The Rise of Sumer and the Pharaohs

Mesopotamia

The first urban civilization emerged in the 4th millennium BC in Lower Mesopotamia, within the Sumerian region. Between the 3rd and 1st millennium BC, the area was dominated by different peoples. In the mid-3rd millennium BC, King Sargon conquered Lower Mesopotamia and established the Kingdom of Akkad.

Writing appeared around 2500 BC, which allowed for the beginning of accounting. Kings also established fixed laws.

Cuneiform Writing

Origin: It began with pictograms, which represented an object or concept. Then came the ideograms, which represented actions or more general concepts. This evolution resulted in cuneiform writing.

Method: Scribes made incisions with styluses on wet clay tablets.

Mesopotamian Art

Architecture: Palaces and temples featured the arch and the vault.

Sculpture: Small statues included Orantes (men and women praying) and kings, as well as statues of Gudea.

Walls: To decorate them, reliefs were used with representations of kings and queens, or monstrous animals.

Egypt: The Nile and the Desert

Geographic Setting: The region is defined by the desert on one side and the Nile on the other.

Water Usage: Every spring, torrential rains feed the river's flow.

Technical Progress: Calculus and geometry were developed, and a calendar was established.

The Egypt of the Pharaohs

The Power of the Pharaoh: The Pharaoh held absolute power.

The Privileged: Officials (governors, heads of the army, and priests) formed the nobility. Priests directed religious rites, while scribes knew all the secrets of Egyptian writing and calculation.

The People of Egypt: The majority were farmers. There were also many merchants and artisans, and a few slaves.

Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

Housing: Dwellings for indigenous children and families were located along the banks of the Nile. There were few cities.

Ancient Egyptian Religion

Gods: The most popular was Ra. He was later joined with Amun, the god of the city of Thebes, to become Amun-Ra.

Afterlife: Egyptian religion promised life after death. They believed humans were formed by a body and a soul (the ka). When the body died, the ka went to the afterlife. Therefore, the body had to remain incorrupt through mummification.

Temples: Mansions of the Gods

Structure: Architecture was lintelled, and large monuments tended toward monumentalism.

Temples: Access began with an arcaded courtyard, followed by a hypostyle hall (filled with columns), and finally the sanctuary.

Ancient Egyptian Tombs

• Mastabas
• Pyramids
• Hypogea