The Oldest Empires

Do you know how long it took us to get to modern civilization? Before we get ourselves in this so-called process of modernization, our ancestors went through many other phases. Let’s read about some of the civilization or empires before the modern days.

Mesopotamia/ Sumeria

Mesopotamia was a region around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which is now part of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. These areas were controlled by many different peoples, started with the Sumerians in around 3500 BC. The Sumerians were said to have invented the wheel and cuneiform script, which many people believes that it is the earliest form of writing. They finally become absorbed into other races around 2000 BC.

Ancient Egypt

Egypt is an area which was ruled as a single state from about 3200 BC. There were 30 dynasties, led by pharaohs who were kings as well as gods. The pyramids were built during the fourth dynasty as tombs for the pharaohs at that time. The Egyptians are also famous for their hieroglyphic writing and sea-going ships. Like many powerful empires, ancient Egypt was damaged by invasions, and finally it was taken over by Alexander the Great in 332 BC.

Alexander the Great’s empire

Alexander III of Macedonia lived only 33 years, from the period of 356 to 323 BC. In that short time, he built an empire covering Persia, Egypt, Greece, and Babylon. It was not so easy to keep this huge empire together, and it collapsed soon after his death.

Mayan empire

The Mayan empire was made up of cities or the states that stretched across southern Mexico and northern Central America. There have been Mayan people since 2000 BC but their greatest period was AD 300 to 900 when architectural wonders such as Palenque and Uxmal were built. The Mayan empire declined gradually after 900, and the Spanish invaded the area in the 15^th century.