Social Structure:
Religious Beliefs:
- In all societies the ruler was the most important person followed by his family and other nobles
- The basic structure for all empires was King/Ruler > Priests > Wealthy people > farmers/workers > women
- Towns in Ancient Egypt were made of mud brick, much less permanent than stone. Modern Egyptians live exactly on the same place of their ancestors, on towns located on the banks of the Nile.
- Grain was used as a form of currency in Ancient Egypt and, judging by the size of the silos, the town must have been quite prosperous.
Religious Beliefs:
- In ancient times, Egyptians followed the Egyptian pagan religion, which was a quite complex, syncretistic religion with many gods. This gradually disappeared from the late fourth century onwards because of Roman imperial support for Christianity.
- Phoenician religion was inspired by the powers and processes of nature. Many of the gods they worshiped, however, were localized and are now known only under their local names. A pantheon was presided over by the father of the gods, but a goddess was the principal figure in the Phoenician pantheon.
- All these religions believed in many gods, which means they were polytheistic
Writing Systems:
- All societies had their own writing system
- Phoenicians used some pictographs but they couldn't express abstract ideas through this system. Babylonians also used this system.
- Babylonians used Cuneiform - writing on clay tablets
- Then the Phoenicians developed an alphabetical writing system
- Egyptians used hieroglyphs, a style of writing based on sounds and on objects or syllables. Egyptians developed an early form of paper, papyrus, which was a lot more effective than writing on stone.
Geography:
- All empires were located near a big water source. This was important for irrigation and transport. Also agriculture, but that is related to the irrigation.
- The Egyptians used the Nile River as the main source of water for agriculture.
- The Phoenicians were located near the Mediterranean Sea, which enabled them to explore and sail way further than other empires.
- The Babylonian empire was situated between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Agricultural Advances:
- Let's start with the Phoenicians. They didn't really rely on agriculture because of their super trading ability and sailing knowledge. They developed industry and building.
- The Babylonian environment between two big rivers was ideal for farming and agriculture so they developed a great agricultural system
- The Egyptians were the last to start with agriculture but they did a great job using the Nile River's floods to irrigate the crops.
Technical Advancements and Inventions:
- Babylonians invented the the famous law code of Hammurabi and they have built the Hanging Gardens, which is one of the 7 wonders of the world
- Egyptians are known for building pyramids, writing on papyrus, mummificating their deceased people, ancient surgeries
- The Phoenicians invented first alphabet, built great ships
Trade Routes:
- Phoenician trade routes were the biggest and most expanded; they took control over the whole Mediterrannean Sea.
- The Egyptians traded with the Nubians but also with some countries around the Mediterranena such as the Phoenicians
- Babylonians traded just within the empire
EVERY DAY I'M SHUFFLIN'
