🛑You made it to a reading. This is where our week starts. You should carefully and critically read the content once through to get a bird's eye view of what you will cover each week. After going through the lessons, you can return to the reading to reinforce the ideas you learned and prepare for the weekly quiz.

WEEK ONE - THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION

First Causes

The beginning of human history is believed to have started with the creation of humans by God, followed by the rebellion of man. Significant events like the Great Flood and the Tower of Babel are also considered crucial in understanding the early days of humanity.

HIS Story is God's Story

World history revolves around two main aspects: God's interactions with humanity and human-to-human interactions. Conflict often defines history, and it's through these conflicts that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save humanity. The life, death, and resurrection of Christ are the most important events in world history, marking the division between B.C. (Before Christ's birth) and A.D. (Anno Domini, meaning "In the year of our Lord").

Prehistory and the Bronze Age

Early human history, or prehistory, focused on the development of tools for survival. The Paleolithic ("Old Stone Age") saw nomadic communities and hunter-gatherer societies, while the Neolithic ("New Stone Age") introduced improved tools, domestication of animals, and agriculture. The Bronze Age then marked a shift from stone to metal tools and coincided with the birth of cities around 3000 - 2000 B.C.

River Valleys: Cradles of Civilization

BIRTH OF CULTURES

Infrastructure and Religious Beliefs

The invention of the wheel, the construction of canals, and the development of religious structures called ziggurats all contributed to the formation of thriving cities. Early societies were polytheistic, with deities based on humans and nature.

Writing System and Numerical System

Mesopotamian Cuneiform was the first writing system, with wedge marks made on soft clay to form symbols representing people, objects, and concepts. The Mesopotamian Sexagesimal numerical system used 60 as its base number, influencing our modern system of timekeeping.

CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION

Sumerian City States

Sumer, in southern Mesopotamia, was a collection of independent kingdoms with wars frequently erupting between city-states. Political power changed hands multiple times throughout history.

Akkadian Empire and Old Babylonian Empire

Sargon of Akkad founded the first major empire in world history around 2300 B.C. After his death, the empire weakened, and the Sumerian city-state Ur gained power. Later, the Amorite people founded the first Babylonian empire and ruled Mesopotamia from 1900 - 1600 B.C.

Hammurabi's Code and Foreign Invasions

King Hammurabi of Babylon created a famous legal code that established a clear hierarchy and addressed various aspects of life. Foreign invasions by the Hittites, Kassites, and the kingdom of Mitanni eventually led to the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire.