dynasties -→peak of Egyptian history →His cult was the state religion, his priests had tremendous
power)· Amenhotep IV