notes on israel/ OT
...il known as the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent was flat and held an abundance of water therefore it became the birthplace of human civilization. The three geographical sub-regions included: - Mesopotamia - “Between the rivers” - Greatly varied terrain, weather unpredictable (flood, drought), no natural defenses. - Sumerians invented cuneiform (wedge-shaped writing) - Babylonians (south), Assyrians (north) - Slow development from Stone Age to the beginnings of human history - Syria-Palestine - Characterized by segmentation - Not a site of advanced civilization and national empires. - Primary geopolitical importance was in its role as a land bridge. - The coast (Levant) = crossroads for all trade and travel - The rift - Egypt - rapid development from Neolithic Age into urban culture - developed hieroglyphs (sacred carvings) - The Nile river = dominant geographical feature (no rainfall) - The separation of Egypt into Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt resulted in marked di...