Mesopotamian Civilization

- Center of ancient civilization

- Greek words “Meso”-between and “Potamos” -river
- Fertile Crescent - rich region which is the cradle of civilizations
2 rivers:
● Tigris
● Euphrates
Civilizations:
1. Akkadians - 1st civilization
- east
Government: King/Emperor - Sargon I
Religion: Polytheistic - believed in many Gods
7 Gods: Anu/An, Enki, Enlil, Shamash, Marduk, Ishtar, Nanna
Writing: Cuneiform - inherit by Sumerians
Technology: wheel, chariots, canal of irrigation system, mining
2350 BCE - conquered all the city states of the Sumerian and invaded the
southwest Iran and North Syria which was the first ever empire in history
2154 BCE - empire completely descended due to all the upheavals
*Naram-Sin - grandson of Sargon ruled the Persian gulf extending to the Mediterranean
Sea
*Empire was destroyed due to external invasions and internal weakness
*Several rebellions were suppressed by children of Sargon and Rimush, and Manishtushu
which let to their deaths from their own subordinates

Ur - became more powerful and built a small empire in 2125 BCE

- ended due to famine and invasions
*From the east, Elamite attacked the Urs. From the north and west, Amorite attacked
Mesopotamia and started their own dynasty in Uruk, Babylon Isin and Larsa

2. Sumerians - lived in the valley between 5000 BCE and 4000 BCE
- 3500 BCE - populations grew and had to look for other cities
- 2800 BCE - created a system of writing
- 2800 BCE to 2370 BCE - several city states emerged in south of
Mesopotamia at the belt of the river: Uruk, Ur, Nippur, Shuruppak
Lagash
Government: Monarchy
 Religion: Monotheistic - believed there was only 1 god

3. Babylonia
*A very powerful dynasty (Kingdom of Babylon) emerged in Babylon and overthrew
Isin, Larsa, and others. It ruled Mesopotamia for 300 years.
Hammurabi I - known for his set of laws
- defeated the city of Mari in Euphrates and built his own kingdom
1600 BCE: Kingdom of Babylon collapsed due to the invasion of Hittite, Hurrian, and
Kassite from the south

4. Assyrians - mountain range of the region in north Babylon

Shamsi-Adad I - taken over Ashur (first center of Assyria)
- built an empire extending up to the other north of Mesopotamia
1120 BCE: Tiglath-Pileser - overthrow the said to be greatest king of Assyria,
Hittite and reached the shores of Mediterranean
- successors expanded the Assyrian empire from Iran to
Egypt

5. Chaldeans - southern part of Babylon at the shores of Euphrates

612 BCE: new empire of Babylon was established and was ruled by Nabopolassar
Nabopolassar - king from Chaldea
- fought in Egypt from 610 BCE to 605 BCE
*Cyaxares of Media and Nabopolassar conquered the city of Nineveh. The land
was left to Nabopolassar
609 BCE: Remaining army of Assyria was crushed by Nebuchadnezzar II (son of
Nabopolassar)
*Eventually, the Assyrian empire became completely under the kings of Babylon

Indus/India Civilization
- Earliest known of Indian subcontinent
- Discovered by Sir John Marshall in 1924
- Thrived from 2300 BCE to 1800 BCE
Government: Kings/”Rajas” - priests had a higher class
Religion: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism
Society/Political system: Trade was well-regulated
Provided raw materials for use at production centers
Writing system: Banstrophen - left to right
Economy: Animal farming, agriculture, wheat barley
Financing was done using gold, silver, and copper
Advanced technology: Standardized rights and measures
Seal faring
Metallurgy: Copper, bronze, lead, tin
2 main:
● Mohenjo-Daro - southern part of Indus
● Harappa - found in modern Punjab
*At the stretch of Indus, a community of houses made of bricks can be found. People are
already farming, domestication, animals, metallurgy, weaving, and trading.
*There is proof that people inhabiting Indus were already trading with the Sumerians and
there is also a possibility India already had an interaction with ancient Egypt.

Harappans - reached their peak in 2000 BCE

- shattered due to the immediate invasions of Aryans in 1500 BCE
*Even after 1000 years of dominance, Indus’ civilization and culture fell apart
*People left Mohenjo-Daro due to the danger brought by the groups of invaders attacking
their boundary

Aryans - possibly came from shores of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea
- attacked by India by the passing through the narrow paths of the mountains
*There had been a battle between the Aryans and Dravidians
Dravidians - term for native inhabitants of India
- due to the intense attacks of the Aryans to the valley of Indus to the Ganges,
They went to the southern part of India. Those that were left behind became
Slaves to the invaders
*Since Dravidian culture is superior, Aryans borrowed some of the Dravidian culture and
ideology as time passed by.

Chinese civilization
- emerged in a vast land that is almost away from other civilizations
- Chinese culture became distinct
2 Rivers:
● Huang Ho
● Yang Tze
Dynasties
1. Shang Dynasty - paved the way to the establishment of the land of China
- flourished in the region of An-yang from 1500 BCE - 1027 BCE
- had fortune telling and their writing system by pictographs
- overthrown by the Zhou dynasty
Government: Monarchy
Religion: Polytheistic
Writing System: Jiagu Wenzi (Oracle bone script)
Economy: *Based on agriculture, trade, and work of their craftspeople
*Traded directly in goods, and used cowrie shells as currency
*Trade routes connected them to faraway lands
Advanced technology: Developed a stratified government
Advanced bronze technology
Use of chariot and bronze weapons in warfare
*The people lived by hunting, fishing, and farming.
*Made liquors and had an advanced industry of silk, art of pottery making, and
metallurgy.
*Battled with neighboring places that tried to penetrate their land one of which was the
Zhou who overthrew the Shangs in 1100 BCE

2. Zhou dynasty - lasted for 900 years which is the longest in the history of China
- created the Silk Road - trade with Europe
- ideology was that they believed in heaven
Government: Monarchy
Feudal System - emperor divided land into fiefs that were usually
Ruled by relatives
Religion: Taoism and Confucianism
*Taoism (Lao Tzu) - Yin and Yang
*Confucianism (Confucius) - Golden Rule: “Do not do to others what you don’t
Want done to you.”
Writing System: Dazhuan/Zhou wen/Great seal
Economy: Centered on agricultural production
Advanced Technologies: Iron Horseback riding
Ox-drawn plows Chariots for war
Crossbows Improved irrigation system
*Influence weakened and Ying Zheng from Qin linked every state and rule over different
regions of China
 3. Qin Dynasty - Emperor Qin/Shi Huang Di named himself ‘First Emperor’ of
China
- first ever empire established
- “China” came from this dynasty
- built Great Wall of China - defend from Monggols
Shi Huang Di - governed based on Legalism
- built a strong centralized government and small districts
- ordered use of uniform language and writing system
Government: Absolute autocracy - rule of one person with no checks or balances
Against them
Religion: Shi Huang Di banned religion
Legalism became the official philosophy
Writing System: Lishu (clerical/clerky script)
Economy: Still largely a farming economy
Advanced technologies: Instructions for astronomical instruments

4. Han Dynasty
Liu Bang - combined the ideas of Legalism and Confucius
- good leader
Wu Di - expanded the dynasty with 300 000 soldiers
- China achieved period of China peace
- used much more of Silk Road which intensified trade between China and
Europe
Government: Monarchy
Religion: (People had freedom of religion)
Writing System: Lishu (clerical/clerky script)
Economy: *Significant population growth
*Increased urbanization
*Unprecedented growth of industry trade
*Government experimentation with nationalization
Advanced technologies: Invention of paper and porcelain
Water clocks
Sundials
Seismograph
*Fell because of corrupt and weak leaders
 5. Sui Dynasty
Sui Yangdi - connected Yang Tze and Huang Heto become their transportation
*Forced labor and high taxes led to the people rebelling
6. Tang dynasty - great dynasty and expanded
*Fell due to internal conflicts and outside invasion
7. Song Dynasty - compass and gunpowder were invented
*Fell because they were defeated by the Monggols
8. Yuan Dynasty - foreign dynasty
- transportation and communication improved
*Chinese rebellion was Yuan Zhang
*Fell due to corruption
9. Ming Dynasty - cut off from any foreign relations
- closed from outsiders
- Yongie