More Important Notes of Ancient Mesopotamia

Today we continued with Mr. Schick's presentation about early Mesopotamia and the Ancient Greeks. Here are some of the notes I had took in class.

The European Barbarians 

• Farming and Village Life had spread throughout the continent by 4000 B.C
• gigantic religious structures were made by 3500 B.C

• Barbarians moved around a lot and Greek and Latin were their ancestor languages.
• powerful warriors
• Excelled in trade, metalworking, war, and farming. (organized people)
• no cities, written records, or fixed government.

• 2000 BC - 1000 AD was when they encountered civilization. (first was Greeks)

Aegean Encounter

• Minoan Civilization arose on the island of Crete c2200 BC
• grew wealth from trade with other civilizations (Egypt)
• The Mycenaean Civilization was the arrival of the Greeks. 
• Both were very similar to each other, and have been in constant conquests for control of the commerce of the Eastern Mediterranean when they encountered each other.
• Fighting lasted until c. 1400 BC when the Minoans were destroyed by the Mycenaean. 

• Conquest of the "Sea People" ended the Mycenaean c. 1200 BC
•  c. 1150 BC Mycenae was sacked, writing was not used, settlements were deserted, and population dropped. 
• This was known as the Dark Ages, and lasted from 1150 BC to 750 BC (400 years)
  
• c. 800 BC the Aegean region recovered
• 800-600 BC was when population rose due to settlements being founded. 
• The Greeks soon joined the Phoenicians as the leading trading, commercial, and seafaring nation.

-had a common religion

- new developments such as: iron tools and weapons, coined money, borrowing of Phoenician war tactics, and the Greek alphabet

(more to come)