ANCIENT HISTORY OVERVIEW (1/2) - Mesopotamia & Ancient Egypt

Year 3000 BC. Up until this moment, every single human being born on earth had lived in prehistory, but then two different peoples invented some funky funky symbols with which to represent the languages. Writing. In Sumer they created cuneiform writing, whereas in Egypt they went more for hieroglyphic script. Thanks to this, we humans were able to start keeping track of events, customs, wars and rulers. And this was also the beginning of recorded history, specifically ancient history, which is the topic of today's video. It is thought that the first great civilization was Sumer, comprised by a group of city-states strewn around the southern part of Mesopotamia, between the fertile rivers Tigris and Euphrates. As we all learned in kindergarten, the most famous of these city-states were Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Isin, Nipur, Kish and Babylon. These early cities were mainly focused on agriculture, but they also found time for metallurgy, working with copper and bronze, as well as brewing the first beers, trading with other settlements and, of course, war. There's always war. The first war recorded in history seems to have been a relatively small conflict between the cities of Lagash and Uma in the year 2525 BC. Nevertheless, these cities managed to prosper. Well, at least up until the year 2250 BC, when Sargon of Akkad arrived. First he gained control of the city of Kish, and later with a small army he conquered all of Sumer, creating the Akkadian Empire. Meanwhile, over in Egypt, there were busy building cities all along the River Nile. It is thought that the first large urban center was Hierakonpolis, and that one of its kings, Menes or Narmer, depending on who you believe, managed to unify lower and higher Egypt and found the first dynasty of pharaohs, which would be the first of many more to come. Eventually, this kingdom became so vast that it had to be divided into provinces called nomes and ruled by nomarchs. At that time, the capital was the city of Memphis, located between the northern and southern regions. Back then, when pharaohs croaked, they were mummified and buried in a small rectangular tomb called a mastaba. But then a pharaoh from the third dynasty, Xhoser, decided to superpose several of those mastabas and this became the first Egyptian pyramid, the Step Pyramid of Saqqara. King Seneferu, or Snofru, made several attempts to erect more of these cool constructions, but to be honest, the first two, the Pyramid of Meidum and the Bent Pyramid, were a bit crappy. Eventually, he managed to get it right with the Red Pyramid, but then this was left looking rather wimpy when his son Cheops got to the throne, because around the year 2550 BC, he built the Great Pyramid of Giza, over 150 meters tall and comprised by more than 2 million blocks of rock. That's a lot of rock. Next, Pharaoh Khafre built a second but smaller pyramid, as well as the Sphinx of Giza, and finally Menkor built a third and even smaller pyramid. It looks like they were starting to run out of rock! Later, after the long rule of Pharaoh Pepi II, there were problems with succession, compounded by bad harvest years, and these caused some nomarchs to take more power in their provinces, until eventually some of them just ignored the pharaoh's complaint. This period of fragmentation was the first intermediate Egyptian period. The year 2154 BC witnessed the fall of the Akkadian Empire due to pressures from foreign peoples, like the Gutians, savage nomads from the Sagros mountains who kept ambushing and stealing from the Akkadians. These Gutians dominated quite a lot of territory, but a few cities in the south of Sumer managed to resist them. Some notable kings here were Gudea of Lagash and also Utuhengal of Uruk. One of his generals, called Ur-Nammu, wrested control of Ur from the Gutians and then decided to make himself king in the year 2112 BC, founding the third dynasty of Ur, which was also the time of Sumer's greatest splendor. The famous ziggurats, which were Sumerian temples, were created during this period, as well as written laws like the cult of Ur-Nammu, but unfortunately the arrival of new nomad tribes put an end to this nice period of calm. For example, the tribe of the Amorites began to take over some cities like Ur once again in the year 2004 BC, and then at this point everything descended into a big freaking mess, in which the cities of Isin and Larsa spent decades fighting back and forth over this territory. Meanwhile, over in Egypt, Pharaoh Montuhotep II finally reunified the fragmented land, and with that began the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Prosperity returned, although it didn't last very long. The pharaohs of this age managed to take control of the huge gold mines of Nubia, a Sudanese kingdom to the south. During the rule of King Amenemhat III, the city of Crocodilopolis, in addition to having the coolest name in history, also became the empire's breadbasket and developed many new agricultural techniques. While the cities of Isin and Larsa were still busy fighting, the Amorites had managed to take a small town called Babylon, and in the year 1793 BC, its king Hammurabi conquered all of Mesopotamia, creating the Paleobabylonian Empire. You've probably heard about this guy before. He is famous for the Code of Hammurabi, which unified all the existing laws in the different cities of the region. A few years later, towards 1600 BC, Babylon was not going through its happiest times. Hittites, Mitanians and Assyrians had established their own kingdoms in the area, and Babylon had become a juicy target. Throughout the next millennium, several dynasties rose and fell, but there is precious little information about them, because most of those records were either lost or destroyed. And while the Babylonians were plunged into chaos, the Assyrians, with their capital in Asur, kept growing increasingly powerful. Very soon, they would become great conquerors. More on that later. Around the year 1750 BC, Egypt fell apart once again and underwent a second intermediate period. During this time of chaos, the Hyksos, a new group of invaders, arrived, possibly from Canaan, and eventually conquered all of Egypt, establishing the 15th dynasty, which had its capital in the city of Avaris. After a century of domination, the Egyptians, led by Ahmose I, managed to rise up, kick them out and establish the new kingdom of Egypt. It was the year 1550 BC, and the beginning of a period of great prosperity. Pharaoh Thutmose I conquered all the territory of the Levant and part of Nubia, and set his capital at the city of Thebes, in modern-day Luxor. It is also traditionally believed that he was the first to be buried at the Valley of Kings. You see, pyramids were no longer in fashion. Now, all the rage were underground chambers called hypogeums. This was also the age when the Egyptians built large temples dedicated to their gods, Horus, Set, Osiris, Isis, and Amun-Ra, like the temple of Karnak, right in front of Thebes. This period had several pharaohs worth mentioning. Female pharaoh Hatshepsut built her funerary temple in Deir el-Bahari. It was designed by her architect, Senen Mut, who would later become the queen's right-hand man. Pharaoh Ahmenhotep III was loaded, and during his rule he completed the enormous temple of Luxor. But then his son Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti caused a big kerfuffle when they imposed the cult of the god Aton, and prohibited most of the other gods. Fortunately, that didn't last very long, because as soon as he died everybody stopped playing along and life returned to normality. It is believed that his son was Tutankhamun, famous for being one of the very few Egyptian pharaohs At that time, the Hittites, from the kingdom of Hatti, became a big deal thanks to their use of iron, and also the invention of war chariots pulled by horses, which was a revolutionary concept. Their most famous monarch was Suppiluliuma I, who won great victories against his neighbours, and subjugated the kingdom of Mitanni. His grandson, Muwatali II, fought against Egypt in the battle of Kadesh, which ended in a tie. In Assyria, King Salmanassar I reduced that same Mitanni to ashes, and his son, Tukulti-Ninurta I, managed to subjugate the Pesci tribes from the Zagros mountains, and make Babylon his vassal. But that situation didn't last very long. In the year 1279 BC, during the 19th dynasty, Egypt produced Ramses II, who became its most famous pharaoh. The new capital was established at Pyrameses, and those were golden times for culture, art and science. His coolest construction project was Abu Simbel, a group of temples built on the border with Nubia. But those good times didn't last very long either, because in the year 1200 BC, the Sea Peoples arrived. The origin of these pirates remains a mystery. It is thought that they may have been Mycenaeans who were fleeing the Dorians, or maybe riffraff from Western Europe, or even some random North African tribes. Nobody really knows for certain. The only sure thing is that when their boats arrived in Egypt and Mesopotamia, they destroyed several cities. For example, the Hittites disappeared under their swords. Also, by screwing up all the trading routes, they precipitated the late Bronze Age collapse, when this absolutely essential metal became very scarce. Although iron was already being used by some people, at this time it became extremely popular. Knowledge of iron smelting was first held by the Hittites, but the Assyrians caught up pretty fast, and thanks to that, the kingdom of Assyria became top dog. They had several important kings, including Ashurnasipal II, who built massive temples like the one at Calak, in present-day Nimrud. Another famous monarch was Tiglat-Pileser III, conqueror of the kingdoms of Israel and Babylon. And then there was Sennacherib, renowned for building the city of Nineveh, and also for destroying Babylon in the year 689 BC. This was revenge for the murder of the governor, who happened to be his son. In the area of the Levant, called Canaan, and whose inhabitants were known as Canaanites, there was a Semitic group known as the Israelites, who according to their own accounts descended from a dude named Abraham. His grandson Jacob, or Israel, had 12 children, who originated the 12 tribes of Israel. But they were enslaved by the Egyptians, until Moses freed them and led them to their promised land. According to the Bible, around the year 1030 BC, Saul became the first monarch of the kingdom of Israel. His successor was David, who expanded the territory and established the capital in Jerusalem. In the north of the region of Canaan, there appeared the Phoenicians, who were highly skilled sailors and took over most of the trading in the Mediterranean. They founded several coastal city-states like Sidon, Tyre and Byblos, named thusly by the Greeks, because that was where they bought the papyruses for their books. But what they were most famous for was their fantastic purple dye, which they obtained from sea snails. Towards the year 950 BC, the king of Tyre, Hiram I, became filthy rich by selling tons of wood to king Solomon of Israel, who was building the temple of Jerusalem dedicated to Yahweh. Soon afterwards, his boats would establish a new colony in North Africa, in modern-day Tunisia, the city of Carthage. But without a doubt, the greatest achievement of these Phoenicians was the creation of the Phoenician alphabet, which became the basis for the majority of modern alphabets, including the Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic and Cyrillic. After Solomon's death, internal fighting divided the kingdom of Israel into two, with the kingdom of Judah to the south, seeking to maintain its Jewish traditions against the northern paganism. Around the year 712 BC, the Assyrian king Sargon II conquered the northern kingdom and deported all of its population. Judah managed to survive that round, but don't think that it lasted much longer. Meanwhile, Egypt had entered its third intermediate period in the year 1070 BC. This time, it crumbled like a cookie when Libyan priests and generals rebelled against the pharaoh's authority. After decades of infighting, they were extremely weakened and powerless to resist when the Nubian rulers of Cush came along and decided to take over the pharaoh's throne. This was the 25th dynasty, also known as the Cushite or Black Pharaoh dynasty, which lasted for 80 years, until the Assyrian army, led by their king Asurbanipal, arrived and kicked them out. This Assyrian monarch is famous for his interest in literature, which led him to create the world's first great library in Nineveh. In the year 616 BC, the city of Babylon regained its independence from a decadent Assyria, thanks to the Chaldean king Nabopolassar. He had allied with some eastern tribes known as the Medes, commanded by Seaxales of Media, and together they managed to destroy Assyria in 609 BC. Nabopolassar was the first ruler of the Neo-Babylonian empire. Its most famous king was Nabuchadnezzar II, who started building like a crazy doozer until Babylon looked amazing. He erected the Gate of Ishtar, the mythical entrance to the city, the Etemenanki, or great ziggurat honouring their god Marduk, and it is also said that he created the hanging gardens of Babylon. But this is the only marvel of the ancient world of which there is no trace left, so some people have questioned its existence. Nabuchadnezzar II also conquered Jerusalem in the year 587 BC, leading to the famous Babylonian captivity, when thousands of Jews were deported to this Chaldean city. It is thought that, in order not to lose their traditions, some of these Jewish exiles began to write down all their beliefs, and that this was the origin of the Old Testament. Half a century later, they would be freed by the Persian ruler Cyrus II, who had headed a rebellion against the Medians, and then gone on to conquer all of Mesopotamia. Cyrus, or Qurash, established his capital at Pasagarde, divided the territory into satrapies, set reasonable taxes, increased safety in cities and roads, and brought about a relative peace. So many people thought that this guy was great. Unfortunately, with his son Cambyses II, the apple fell very far from the tree, for he wanted blood, he wanted conquest and glory, and he had set his sights on Egypt. The pharaoh at that time, Santik III, was completely powerless to resist against these Persians who kept throwing cats at him during the Battle of Pelusium, in the year 525 BC, and so Egypt ended up becoming another satrapy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Well, the cat throwing bit is mostly a myth, but it's quite a funny one, because cats were a sacred animal for the Egyptians. Although Egypt had some periods of independence, things remained more or less the same until the year 332 BC, when a strapping young Macedonian arrived, defeated the powerful Achaemenid Persian Empire, and freed Egypt from its rule. His name was Alexander the Great. And the rest is history. If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to subscribe to the channel, and leave us a big like. Take care, and I'll see you in the next video!