Global Exam #2: Egypt and Early Mesopotamia

Cataract

Waterfall

Delta

triangular area of marshland formed by deposits or silt at the mouths of some rivers

Dynasty

ruling family

Pharaoh

The title given to the rulers of Ancient Egypt

Vizer

The pharaohs chief advisor who supervised the tax collection, economy and other parts of government

Silt

fertile topsoil deposited by rivers

Resivoir

a reserve of water

Barge

big boat

Mummification

The preservation of dead bodies for the afterlife

Hieroglyphs

The ancient egyptian writing system a form of pictogramms.

Ideograms

pictures and symbols that represent ideas

Demotic

the simpler writing system developed by the ancient egyptians for everyday usage

Papyrus

The paper like material used for writing made out of plants

Decipher

to decode; to understand

Textile

Woven or knit cloth

Hymn

praises sing to gods or God

Proverb

a saying or phrase dispensing advice or knowledge

Scroll

a long strip of papyrus

Embalm

To preserve a dead body traditionally w/ spices

Merchant

A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries.

Estate

An estate is everything comprising the net worth of an individual, including all land and real estate, possessions, financial securities, cash, and other assets that the individual owns or has a controlling interest in.

Hierarchy

The way people are organized in a society

Ziggurat

The religious temple for the Sumerians. Very tall and pyramid-Esq and at the very top had the patron deity of the city-state

Cuneiform

The writing system of the Babylonians

Old kingdom

Focused on a strong, centralized, government/ state, also focused on building the pyramids but it was very costly (2469 - 2126 BCE)

IWW did the Nile river impact the lives of the ancient Egyptian?

The Nile provided a link between upper and lower Egypt, as well as trading route. It also provided regular flooding, depositing a layer of rich silt onto the soil. To control the flooding people built irrigation systems.

What was the government in the old kingdom?

Pharaohs organized a strong central state, the pharaoh had absolute power [because they were viewed as gods] and they solely owned the lands in the kingdoms. They had viziers who were chief advisors; overseeing the business of government. Under the vizier was an array of departments, all with thousands of scribes to carry out the orders of the viziers.

IWW were the pyramids important?

They were tombs for the pharaohs, and required millions of limestone blocks often weighing two tons or more. Workers carried the blocks up by hand and the project often took so long the pharaoh started to build it as soon as he ascended to the throne. They suggest strength and strong leadership because they were incredibly complex builds that required strong organization and resource allocation to complete.

Why was king Menes important?

He was important because he united upper and lower Egypt using the Nile in 3100 BCE making Egypt the first united state, and the nile became an important trading route.

What were the problems of the Old kingdom? What caused the demise of the Old kingdom?

Power struggles, Crop Failure , and the cost of the pyramids which all eventually caused the collapse.

Middle Kingdom

A rough patch for Egypts there was a lot of power struggles, debt, crop failures. They focused on strengthening the army as well as advancements within their culture and scientific areas (1975-1631 BCE)

IWW did the hyksos and Egyptians impact each other?

The Hyksos awed the Egyptians with their war machines [ horse drawn chariots]. The Egyptians awed the Hyksos with their civilization overall and the Hyksos adopted Egyptian ways of life.

What caused the demise of the middle kingdom

The nice didn't raise as regularly as it used to, and corruption and rebellions were common. Eventually foreign invaders called Hyksos came and conquered Egypt

New kingdom

After 100 years of Hyksos occupation Egyptian rulers up again. The focus was on expanding boarders and on the economy. (1539-1076 BCE)

Who was Hatshepsut and why was she important?

Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh who came into power because her husband died and her son was too young to rule. From 1503 to 1482 BCE she encouraged trade with eastern mediterranean lands and along the red sea coast of Africa

Who was Ramses the second & why was he important?

He was Egypts most powerful ruler and he pushed Egypt's role northward as far as Syria. He also had a lot of temples and monuments in his honor. He also forged the first recorded peace treaty with the hitties.

What caused the demise of the New kingdom?

After Ramses the second died, there wasn't another strong ruler who was able to keep all of the conquered lands so eventually other forgein invaders conquered the lands.

What was the relationship between the Egyptians and Nubians?

The Egyptians and Nubians had a turbulent relationship. Sometimes they fought They were constantly in conflict, but the Egypt conquered Nubia and once Egypt "fell" Nubia conquered them back, but didn’t view themselves as conquered but as restorers of Egyptian glory

IWW did the Nubians and Egyptians affect each other?

The Egyptians got cattle, ivory, and slaves from the Nubian's, as well as an exchange of culture from each other.

Why is the story of Osiris important?

Because everyday humans could identify with the story, it was one of very human emotions, with themes of jealousy betrayal love and revenge.

What were the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians?

They were polytheistic, meaning they had a pantheon of gods that had control different aspects of the world. They also believed in an afterlife, a good and a bad place.

IWW were the Gods and goddesses important?

Because they provided the guidelines as to how to act, how they could get into the good place, so they provided a moral code.

IWW was Isis important?

She was important because she was the patron goddess of women. The ancient Egyptians believed she was the one who, first taught women and humans how to farm.

IWW was Amon-Re important?

He was the Chief god in the pantheon, and he was the sun god. The pharaoh was often linked with Amon-re; with only he being able to to conduct ceremonies for Amon-Re

Who was the religious "Rebel" & why was he important?

The religious rebel was called Akhenaton meaning "follower of Aton". He got rid of the polytheistic pantheon and raised a previously minor god called Aton to the highest power. He started forcing this on priests and the common people, outlawing the the practice of the old ways. He was largely unsuccessful however, and after he died everyone went back to the old ways. (~1380 BCE)

What were the Egyptian's beliefs in the afterlife?

The Egyptians believed in a good & bad place and that after crossing a lake of fire your heart would be judged against the feather of truth. If your heart was lighter, than you were innocent if it was heavier, you were guilty your heart would be eaten by an alligator and you would go to the bad place. There was a book called the book of the dead which contained all sorts of information on the afterlife one of the things it contained was negative confession ' which you could say to help plead your case

What was the process of mummification & why was it important?

Mummification is the process of preserving dead bodies with spices, and the ancient Egyptians preserved dead bodies for the afterlife they believed that the afterlife was like another life, and thus you had to have a body.

Why is the tomb of king tut important?

His tomb was one of the only completely untouched tombs because he was very young when he died and thus he was a relatively small king. Because he was a small king, grave robbers who were looking for riches didn't raid his tomb leaving a wealth of knowledge about ancient Egyptian burial customs and afterlife beliefs.

What was the social hierarchy of early Egyptian society?

The social hierarchy was fairl y strict in the very begging, with the pharaoh and the ruling family occupying the highest tier, then high priests / priests overall then a small middle class consisting of artisans, merchants etc. On the next tier was where most of the ancient Egyptians resided, in the lower class. Finally the lowest class was the slaves which were P.O.W or people who sold themselves to pay off debts. They were mostly women & children because male P.O.W were killed.

What was farming life like for men and women?

Both men & women spent the day in the fields working the soil and working on irrigation projects. In the offseason men to do work for the pharaoh like labor-intensive jobs. On top of working in the fields all day,

IWW did foreign conquest create social change?

Foreign conquests provided riches for Egypt which is turn expanded the middle class made up of merchants, artisans, etc. this also increased class mobility and loosed up the hierarchy.

IWW did women have a "higher status and greater independence then women elsewhere in the ancient world”?

While women were still relatively oppressed, they were allowed to get a divorce, inherit property, buy and sell goods, enter business deals, and go to court. They were also allowed to choose their jobs (to a certain extent, like depending on what class you were born in) and were allowed to learn how to read and write but were not allowed to take government positions.

How did writing play an important role in Egyptian society?

They first developed hieroglyphics which were an early form of writing consisting of pictures representing the word AND the phonetic breakdown of the word. Then they added ideograms and eventually developed a system called demotic for simpler everyday usage.

Why is the Rosetta Stone important?

Because it had a passage written in hieroglyphics, demotic, and greek which helped decipher all demotic and hieroglyphics because people had forgotten how to read them after the decline of the egyptian empire

Who decoded the rosette Stone?

Jean Champollion

IWW were there advancements in medicine and Science in ancient Egypt?

Because the egyptians placed such an importance on preserving human bodies they became very aware of how the body works and thus were able to diagnose and cure illnesses. They used simple math and geometry to plan the flooding of the nile to help grow their crops and they created a calendar very similar to the one we use today based on the placement and movement of the heavenly bodies

IWW was geography important in ancient Sumer?

Ancient Sumer lies between two river the Tigris and The Euphrates, and unlike the Nile, their flooding was unpredictable and very destructive so the ancient Sumerians had to figure out new ways to keep their villages intact. They also lacked traditional building materials such as wood and stone so they instead shaped clay in bricks which they dried in the sun.

IWW was government and society structured in Sumer?

Each city-state had it's individual rulers who were responsible for maintain city walls, leading the army into battle, enforcing laws, and planned irrigation projects. They were seen as the chief servant of the gods and often had to perform rituals only they could for their gods. As the government grew more complex, they employed scribes to carry out minor things like tax collection. the social hierarchy was very similar to that of the ancient Egyptians with the minor difference that ancient Sumer had a bugger middle class of artisans and merchants and that all artisans who practiced the same craft lived and worked on the same street

What were the Sumerian's religious beliefs?

The Sumerians were also polytheistic with each city state having a patron deity. However their gods and goddesses acted very human, (they drank, they slept, etc.) They also believed it was the highest honor to keep their patron god happy and thus their city safe. Each city state built ziggurats and celebrated holy days with parades ceremonies and sacrifices. People also often left sacrifices and offerings to win their favor. The king also performed specific rituals only he could do to appease the gods.

How was the Sumerians religious beliefs differ from the Egyptian's? Why?

The Egyptians believed the afterlife was like a second life and you could go to a good place so in this life you should be good so you can get into that good place. However the Sumerians believed the after life was a cold dark place to be feared that could not ever be escaped. This difference in attitude could be attributed to geographic location because the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers flooded a lot more destructively and unpredictably which may have led to a more pessimistic worldview.

IWW were there advancements in learning in Sumerian society?

(~3200 BCE) They invented what might be the earliest form of writing cuneiform, grew out of a necessity to have a recording system for the priests and the intake of their temples. Eventually it grew to be used for hymns, worship, laws, treaties, and business contracts. They developed basic algebra and geometry with a base -6 number system. They were the ones who divided the hour into 60 minute increments and the circle into 360 degrees. They also created a fairly creative calendar.