World History Homework One
1. From this course, I hope to gain a greater knowledge of history and how events thousands of years in the past are still relative today.
2. I think that Creation was probably earlier than 3700 B.C. If the Biblical genealogies are complete, the Flood should have happened around 1500 years after Creation. This, assuming that the Flood was in 2500, would mean about 4000 B.C.
3. Although there are many similarities between the Ten Commandments and the Babylonian Hammurabi’s Code, the Code is far more specific. In the English translation of the Code, there are 282 laws; the Commandments have only ten. The Code’s laws lay out numerous detailed rules, such as those for a slave who declared he was free, an architect who built a house which collapsed, and how much it cost to rent certain things. The Commandments lay out the main groundwork.
4. Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, China, Mexican Olmec, Peru. I personally enjoy studying Mesopotamia the most. They have a strong military history (they were not protected by geography) and have some very interesting buildings. In fact, the first novel, The Epic of Gilgamesh, was written there.
5. Current Events Question: The Arab-Israeli “war and rumors of war” can be traced back to a family feud nearly 4000 years before. A wandering nomad named Abraham (“father of many”) had two sons: the elder, Ishmael (“outcast”), was illegitimate and the younger, Isaac (“chosen by God”) was not. Isaac received the firstborn’s inheritance and Ishmael and his mother were banished. Ishmael’s descendents, the Arabs, feel that they have been unjustly treated and are constantly warring with Isaac’s descendents, the Israelites.
6. There were three main kingdoms of Ancient Egypt:
The Old Kingdom lasted from about 3000 to2200 B.C. Little is known about this period other than that it was free from most invaders, although the pyramids and other buildings were built during this time.
The Middle Kingdom lasted from about 2100-1650. The government became less theocratic and more of a meritocracy. This period is famous for its literature and artwork, as Egyptian culture expanded.
The New Kingdom was the third and final kingdom, lasting from 1550 to 700 after a time of domination by the Hyksos.
H2. Language, religion, and government are three of the most defining elements in any culture. The Phoenicians, who were the first to invent the 26 letter alphabet, (later adopted by the Greeks and Romans) had a huge commercial empire which stretched from Britain to South Africa and lasted more than 900 years. By contrast, the Egyptians had a weak religion, a theocratic government based on their religion, and a clumsy written language. The only reason it lasted for such a long time was that geography protected it well.
H3. The Egyptians would not have needed the aid of extraterrestrial beings to construct the pyramids. They were probably built thus:
Stones were cut in a quarry near the river Nile and transported to boats on large wooden sleds, pulled by laborers. The boats with stone aboard would then sail to the building site (also near the Nile) and unload them in the same way. Dirt ramps were constructed along the sides, and the blocks would be pulled up them on sleds. After construction was finished, the ramps would be dismantled.