# data[].attributes.body
a historical region situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Learning Objectives

1. Understand three basic traits the countries of the realm shares in common.

2. Outline the two cultural hearths and explain why they developed where they did.

3. Describe how the people of this realm gain access to fresh water.

4. Understand how the events of the 2011 Arab Spring have affected the realm.

Cultural Hearths

Availability and control of fresh water have typically resulted in the ability of humans to grow food crops and expand their cultural activities. Hunter-gatherer groups did not settle down in one area but were more nomadic because of their seasonal search for food. As humans developed the ability to grow crops and provide enough food in one place, they no longer needed to move. The earliest human settlements sprang up in what is the present-day Middle East. Early human settlements provide some indication of early urbanization patterns based on the availability or surplus of food. The shift to permanent settlements included the domestication of livestock and the production of grain crops. Fruits and vegetables were grown and harvested domestically. The activities of this era created humanity's earliest version of the rural-to-urban shift associated with the Industrial Revolution or present development. It is theorized that the ability to grow excess food provided the time and resources for urbanization and the establishment of organized communities, which often progressed into political entities or regional empires.

It has been estimated that some of the earliest cities in the world-Jericho, for example-were first inhabited around 10,000 BCE in the Middle East. In the same region, two cultural hearths provide significant historical value to the concept of human development: Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley in Egypt. Both areas were settings for the growth of human civilization and are still being examined and studied today. In Mesopotamia, a remarkable human civilization emerged along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is present-day Iraq, Syria, and southern Turkey. The climate, soils, and availability of fresh water provided the ingredients for the growth of a human civilization that is held in high esteem because of its significant contributions to our human history.

Figure 8.2 Head of Gudea, Sumerian Ruler from Mesopotamia, Circa 2121 BCE

Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent

Mesopotamia, meaning "land between rivers," is located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Neolithic pottery found there has been dated to before 7000 BCE. Humans in this area urbanized as early as 5000 BCE. People were settling in the Mesopotamia region, building magnificent cities, and developing their sense of human culture. Mesopotamia gave rise to a historical cradle of civilization that included the Assyrian, Babylonian, Sumerian, and Akkadian Empires, all established during the Bronze Age (about 3000 BCE or later). Famous cities such as Ur, Babylon, and Nineveh were located in the Mesopotamia region. The control of water and the ability to grow excess food contributed to their success. They developed extensive irrigation systems. Large grain storage units were necessary to provide the civic structure and to develop a military to protect and serve the city or empire. The human activity in this area extended around the region all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, which is where the term Fertile Crescent comes from.

Figure 8.3 The Two Main Cultural Hearths in the Realm: Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent in Asia and Upper and Lower Egypt in Africa

Various ancient groups were well established on the eastern side of the Fertile Crescent along the Mediterranean coast. The cities of Tyre and Sidon were ports and access points for trade and commerce for groups like the Phoenicians who traded throughout the Mediterranean. Ancient cities such as Damascus and Jericho became established in the same region and were good examples of early human urbanization during the Bronze Age. These cities are two of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world.

Nile River Civilization

Human civilization also emerged along the Nile River valley of what is now Egypt. The pyramids and the Sphinx in the Giza Plateau just outside Cairo stand testimony to the human endeavors that took place here. Spring flooding of the Nile River brought nutrients and water to the land along the Nile Valley. The land could produce excess food, which subsequently led to the ability to support a structured, urbanized civilization. The Nile River is the lifeblood of the region. In the fifth century BCE, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus suggested that Egypt was "the gift of the Nile." The dating for the beginning of the civilization along the Nile River is often in question, but Egyptologists estimate the first dynasty ruled both Upper and Lower Egypt around 3100 BCE. Upper Egypt is in the south and Lower Egypt is in the north because the Nile River flows north. The terms "Upper" and "Lower" refer to elevation. Geologists, using the erosion patterns of the Sphinx, estimate that it was constructed about 10,000 BCE. The ability of humans to harness the potential of the environment set the stage for technological advancements that continue to this day. The Egyptian civilization flourished for thousands of years and spawned a legacy that influenced their neighbors in the region, who benefited from their advancements.

Figure 8.4 Egyptian Pyramids of the Giza Plateau

The human activities that created the civilizations in Mesopotamia and along Egypt's Nile River gave humanity a rich heritage to help us understand our history. Many of our legends, stories, and myths have their origins in these cultures. Their cultural developments provided the basis for much of the Western world's religious beliefs and early philosophical ideas. The engineering feats needed to create the magnificent temples and pyramids have by themselves been studied and analyzed over the centuries to give modern scientists and scholars a reason to pause and recognize the high level of organization and structure that must have gone into developing and managing these civilizations. Various aspects of science and the arts were being developed by these ancient people. Writing, mathematics, engineering, and astronomy were becoming highly advanced. Artifacts such as clay tablets and hieroglyphs are still being discovered and interpreted and shed additional light on the advancements of these civilizations and their contribution to our collective human civilization.

Access to Fresh Water

Water is one of the necessities for human existence, and human settlements have long been based on the availability of water for human consumption and agriculture, navigation, and the production of energy. In North Africa and Southwest Asia, the availability of water has an even greater relevance because of the dominant type B climate. Methods used to address the shortage of water or to access fresh water have been nearly as diverse as the people who live here. Large populations of people can be found wherever there is fresh water. Water has historically been transferred from source to destination through canals, aqueducts, or special channels. Many ruins of extensive aqueducts from Roman times and earlier remain throughout the realm. The issues associated with water use continue to affect the lives of the people of this realm. Rapid population growth and industrialization have intensified the demand for fresh water.

Figure 8.5 Roman Aqueduct Near Caesarea

Water can be found in the desert regions in a range of forms. For example, there are oases, springs, or noted wells from which people can draw underground water that is close to the surface. Mountainous regions such as the Atlas Mountains in North Africa or the Elburz Mountains in Iran trap moisture, which produces higher quantities of precipitation. The precipitation is then available in the valleys to irrigate crops. Discovering or developing other methods of acquiring fresh water is a requirement in areas without mountains.

Underground Water in Libya

In the Sahara region, Libya draws water from deep underground wells that tap into the vast aquifers beneath the desert that were charged with water when the region was tropical thousands of years ago. The water is referred to as fossil water. Extensive systems of canals and pipelines have been developed in Libya to extract fossil water and use it for agricultural production or for urban purposes. The man-made river project, one of the largest of its kind, has drawn fresh water from the desert to large cities such Tripoli and Benghazi. The local drinking water in Benghazi is contaminated by saltwater intrusion from the Mediterranean. Underground aquifers are underneath political boundaries, so the allocation and control of water are matters of political debate with the potential to lead to military conflict. The project's potential duration will be a function of how quickly the water is used and how many people use the aquifer system. The main problem with this system is that underground aquifers are not considered a renewable resource; as more countries tap into the aquifers, the available water will be depleted more quickly. As water is drawn from the aquifers for industrial irrigation, the water table goes down. Local settlements that rely on well water may in time have to dig deeper wells or move to locations where water resources are still available.

Nile Water in Egypt

Egypt draws water from the Nile to irrigate fields for extensive food production. For thousands of years, floods of the Nile annually covered the land with fresh silt and water. This made the land productive, but the flooding often caused serious damage to human infrastructure. The building of the Aswan High Dam in the 1970s helped control the flooding of the Nile Valley. The river no longer flooded annually, and water had to be pumped onto the land. Over time, the constant and extensive use of this type of irrigation causes the small quantities of salt in the water to build up in the soil to serious levels, thereby reducing the land's productivity. This process, called salinization , is a common problem in arid climates. To rid the soil of the salts, fresh water is needed to flood the fields, dissolving the salt and then moving the salty water back off the fields. High salinization in the soil and the reduction in agricultural productivity is a growing concern for Egypt. Egypt's growing population places a high demand on the availability of food. More than half of the eighty million people in Egypt live in rural areas, and many of them make their living in agriculture, growing food that plays a critical role in the country's economic stability

Water from the Tigris and Euphrates

The major source of water in the Fertile Crescent region comes from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Both have their origins in Turkey and converge at the Shatt al-Arab waterway that flows into the Persian Gulf. The Euphrates is the longest river in Southwest Asia and flows through Syria from Turkey before entering into Iraq. Turkey had developed large dams on both the Tigris and Euphrates for agricultural purposes and to generate hydroelectric power. As water is diverted for agriculture in Turkey there is less water flowing downstream for Syria or Iraq. Disputes over water resources continue to be a major concern in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin. The Atatürk Dam in Turkey is largest dam on the Euphrates, and it has a reservoir behind the dam that is large enough to hold the total annual discharge of the river. All three countries have dams on the Euphrates and both Turkey and Iraq have dams on the Tigris. The three countries signed a memorandum of understanding in 2009 to strengthen cooperation within the Tigris-Euphrates Basin. All three countries need the water for agriculture to produce food for a growing population. Agreements to share water have been difficult as a result of the Iraq War and the recent protests and demonstrations in Syria that have contributed to further political tension between the three countries.

Water Conservation in Israel

Israel has taken innovative steps to conserve water and use it efficiently. Drip irrigation mixed with fertilizers is called fertigation . Fertigation is used extensively in the area. Israel grows plantation crops such as bananas, which require large quantities of water. Banana groves are covered with material that allows sunlight to penetrate but reduces the amount of transpiration, which conserves water. Israel has worked to recycle water whenever possible. Gray water is water extracted from sewage that has been treated to be used in agriculture. Underground wells in the West Bank region provide water for a high percentage of people in both the Palestinian areas and Israel. The issue of control over the water is contentious at times. Just as the control of water may have been an important factor in the early Mesopotamian civilizations, it remains a point of political conflict in places such as Israel and the West Bank. The lack of fresh water and the heavier demand placed on water resources have caused countries that can afford it to desalinize seawater. This process is used extensively in the oil-rich states of the Arabian Peninsula. Israel is implementing a similar plan to accommodate their increasing population and fresh water requirements.

Figure 8.6 Banana Grove in Israel Near the Lebanese Border

The grove is covered with material that allows sunlight to penetrate but helps reduce the loss of water through transpiration.

Mountain Water in Iran

Iran is largely a desert climate; thus most of the country does not receive copious amounts of precipitation. In an effort to redistribute the water available from the high mountains, Iranians have developed a system of to collect water where it is available and channel it to the cities or urban areas for use. A qanat might include a system of shafts or wells along a mountain slope that allows water to collect into a common underground channel, which is then diverted to wherever it is needed. This system has been in use since ancient times in many arid regions of the realm and around the world. More than 2,700 years ago, a qanat was developed in what is present-day Iran. The qanat has a system of hundreds of wells and channels water for more than twenty-eight miles; it still provides drinking water to more than forty thousand people in the city of Gonabad. Thousands of qanats were developed over the centuries in this area. Persians used cold qanat water from the mountains to keep ice cool during the summer months. Agricultural production relies heavily on water from qanats, which in turn are dependent on climate conditions and local weather patterns.

Water Shortages in Arabia

The Arabian Peninsula almost always conjures up images of desert conditions; contrary to that image, there is water in the peninsula. Underground aquifers of fossil water are located beneath the sands similar to that in the Sahara Desert. Saudi Arabia taps into these water resources to irrigate agricultural land to grow food. This area faces the same issue as Libya and other areas of the world that rely on underground aquifers: eventually the water supply will be used up. The majority of the Arabian Peninsula is desert and water is always in short supply. Many coastal desert countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Qatar have resorted to the desalinization of seawater for their needs, but this is viable only as long as the country can afford the energy cost required to operate the desalinization plants.

Yemen is a state on the Arabian Peninsula that is mountainous and has used terracing to more effectively benefit from what little precipitation they receive. Water from precipitation is trapped in terraces, and as it flows down the mountainside, each terrace uses what it needs and then passes the water to the next lower terrace. More land can be farmed to produce higher yields of agricultural crops such as sorghum and cereals. One of the main problems with Yemen's terrace system is that most of its trees are being cut down for firewood. Tree roots are essential for holding the soil together on the fragile mountain slopes. Another problem is heavy rains that cause serious erosion and damage to the terrace system. Additionally, the extremely rapid growth rate of Yemen's population is outstripping its agricultural production.

Diversion of Water in Turkestan

Fresh water is in short supply in many of the desert regions of Turkestan in Central Asia. Agricultural production has traditionally been dependent on water flowing in rivers and streams that originated with the precipitation from the mountains, but as humans have developed canals and irrigation systems, water from rivers has been diverted for agricultural use. Vast fields of cash crops such as cotton were developed during the Soviet era for economic reasons, and as discussed in more detail in Section 8.7 "Central Asia and Afghanistan", the result had devastating consequences for the Aral Sea, which depended on the water from these rivers for its survival. More than half the population of Central Asia depends on agriculture for their livelihood. The other half, of course, requires water and food for their existence.

Figure 8.7 Precipitation Patterns for North Africa and Southwest Asia

Arab Spring of 2011

The year 2011 brought about important changes for the human geography of parts of this realm. The year ushered in a wave of human activity that awakened the power of the citizens to speak out against conditions in their country and actively protest against their governments. North Africa, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula experienced the highest levels of protests and insurgency. Political leaders that had been in power for extended periods were challenged and removed from office. Democratic reforms were requested or demanded by citizens seeking more individual freedom and greater access to political power. Uprisings in some of the countries were internal; other countries received external support or intervention. Overall, demonstrations, protests, and outright revolution involved millions of people desiring improved living conditions and a better future for themselves and their families.

Protests emerged in North Africa in the beginning of 2011. Tunisia was the first country in which leadership felt the heat of civil resistance and open revolution. In January, the Tunisian president of more than twenty-three years was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia. In Egypt, millions of protesters demonstrated in the streets against political corruption and the lack of reforms. The revolution of Egypt's citizens was not an armed conflict, but it was an effective protest, because it eventually brought about the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, who had been in office for almost thirty years. Demonstrations and protests continued against governments in Morocco and Algeria; the people voiced their concerns regarding issues such as high unemployment, poor living conditions, and government corruption. Libya's protests erupted into a full-scale armed revolution as antigovernment rebels took control of the city of Benghazi in an attempt to topple Muammar Gadhafi's forty-two years of authoritarian control of the government, oil revenues, and the people. The armed Libyan revolution was eventually successful in taking control of Tripoli and in removing Gadhafi and his family from power. The revolution in Libya was aided by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air strikes and the implementation of a no-fly zone over the country.

The ripple effect that the Tunisian revolution had on North Africa was felt on the Arabian Peninsula in places such as Yemen and Bahrain. Mass public demonstrations in Yemen over government corruption, economic conditions, and high unemployment escalated into serious armed conflicts between government troops and opposition factions that wanted the president removed from office. In Bahrain, the protests and demonstrations were centered on the request for more personal freedoms and a greater role in leadership for the Shia population, who experienced discrimination by the Sunni-dominated government. Protests also occurred in Oman for greater reforms.

The Middle East did not escape the Arab Spring of 2011. Protests in Jordan forced King 'Abdullah II to reorganize his government. Israel and Lebanon were not as affected, as they have been addressing many of these issues on an ongoing basis. The country experiencing the greatest impact was Syria. Major mass demonstrations and serious protests against the government were staged in a number of cities across the country. In Syria, the long-term leadership of an Alawite minority continues to run the government and control the military. The al-Assad family-a father and then his son-has ruled Syria since 1971. The Syrian government has cracked down on the revolution with hard-line measures aimed at subduing the protests and demonstrations. By September 2011, more than two thousand protesters had been killed in Syria, and many more were detained or tortured. Countless others have tried to flee to neighboring countries for their safety. The protesters in Syria want democratic reforms as well as the end of the al-Assad family reign.

Other parts of the realm also felt the effects of the Arab Spring of 2011 with mixed results. Iran has had similar protests and demonstrations in past years, but there was not a major revolution or uprising as a direct result of the Arab Spring. Iran is not an Arab country but has experienced ongoing political friction between citizen factions and the government. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have tempered or isolated internal protests or revolutionary activities in those countries even though armed conflicts continue. Various Central Asian states have been working through similar issues but either have not had mass demonstrations or have not received the attention of news media regarding their situations. The wave of change that swept over the realm in the Arab Spring of 2011 is an example of how centripetal and centrifugal cultural forces act on a state or region. The political landscape was altered or drastically changed in many countries. The impact of these changes will be realized in the years and decades to come.

Key Takeaways

The realm of North Africa and Southwest Asia extends from the Atlantic Ocean along the Moroccan coast to the western border of China. It includes the regions of North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia (often referred to as Turkestan).

Three basic features that dominate this realm include the arid type B climates, Islam as the predominant religion, and the export of petroleum and minerals to gain wealth. There are exceptions to all three features, but these three are found within most countries of the realm.

The two main cultural hearths in this realm are located along the rivers in Mesopotamia and in Egypt. Control of and access to water resources to grow excess food were the basis for the success of the empires that flourished in these two areas.

Fresh water is a valuable resource that is not always available in North Africa and Southwest Asia because of the climate and physical geography. Each region within the realm has developed its own methods to draw from or extract the valuable resource of fresh water.

The Arab Spring of 2011 was a massive wave of protests and demonstrations by citizens of the realm against their governments over such issues as poor living conditions, high unemployment, government corruption, and the lack of democratic reforms. Various leaders were removed from office and governments were pressed to reform their power structures to allow for more shared governance and reduced political corruption.

Discussion and Study Questions

1. Why does this realm include parts of three continents?

2. Which countries have territory on more than one continent?

3. What common traits are shared by most people in this realm?

4. What might have prompted the first rural-to-urban shift for human settlements?

5. Why is the Middle East called by that term? What is it in the "middle" of?

6. What did the two cultural hearths contribute to the advancement of human culture?

7. Why did the cultural hearths develop where they did?

8. What are some of the methods Israel has used to address their fresh water requirements?

9. What prompted the Arab Spring of 2011? Which country was the first to see change?

10. What were some of the common issues that people protested across the realm?

Geography Exercise

Identify the following key places on a map:

Arabian Peninsula

Asia Minor

Atlas Mountains

Elburz Mountains

Empty Quarter

Euphrates River

Fertile Crescent

Giza Plateau

Levant

Libyan Desert

Mesopotamia

Middle East

Nile River

Nubian Desert

Tigris River

Turkestan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
World Regional Geography: People, Places and Globalization

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Understand three basic traits the countries of the realm shares in common. Outline the two cultural hearths and explain why they developed where they did. Describe how the people of this realm gain access to fresh water. Understand how the events of the 2011 Arab Spring have affected the realm.

# data[].attributes.body
shell or animal bone

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
纸张之外：汉字书写3000年
An exhibit in Sir John Ritblat Treasures of the British Library Gallery
8 September 2015 to 17 January 2016
Free Entry

The British Library display Beyond Paper: 3000 Years of Chinese Writing, opening on 8 th September, consists of four cases of material from China, showing different media used for Chinese writing and different forms of script. The cases show oracle bones, woodslips, silk manuscripts and paper books respectively. The descriptions below have been given in English followed by Chinese translation to make them more accessible.

Oracle bones were used for divination over three thousand years ago in ancient China. Questions about crops, the weather, battles, and the ruling family were engraved on the bone and heat was then applied with metal sticks. The heat caused the bones to crack and the diviners interpreted the patterns of the fractures to determine the answer to the question posed.

Oracle bones such as these show the earliest extant Chinese writing and they are essential for understanding the origins and development of the Chinese script.

在三千多年前的古代中国，龟甲和兽骨被用于占卜吉凶。与收成，气候，战争，王室等有关的问题被刻在甲骨上，然后用金属棒进行加热。甲骨在热量的作用下开裂，而后巫师通过解读裂纹的形状决定如何回答求卜者的提问。

这些甲骨展示了现存最早的中国文字，它们对于理解汉字的起源和发展具有重要意义。

Shang dynasty oracle bone, c.1600 to 1050 BC
Or.7694/1517

The Chinese collection of the British Library includes a unique series of more than 450 oracle bones ( jia gu 甲骨). They date from between 1600 and 1050 BC, making them the oldest items in the British Library. New technologies are being applied to the bones' conservation and storage and a project to digitise them is currently underway.

大英图书馆内的中国收藏包括一套总数 超过450件的甲骨 。它们的年代可上溯至公元前1600至1050年间，这使它们成为大英图书馆内最古老的藏品。最新的科技已经被应用于这些甲骨的保护和储藏。另外，一个对它们进行数字化的项目正在进行当中。
商代甲骨，约公元前1600至1050年

Divination cracks

An axe thrust into the Earth
Shang dynasty oracle bones, c. 1600 to 1050 BC
Or.7694/1592 and Or.7964/1554

Shang dynasty oracle bone, c. 1600 to 1050 BC
Or.7694/1535

Or.7694/1559, Or.7964/1560
A lunar eclipse
Shang dynasty oracle bone, c. 1600 to 1050 BC
Or.7694/1595

Shang dynasty oracle bones, c. 1600 to 1050 BC
Related events
Or.7694/1559 and Or.7964/1560

The oracle bones are carved with the Shang Dynasty script, also called 'oracle script' ( jia gu wen). It is the oldest known form of Chinese writing and the ancestor of the Chinese characters still used today. The jia gu script is angular and the shape of the characters is simplified as much as possible to make it easier to engrave on hard surfaces. Many jia gu wen characters are often defined as 'pictographic', because they are stylised depictions of the objects they represent.
Sara Chiesura and Emma Goodliffe, Curators, Chinese collections With thanks to Gao Feichi for the Chinese translation

in cooperation with Susan Whitfield, Director, International Dunhuang Project
这些甲骨上刻有商代文字，也被称为"甲骨文"。这是已知最古老的汉字书写体系，并且是今天仍在使用的汉字的雏形。甲骨文字形棱角分明，其形状已经尽可能简化以便于刻在坚硬的表面上。许多甲骨文文字被定义为'象形文字'，因为它们酷似所表示事物的抽象形状。

Oracle bones were an extraordinary discovery for sinologists and historians. Firstly they prove the existence of the Shang Dynasty, which some researchers questioned until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, from a linguistic perspective, they offer primary materials for the interpretation of China's earliest script. In the bone shown above, the fissures created by the heat of the fire during the divination process are clearly visible. Most of the cracks on the bones appeared on the front side with a distinctive shape ( ├ ) from which the Chinese character for 'divination' ( bu 卜) is derived.

商代甲骨对于汉学家和历史学家来说是一项非凡的发现。首先它们证明了商朝的存在，而此前直到19世纪初仍有学者对其提出质疑。另外，从语言学角度，它们为解读中国最早的文字提供了第一手资料。这里所展示的甲骨，其在占卜过程中经过火烧产生的裂缝清晰可见。大多数裂纹出现在甲骨正面并具有特殊形状（ ├ ），汉字'卜'即是由此而来。

The discovery of oracle bones in 1899 marked a turning point in Chinese paleography and etymology. The bones revealed a stage in the development of the Chinese script that had been absent from previous scholarship and, in some cases, overturned theories held for centuries.

For example, the character which is visible in inscriptions on both these bones, means 'king' and is now written 王. This character was considered to represent the role of the king (represented by a vertical line) as mediator between heaven, earth and man (three horizontal lines), but the earlier form found on the oracle bones seems to simply be a depiction of an axe thrust into the earth.

1899年甲骨文的发现标志着中国古文字学和词源学的转折点。这些甲骨揭示了中国文字发展过程中缺失的一环，并在某些情况下，彻底改变了主导几个世纪的理论。

例如这两件甲骨上的铭文中都可见的 字，是现代汉字中的"王"。这个字从前被认为代表"王"沟通天、地、人的角色（中间一竖代表王，三横代表天地人），但是甲骨文中的早期字形显示了这个字更为象形的起源，即一把劈进大地的斧头。

This scapula bears an inscription about the coming ten-day period, and records that there will be no bad luck.

The character for moon (月 now and in oracle bone script) is visible at the top centre. This particular oracle bone is very important for research on the ancient Chinese calendar and astronomy, as it carries on the reverse side the record of a lunar eclipse.

这块肩胛骨刻有占卜未来十天（一旬）吉凶的铭文，记录了这期间并无不详。

汉字'月'（甲骨文作 ）位于第一行正中。这块甲骨的背面记载了一次月食观测，它对于研究古代中国历法和天文具有重要意义 。

Michael Wood: The Story of China
Fri 23 Oct 2015, 18:30 - 20:00
British Library Conference Centre

Too big to print: the story of Yongle Dadian
Mon 23 Nov 2015, 18:45 - 20:15
British Library Conference Centre

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Oracle bones on display in our Treasures Gallery

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
纸张之外：汉字书写3000年An exhibit in Sir John Ritblat Treasures of the British Library Gallery8 September 2015 to 17 January 2016Free Entry The British Library display Beyond Paper: 3000 Years of Chinese Writing, opening on 8 th September, consists of four cases of material from China, showing different media used for Chinese writing and different forms of script.

# data[].attributes.body
the absolute principle underlying the universe,

# data[].attributes.body
The Chinese philosophical concept of the circumstances under which a ruler is allowed to rule

# data[].attributes.body
a class of persons holding exceptional rank and privileges, especially the hereditary nobility.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Aristocracy Cartoons and Comics - funny pictures from CartoonStock

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Aristocracy funny cartoons from CartoonStock directory - the world's largest on-line collection of cartoons and comics.

# data[].attributes.body
a loamy deposit formed by wind, usually yellowish and calcareous, common in the Mississippi Valley and in Europe and Asia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Palouse Loess - EPOD - a service of USRA

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Photographer: Stu Witmer Summary Author: Stu Witmer In the Pacific Northwest about 17 million years ago, shield volcanoes produced great cracks in the Earth. For about 10 million years these cracks oozed copious amounts of lava which ultimately covered more...

# data[].attributes.body
Indic language, in use since c1200 b.c. as the religious and classical literary language of India.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sanskrit - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sanskrit is an ancient Indian language. It is a sacred language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, as well as the origin of most of the Indian languages. Today, about 14,000 people in India use it as their daily language. It is one of the 22 official languages of India, and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand.

# data[].attributes.body
Bronze Agecivilization that encompassed the area of modern-day Pakistan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Indus Valley Civilization, Mohenjo Daro, Harappan Culture - Crystalinks

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Indus Valley Civilization is also known as the Harappan Civilization, after Harappa, the first of its sites to be excavated in the 1920s, in what was then the Punjab province of British India, and now is Pakistan.

# data[].attributes.body
the season during which the southwest monsoon blows, commonly marked by heavy rains; rainy season.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
India's nodal weather agency, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has upgraded its maiden forecast for Southwest Monsoon 2017 from 96% to 98% (with an error margin of +/-4%) of the long period average (LPA) of 887 mm for the four-month period from June to September.

Though it still maintains that Monsoon 2017 would be normal wherein rains vary from 96% to 104% of LPA.

The seasonal rainfall is likely to be 96% of LPA over Northwest India, 100% of LPA over Central India, 99% of LPA over South Peninsula and 96% of LPA over Northeast India all with a model error of ± 8%.

This increase is based upon the decline in probability of El Niño till the end of the year. As per IMD's weather model-MMCFS, neutral ENSO conditions are likely till end of this year. Secondly, IMD is also foreseeing development of positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), which is mostly linked with good Monsoon rains and also negates the effect of El Niño up to some extent.

On the monthly scale, IMD predicts that the rainfall over the country is likely to 96% of LPA for July and 99% of LPA during August. This means second half of the Monsoon season will be better than the first one.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
IMD updates Monsoon 2017 forecast to 98%, Skymet Weather sticks to 95%

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
India's nodal weather agency, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has upgraded its maiden forecast for Southwest Monsoon 2017 from 96% to 98% (with an error margin of +/-4%) of the long period average (LPA) of 887 mm for the four-month period from June to September.

# data[].attributes.body
a large, relatively self-contained landmass forming a subdivision of a continent:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Indian subcontinent, or, sometimes simply called the subcontinent, is a physiographical region in southern Asia, situated on the Indian Plate and projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geologically, the Indian subcontinent is related to the landmass that rifted from the supercontinent Gondwana during the Cretaceous and merged with the Eurasian landmass nearly 55 million years ago.

# data[].attributes.body
an ancient document, manuscript, or scroll written on this material.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
PAK 1 River Valley Civilizations - Pre ap World History 1st Period with Mr. Le at Kerr High School - StudyBlue

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Study online flashcards and notes for PAK 1 River Valley Civilizations including Hieroglyphics: writing consisting of hieroglyphs ; Calligraphy: decorative handwriting or handwritten lettering ; Ziggurat: (in ancient Mesopotamia) a rectan

# data[].attributes.body
designating or pertaining to a pictographic script, particularly that of the ancient Egyptians, in which many of the symbols are conventionalized, recognizable pictures of the things represented.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In class we are learning about Ancient Egypt: The Nile, Pharohs, Hyroglifis, ecc.

# data[].attributes.body
to make (a dead body) into a mummy, as by embalming and drying.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The word 'mummy' is derived from 'mummia', a bituminous resin found in ancient Persia; however 'mummy' is a relatively modern term. "Mummia" was not used in mummification, but when mummies were discovered coated with dark plant resin it was assumed "mummia" played a role and the term mummification was coined.

There are two elements to mummification, the physical process and the religious symbolism. The physical process was a secretive art. Our knowledge is derived from 'reverse engineering' of the many mummies that survived. Information has also been derived from the experiment in modern mummification conducted by Dr. Robert Brier of Long Island University.
Mummification - the Physical Process
Shortly after death the body was taken to a place of purification (ibw), probably a tent on a hill where the wind would blow the smell away. The brain was 'liquefied' by using a hook inserted through the nostrils and rotated like a whisk. The body was turned upside down and the brain matter drained out and discarded.

The body was then washed in a natron solution. Natron is a naturally occurring salt of sodium carbonate and sodium bi-carbonate. A 10cm incision was made in the side of the corpse using an obsidian knife (sharper than modern day steel scalpels). The internal organs were removed through the incision and then cleaned, dried, wrapped and placed in four canopic jars. (Pictured: the four jars can be seen under the bed).

The eviscerated body cavity was cleaned with palm wine and packed with small bags of natron crystals and wheat chaff. The body was covered in natron salt crystals above and below until it was desiccated. About 250 kilograms of natron were used for a single body.

After 35 days the body was dry, but still slightly flexible. The natron was removed and the body moved to the house of beauty (pr nfr) where it was placed on blocks and carefully bandaged with linen strips and coated with resin. Particular care was taken with the fingers and toes. Amulets and spells were bound into the wrapping to give the body magical protection. The mummy was placed in its coffin, sometimes with a mask and garlands of flowers and herbs. The coffin was then placed in a stone sarcophagus (sarcophagus from the Greek literally means "flesh eating").

Mummification was initially reserved for royalty, but over the centuries nobles and common folk who could afford it were also mummified. Some of the mummies that survived are incredibly well preserved and are providing a source of DNA for scientists engaged in unravelling the complex relationships of the royal families.
Why Mummification?
But why did the ancient Egyptians mummify their dead? Was it because they believed in the resurrection of the dead? Regrettably we only have theory and supposition to guide us. There is as yet no documentation that satisfactorily answers the questions. The most quoted answer isthat bodies buried in the hot dry sand of the Egyptian desert were naturally desiccated but when burials began to take place in tombs, the bodies decomposed. Mummification was introduced to replace what had occurred naturally in the past.
Mummification - the religious symbolism
The religious symbolism of mummification may have stemmed from the mythological story of Osiris's cut-up body being reassembled after his gruesome murder and being wrapped in linen by his sister/wife Isisas mentioned previously. The god of mummification Anubis, (actually a priest wearing a canine mask) was the overseer of the procedure. The entire process always took 70 days, precisely the same time the star Sirius, believed to be the goddess Isis, spent below the horizon each year before re-appearing on the horizon and being reborn in the night sky over Egypt.

In considering the religious aspect of mummification, it is clear that preservation of the body was essential to the ancient Egyptian belief in the afterlife. Without the body, the "Ka" or spirit could not return to the tomb to find the sustenance left by relatives and friends. The spirit would not be able to access the spells inscribed on the walls of the tomb or in the Book of Life papyrus buried with the corpse. These spells were essential for the "Ka's" survival. If the body decayed and was unrecognisable the "Ka" would be lost, go hungry and the afterlife of the deceased would be jeopardised.
Anthony Holmes
Read more in Ancient Egypt: History In An Hour published by Harper Press and available in various digital formats, and audio.

See also articles on Howard Carter, the pharaohs Rameses the Great, Tutankhamun, Akhenaten, and also article on the Great Pyramids at Giza.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mummies and Mummification - History in an Hour

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The word 'mummy' is derived from 'mummia', a bituminous resin found in ancient Persia; however 'mummy' is a relatively modern term. "Mummia" was not used in mummification, but when mummies were discovered coated with dark plant resin it was assumed "mummia" played a role and the term mummification was coined.

# data[].attributes.body
a quadrilateral masonry mass, stepped and sharply sloping, used as a tomb or a platform for a temple.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Built during a time when Egypt was one of the richest and most powerful civilizations in the world, the pyramids-especially the Great Pyramids of Giza-are some of the most magnificent man-made structures in history. Their massive scale reflects the unique role that the pharaoh, or king, played in ancient Egyptian society. Though pyramids were built from the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the close of the Ptolemaic period in the fourth century A.D., the peak of pyramid building began with the late third dynasty and continued until roughly the sixth (c. 2325 B.C.). More than 4,000 years later, the Egyptian pyramids still retain much of their majesty, providing a glimpse into the country's rich and glorious past.

The Pharaoh in Egyptian Society

During the third and fourth dynasties of the Old Kingdom, Egypt enjoyed tremendous economic prosperity and stability. Kings held a unique position in Egyptian society. Somewhere in between human and divine, they were believed to have been chosen by the gods themselves to serve as their mediators on earth. Because of this, it was in everyone's interest to keep the king's majesty intact even after his death, when he was believed to become Osiris, god of the dead. The new pharaoh, in turn, became Horus, the falcon-god who served as protector of the sun god, Ra.

Did you know? The pyramid's smooth, angled sides symbolized the rays of the sun and were designed to help the king's soul ascend to heaven and join the gods, particularly the sun god Ra.

Ancient Egyptians believed that when the king died, part of his spirit (known as "ka") remained with his body. To properly care for his spirit, the corpse was mummified, and everything the king would need in the afterlife was buried with him, including gold vessels, food, furniture and other offerings. The pyramids became the focus of a cult of the dead king that was supposed to continue well after his death. Their riches would provide not only for him, but also for the relatives, officials and priests who were buried near him.

The Early Pyramids

From the beginning of the Dynastic Era (2950 B.C.), royal tombs were carved into rock and covered with flat-roofed rectangular structures known as "mastabas," which were precursors to the pyramids. The oldest known pyramid in Egypt was built around 2630 B.C. at Saqqara, for the third dynasty's King Djoser. Known as the Step Pyramid, it began as a traditional mastaba but grew into something much more ambitious. As the story goes, the pyramid's architect was Imhotep, a priest and healer who some 1,400 years later would be deified as the patron saint of scribes and physicians. Over the course of Djoser's nearly 20-year reign, pyramid builders assembled six stepped layers of stone (as opposed to mud-brick, like most earlier tombs) that eventually reached a height of 204 feet (62 meters); it was the tallest building of its time. The Step Pyramid was surrounded by a complex of courtyards, temples and shrines where Djoser could enjoy his afterlife.

After Djoser, the stepped pyramid became the norm for royal burials, although none of those planned by his dynastic successors were completed (probably due to their relatively short reigns). The earliest tomb constructed as a "true" (smooth-sided, not stepped) pyramid was the Red Pyramid at Dahshur, one of three burial structures built for the first king of the fourth dynasty, Sneferu (2613-2589 B.C.) It was named for the color of the limestone blocks used to construct the pyramid's core.

The Great Pyramids of Giza

No pyramids are more celebrated than the Great Pyramids of Giza, located on a plateau on the west bank of the Nile River, on the outskirts of modern-day Cairo. The oldest and largest of the three pyramids at Giza, known as the Great Pyramid, is the only surviving structure out of the famed Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was built for Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops, in Greek), Sneferu's successor and the second of the eight kings of the fourth dynasty. Though Khufu reigned for 23 years (2589-2566 B.C.), relatively little is known of his reign beyond the grandeur of his pyramid. The sides of the pyramid's base average 755.75 feet (230 meters), and its original height was 481.4 feet (147 meters), making it the largest pyramid in the world. Three small pyramids built for Khufu's queens are lined up next to the Great Pyramid, and a tomb was found nearby containing the empty sarcophagus of his mother, Queen Hetepheres. Like other pyramids, Khufu's is surrounded by rows of mastabas, where relatives or officials of the king were buried to accompany and support him in the afterlife.

The middle pyramid at Giza was built for Khufu's son Pharaoh Khafre (2558-2532 B.C). The Pyramid of Khafre is the second tallest pyramid at Giza and contains Pharaoh Khafre's tomb. A unique feature built inside Khafre's pyramid complex was the Great Sphinx, a guardian statue carved in limestone with the head of a man and the body of a lion. It was the largest statue in the ancient world, measuring 240 feet long and 66 feet high. In the 18th dynasty (c. 1500 B.C.) the Great Sphinx would come to be worshiped itself, as the image of a local form of the god Horus. The southernmost pyramid at Giza was built for Khafre's son Menkaure (2532-2503 B.C.). It is the shortest of the three pyramids (218 feet) and is a precursor of the smaller pyramids that would be constructed during the fifth and sixth dynasties.

Who Built The Pyramids?

Though some popular versions of history held that the pyramids were built by slaves or foreigners forced into labor, skeletons excavated from the area show that the workers were probably native Egyptian agricultural laborers who worked on the pyramids during the time of year when the Nile River flooded much of the land nearby. Approximately 2.3 million blocks of stone (averaging about 2.5 tons each) had to be cut, transported and assembled to build Khufu's Great Pyramid. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote that it took 20 years to build and required the labor of 100,000 men, but later archaeological evidence suggests that the workforce might actually have been around 20,000.

The End of the Pyramid Era

Pyramids continued to be built throughout the fifth and sixth dynasties, but the general quality and scale of their construction declined over this period, along with the power and wealth of the kings themselves. In the later Old Kingdom pyramids, beginning with that of King Unas (2375-2345 B.C), pyramid builders began to inscribe written accounts of events in the king's reign on the walls of the burial chamber and the rest of the pyramid's interior. Known as pyramid texts, these are the earliest significant religious compositions known from ancient Egypt.

The last of the great pyramid builders was Pepy II (2278-2184 B.C.), the second king of the sixth dynasty, who came to power as a young boy and ruled for 94 years. By the time of his rule, Old Kingdom prosperity was dwindling, and the pharaoh had lost some of his quasi-divine status as the power of non-royal administrative officials grew. Pepy II's pyramid, built at Saqqara and completed some 30 years into his reign, was much shorter (172 feet) than others of the Old Kingdom. With Pepy's death, the kingdom and strong central government virtually collapsed, and Egypt entered a turbulent phase known as the First Intermediate Period. Later kings, of the 12th dynasty, would return to pyramid building during the so-called Middle Kingdom phase, but it was never on the same scale as the Great Pyramids.

The Pyramids Today

Tomb robbers and other vandals in both ancient and modern times removed most of the bodies and funeral goods from Egypt's pyramids and plundered their exteriors as well. Stripped of most of their smooth white limestone coverings, the Great Pyramids no longer reach their original heights; Khufu's, for example, measures only 451 feet high. Nonetheless, millions of people continue to visit the pyramids each year, drawn by their towering grandeur and the enduring allure of Egypt's rich and glorious past.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Built during a time when Egypt was one of the richest and most powerful civilizations in the world, the pyramids-especially the Great Pyramids of Giza-are some of the most magnificent man-made structures in history. Their massive scale reflects the unique role that the pharaoh, or king, played in ancient Egyptian society.

# data[].attributes.body
a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
about in American politics in recent years has been the assertion that those on the "religious right" (i.e One of the strangest charges tossed ., conservative Christians, mostly Evangelical Protestants, who are active in politics) are "theocrats." These folks, so the accusation runs, wish to transform the United States from a democracy into a theocracy.

When asked to give examples of what they mean by "theocracy," the accusers point, correctly enough, to the ayatollah regime in Iran. Or they cite the system of church-state relations that prevailed in the Middle Ages. (Of course, one has to be woefully ignorant of medieval history to imagine that popes and bishops got along swimmingly with emperors and kings in those days, let alone to imagine that popes and bishops dictated to emperors and kings.) Or they cite the system that prevailed in 17th-century Massachusetts; and here they are closer to the mark, for that system really was a theocracy.

Now, if theocracy is defined as "government by clerics," what evidence is there, one can ask, that religious conservatives wish to create such a government in America? In answer, those of what may be called the "irreligious left" make one of two moves. Sometimes they cite certain lunatic fringe groups or individuals who actually do wish to create something like a theocracy (this is done in the book ). But tarring all religious conservatives with this brush is equivalent to putting political liberals in the same category as those fringe communist groups that still survive in America. It's not a description; it's a libel.

The other, far more common move is to point to those religious conservatives who ardently wish to do two things: prevent the legal institution of same-sex marriage and make abortion illegal. "There you have it, plain as day," the accusers say. "Those people want to impose their old-time Christian religion and their pre-modern sexual morality on all the rest of us - including scores of millions of Americans who are either non-Christians or Christians of a more modernistic stripe. If that's not theocracy, I don't know what is."

(In passing, it is perhaps worth noting that if it is theocratic to outlaw abortion and same-sex marriage, then the United States has been a theocracy during almost its entire existence. For it is only 35 years ago that abortion became universally legal in America, and right up to the present day same-sex marriage - or the same thing under a different name: same-sex civil unions - is still illegal in most jurisdictions. Thus Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Hamilton, et al. were theocrats.)

But "imposing" your views on others doesn't fit the dictionary definition of "theocracy." For doesn't the winning side "impose" its views on others every time we have an election or take a vote in a legislative assembly? Didn't Lincoln "impose" his views regarding slavery and secession on the South? Was Lincoln thereby a theocrat?

But let's waive the lexical point. No matter how ridiculous it may be, let's grant for the sake of argument that those who don't like abortion and same-sex marriage are theocrats. Fine - but what then are we to make of those who favor abortion and same-sex marriage? What are we to call those who wish to "impose" their pro-homosexuality and pro-choice views on society? By parity of reasoning, they must be the converse of theocrats. In other words, they must be atheocrats, persons who favor atheocracy. (Pardon me if I have just been guilty of coining a couple of words. Sometimes one has no choice.)

Having begun to put the shoe on the other foot, let me see if I can put both shoes on. It seems to me that those on the irreligious left are far more appropriately called atheocrats than are those on the religious right called theocrats. Many conservative Christians, it is true, hope the day will eventually arrive when the United States becomes a "Christian nation" - that is, when the overwhelming majority of Americans will accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. But this is more of an abstract than a concrete hope. It depends on the will of God, and conservative Christians have no expectation that God will grant such a consummation in the remotely foreseeable future; indeed, almost none of them expects that God will ever grant such a happy mass conversion.

By contrast, secularists of the irreligious left have a decidedly concrete hope that the United States can be transformed into an essentially atheistic nation. They are confident that, not centuries from now but in the near future, an atheism-based system of moral values will come to prevail in America; that is, a system of great sexual freedom, of universally accepted abortion and homosexuality (not to mention bisexuality and transgender-ness), of same-sex marriage in all 50 states, of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, etc. Regrettably, a certain amount of Christianity will survive; but it will survive as a strictly private, and somewhat shameful, thing. Being private and shameful, it will be in those respects something like masturbation - except of course that masturbation will be far more respectable than Christianity. For the merits of masturbation will be taught in public schools, whereas Christianity will remain unmentioned except for the Crusades and the Inquisition.

For those on the irreligious left, this atheocratic vision is not some "far-off divine event to which the whole creation moves." No, it is their immediate agenda. If old-fashioned Christians fight back, this is not because of any theocratic ambitions on their part; it is because they are trying to avert the destruction of their religion.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Theocracy and Atheocracy - Crisis Magazine

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
One of the strangest charges tossed about in American politics in recent years has been the assertion that those on the "religious right" (i.e., conservative Christians, mostly Evangelical Protestants, who are active in politics) are "theocrats." These folks, so the accusation runs, wish to transform the United States from a democracy into a theocracy.

# data[].attributes.body
a title of an ancient Egyptian king.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Dear Reader,
As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analyses from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

As one of our loyal readers, we ask you to be our partner.

For $5 a month you will receive access to the following:

A user experience almost completely free of ads

Access to our Premium Section

Content from the award-winning Jerusalem Report and our monthly magazine to learn Hebrew - Ivrit

A brand new ePaper featuring the daily newspaper as it appears in print in Israel

Help us grow and continue telling Israel's story to the world.

Thank you,

Ronit Hasin-Hochman, CEO, Jerusalem Post Group
Yaakov Katz, Editor-in-Chief

UPGRADE YOUR JPOST EXPERIENCE FOR 5$ PER MONTH Show me later

In an unprecedented declaration that challenges the story told in the Passover Haggadah, a senior Egyptian archaeologist said that ancient king Pharaoh was not Egyptian, as claimed in the ancient Jewish text.

In an interview with the Egyptian daily newspaper al-Youm al-Sabih, the director-general of Luxor's Antiquities, Mustafa Waziri, surprisingly argued that king Pharaoh belonged to the foreign Hyksos dynasty that invaded Egypt in the 15th century BCE and ruled northern Egypt.

"King Pharaoh who ruled Egypt during the epoch of our prophet Moses was not one of the kings who reigned in ancient Egypt as we tend to believe. He belonged to the Beduin Jabarin dynasty, which is called Hyksos," Waziri said.

"This foreign dynasty ruled only in a part of Egypt. One of its last kings was a dictator named Pharaoh, to whom Moses was sent by Allah to demand that he allow the sons of Israel to leave Egypt," Waziri explained.

The Egyptian archaeologist added: "the prevailing thesis according to which the kings of ancient Egypt were named Pharaohs is a false thesis promoted by the Jews to stick false accusations on ancient Egyptians."

"Due to his oppressive rule, the Jews have succeeded in transforming his name to a formal title of all Egyptians kings, which enables them to damage us by saying that we have raped women and slaughtered children. However, the Pharaoh title was never used to describe Egyptians, but was always attached to boorish people," Waziri said.

To prove his thesis, Waziri presented his conclusions from a study he conducted about the subject. He said that reviewing the Koran, he has not seen that the word "Pharaoh" is used to describe Egypt or Egyptians.

JPOST VIDEOS THAT MIGHT INTEREST YOU:

According to Waziri, the Koranic evidence that "Pharaoh" is a private name and not a royal title, as Israel alleges, is the phrase "Oh, Pharaoh", that refers to Pharaoh as a private individual.

Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Senior Egyptian archaeologist: Pharaoh wasn't Egyptian

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall.

# data[].attributes.body
a temple of Sumerian origin in the form of a pyramidal tower, consisting of a number of stories and having about the outside a broad ascent winding round the structure, presenting the appearance of a series of terraces.

# data[].attributes.body
the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (Δ, δ).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explore Avatrian's photos on Flickr. Avatrian has uploaded 1123 photos to Flickr.

# data[].attributes.body
cuneiform characters or writing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Download royalty-free Cuneiform writing stock photo 6536165 from Depositphotos collection of millions of premium high-resolution stock photos, vector images and illustrations.

# data[].attributes.body
a government under an emperor or empress.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
All the maps used on the podcast so far...

# data[].attributes.body
belief in more than one god or in many gods.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hinduism is a polytheistic universalizing religion. Hindus have lots of gods and goddesses that together symbolize and abstract being or Brahma. The most important hindu deities include Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva sometimes called “the triad”. Ghandi was the most important follower and preacher.

# data[].attributes.body
a sequence of rulers from the same family, stock, or group

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
PAK 1 River Valley Civilzations - Pre ap World History 4th Period with Mr. Le at Kerr High School - StudyBlue

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Study online flashcards and notes for PAK 1 River Valley Civilzations including Dynasty: A family line of rulers.; Hieroglyphics: Writing developed by the ancient Egyptians using the form of pictures to depict the meaning.; Calligraphy: An

# data[].attributes.body
a sovereign state consisting of an autonomous city with its dependencies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How the ancient city-state of Ur may have looked like around 2000 BC [1600x612] * r/MapPorn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
1844 points and 197 comments so far on reddit

# data[].attributes.body
a crescent-shaped region containing the comparatively moist and fertile land of otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia, the Nile Valley and Nile Delta.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Before they settled down in various parts of the world, humans lived as nomads for tens of thousands of years. Nomads are people who have no permanent home and travel in search of food and safety.

A typical nomadic group might include an extended family of about ten adults and their children. They would temporarily camp in an area for a few weeks or months - the men hunting animals and the women gathering fruit, grains, seeds, and nuts. When the nomads exhausted the resources in that area they moved on.

Civilization developed slowly in different parts of the world. People began to settle in areas with abundant natural resources. For thousands of years, people have been attracted to a part of the world archaeologists later called the Fertile Crescent.

The Fertile Crescent is a boomerang-shaped region that extends from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It is a rich food-growing area in a part of the world where most of the land is too dry for farming.

Some of the best farmland of the Fertile Crescent is on a narrow strip of land between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. The two rivers travel in the same direction for thousands of miles before they combine to drain into the Persian Gulf. The Greeks called this area Mesopotamia, which means "between the rivers." Very little rain falls in Mesopotamia, but water and nutrients from the river soak into the land, creating an environment filled with plants and the animals that feed on the vegetation.

Many different civilizations flourished in this small region. The Sumerians slowly developed one of the first civilizations in the southeastern region of Mesopotamia as long as 7,500 years ago. The Sumerian civilization lasted more than three thousand years, but in time the Sumerians lost their influence. The Babylonians formed a centralized government under King Hammurabi from about 1770BCE to about 1595BCE. Various other cultures dominated part or all of the Fertile Crescent including Amorites, the Kassites, (c. 1531-1155BCE) the Hittites (c. 1370 - 1205BCE) and the Assyrians (c.890-600BCE). Mesopotamia was later controlled by the Persians of modern day Iran, the Greeks under Alexander the Great, the Romans, and the Ottoman Turks. The land between the Tigris and Euphrates has been part of the modern nation of Iraq since 1932.

Resources

Download this lesson as Microsoft Word file or as an Adobe Acrobat file.
Listen as Mr. Dowling reads this lesson.
View the Powerpoint Presentation of this lesson.

Download a lesson plan that includes the Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (2011) as a Microsoft Word file or as an Adobe Acrobat file.

Mr. Donn has an excellent website that includes a section on Mesopotamia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mesopotamia -Tigris and Euphrates - the Fertile Crescent - mrdowling.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Before they settled down in various parts of the world, humans lived as nomads for tens of thousands of years. Nomads are people who have no permanent home and travel in search of food and safety. A typical nomadic group might include an extended family of about ten adults and their children.