Judaism: ancient religion that developed in 2000 BC in Mesopotamia

• Hebrew Bible: written over a thousand years, in the 11th and 12th centuries BC

  • At the time, Ancient Hebrews were cattle herders in desert and polytheistic

• Abraham: cattle herder in Ur and a Hebrew patriarch

  • God told Abraham only one true god exists

  • God lead his family and people to Canaan

    • Canaan is modern day Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan

    • Hebrew population grew and organized into 12 tribes

    • People were called the Israelites

• Moses and the Exodus:

  • Exodus was around 1200 BC

  • Egyptian pharoah felt they would get powerful and enslave them

  • God asked Moses to lead them back to Canaan

• The Ten Commandments:

  • Moses and Israelites wandered for 40 years. Stopped in Mount Sinai (Egypt)

  • On the mountain, God revealed the Torah and the Ten Commandments

  • Includes laws that state how Israelites should behave.

• The Ten Commandments are:

  • You shall have no other gods before me

  • You shall not make idols

  • You shall not take the name of the lord in vain

  • Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy

  • Honor your father and your mother

  • You shall not murder

  • You shall not commit adultery

  • You shall not steal

  • You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor

  • You shall not covet

• Early Kingdoms of Israel:

  • King Solomon: ruled from 970 - 925 BC. Built the First Temple.

    • Solomon died in 925 BC and the Kingdom split.

  • 772 BC: Assyria conquered Israel. Forced to settle outside the Kingdom

  • 590 BC: Babylonians captured Judea, destroyed temples, and enslaved Jews.

    • Moved Jews to Babylonia, and the Babylonians held them captive.

  • 530 BC: Persian Empire defeated Babylonians.

    • Allowed Jews to return, but not all did. Started the Jewish diaspora.

  • 63 BC: Roman Empire conquered Jewish lands.

    • Forced them to stop practicing and to worship Roman gods instead.

• Beliefs and practices:

  • Monotheism, obedience to religious laws, and mitzvahs

• Important texts:

  • Hebrew Bible, Torah, and the Talmud

Christianity: ancient religion developed in 33 AD in Judea

• Origins: Roman rule of the Jews was tough as Jews awaited the Messiah

• Jesus of Nazarath: Those who believed he was the messiah are Christians.

  • His life and teachings are written in the Bible

    • Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and the New Testament

  • Gained 12 close followers (disciples/apostles)

• Christ’s Teachings: compassion, sins can be forgiven, monotheism

• Crucification: 30 AD he was crucified by the Romans

• Spread of Christianity:

  • Paul spread the message through the Roman Empire.

  • Romans are pagans, so they saw Christianity as a threat and executed Paul.

  • Romans banned the religion and persecuted Christians.

  • In 300 AD, they became more tolerant. 313 AD the emperor Constantine converted and ended the persecution.

  • In 392 AD, Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire

• Beliefs:

  • Doctrine of the Trinity

  • Acceptance leads to eternal salvation in heaven

Islam:

• Expansion of Islam:

  • 632 AD: Muhammad dies. The first caliph, Abu Bakr, leads and unites Arabia.

  • 634 AD: Under Umar, the Muslims conquer Mesopotamia and extend to North Africa

  • The Umayyad followed. Expanded Muslim territory to make an empire

  • 749 AD: Abassid caliphate took control and moved the capital city to Baghdad

    • Golden Age: advancements in math, science, medicine, and architecture

  • When Northern Africa was conquered, they became trade partners.

    • Trade spread across more regions. Silk Road helped share beliefs

• 5 Pillars:

  • Shahadah: declaration of faith

  • Salat: five daily pillars

  • Zakat: charity

  • Ramadan: fasting during the holy month of Ramadan

  • Hajj: Sacred pilgrimage to Mecca

• Important texts:

  • Quran (word of God) and Hadith (actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad)