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Module Overview
Trace the growth of political units from states to empires in this political history of the ancient Middle East from 4000 BCE to 650 CE.
Essay
Framing the Issues
- Were There Groups Outside the Control of States and Empires in the Ancient Middle East?
- How Did Kings Obtain the Right to Rule Over Their Subjects?
- Why Did States and Empires Develop?
Examining Stereotypes
Image Resource Bank
The great pyramids at Giza were built as funerary monuments by kings of the 4th Dynasty around 2575-2500 BCE, during Egypt’s Old Kingdom. Pyramids represented royal control of a vast quantity of labor and are enduring symbols of these early kings’ power... [IMAGE GALLERY]
Learning Resources
Geoff Emberling
Former Chief Curator, Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago
Classroom Connections
LESSON 1: Political and Geographic Dimensions of an Empire of the Ancient Middle East
LESSON 2: Art—as an Expression of Empire
