Middle East Terms

Account of the Deeds of Ardashir (date and location)

Sasanian Period (225-650 CE) in Iran

Account of the Deeds of Ardashir (2 details)

1.Persian story about Ardashir who was the founder of the Sassanian Empire
2. It includes magical dreams and fire altars to show that he was chosen by God.

Account of the Deeds of Ardashir (significance)

It shows how ancient kings used religious stories as propaganda to prove they had the right to rule.

Alexander "the Great" (date and location)

356-323 BCE in Greece

Alexander "the Great" (2 details)

1. He was a Macedonian king who conquered the Persian Empire

2. He had pictures of himself with horns on coins and became a famous myth across the Middle East.

Alexander "the Great" (significance)

Played a large role in the Hellenistic period by blending Greek and Middle Eastern culture.

Amarna (date and location)

New Kingdom (1550-1100 BCE) in Egypt

Amarna (2 details)

1. It was a brand new capital city built by Pharaoh Akhenaten

2. Built around open-air temples dedicated to the sun god Aten.

Amarna (significance)

Its the site where Akhenaten made the shift to worshipping a single god.

Ashurnasirpal II’s Banquet Stele (date and location)

Neo-Assyrian Period (900-610 BCE) in Iraq

Ashurnasirpal II’s Banquet Stele (2 details)

1. Stone monument to celebrate the king’s new palace.

2. It talks about a 10-day party where 70,000 guests were given free food and drink.

Ashurnasirpal II’s Banquet Stele (significance)

Shows how Assyrian kings used big parties and lots of free food and drink to show power and get people’s loyalty.

Throneroom and Courtyard Reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II (date and location)

Neo-Assyrian Period (900-610 BCE) in Iraq

Throneroom and Courtyard Reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II (2 details)

1.There were large stone wall carvings inside the king’s palace.

2. They shown foreign groups bringing gifts/tribute and winged gods protecting the king.

Throneroom and Courtyard Reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II (significance)

They used art to send the message that gods protect the king so foreign nations must obey him.

Beveled-Rim Bowls (date and location)

Uruk Period (4000-3000 BCE) in Iraq

Beveled-Rim Bowls (2 details)

1. They were cheap and mass produced clay bowls.

2. They may have been used to distribute rations but we don’t know for sure.

Beveled-Rim Bowls (significance)

Shows that simplicity was an innovation for them because these bowls could be used in various ways.

Bulla and Tokens (date and location)

8500 BCE in Iraq

Bulla and Tokens (2 details)

1. They were small clay shapes, or tokens, used inside sealed clay balls.

2. People stamped the outside of the seals to record their transactions

Bulla and Tokens (significance)

Shows the unique methods of accounting in ancient times where transactions were much more difficult to keep track of.

Çatalhöyük (date and location)

Neolithic period (10000-3000 BCE) in Anatolia

Çatalhöyük (2 details)

1. It was a giant village where people used roofs and ladders to go from house to house

2. People buried their dead family members right under their bedrooms

Çatalhöyük (significance)

It shows that people had complex cities long before governments or kings existed.

Cyrus Cylinder (date and location)

Achaemenid Period (530-330 BCE) in Babylon

Cyrus Cylinder (2 details)

1. It was a cylinder written in cuneiform after the Persian King Cyrus conquered Babylon

2. It said that the god Marduk chose Cyrus.

Cyrus Cylinder (significance)

It shows how conquerors could make themself look good with these messages and justify themselves.

Dead Sea Scrolls (date and location)

3rd century BCE to 1st Century CE in Qumran

Dead Sea Scrolls (2 details)

1. They were scrolls that were found inside these desert caves containing the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament

2. They were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

Dead Sea Scrolls (significance)

Shows the diversity of ancient Judaism and that the Bible has been changed over time.

Hammurabi’s Stele (date and location)

Old Babylonian Period (2000-1600 BCE) in Babylon

Hammurabi’s Stele (2 details)

1. It was a pillar that shown King Hammurabi standing before the Shamash God.

2. It has very poetic if-then legal scenarios

Hammurabi’s Stele (significance)

It was not an actual law code that was put into use, so the idea that rulers such as Hammurabi were extremely cruel is not true.

"Investiture of Ardashir I" at Naqsh-e Rostam (date and location)

Sassanian Period (225-650 CE) in Iran

"Investiture of Ardashir I" at Naqsh-e Rostam (2 details)

1. It was a cliff carving that shown King Ardashir getting a ring from god.

2. The horses step on their dead enemies

"Investiture of Ardashir I" at Naqsh-e Rostam (significance)

It's an example of Sasanian propaganda that says that ruling the empire is a holy war of good over evil.

Isaiah 44–45 (date and location)

Achaemenid Period (530-330 BCE) in Babylon

Isaiah 44–45 (2 details)

1. It was a biblical written text written when Jewish exile in Babylon ended

2. It says that King Cyrus was the messiah sent by god to free the Jews

Isaiah 44–45 (significance)

Shows how Jewish writers adopted Persian propaganda and incorporated it into their monotheistic religion.

Jewish / Hebrew Bible (date and location)

Written from 800 BCE to 100 BCE and first copies from 250 BCE in Babylon

Jewish / Hebrew Bible (2 details)

1. A collection of sacred religious books written in Hebrew and Aramaic

2. The texts were written and edited over hundreds of years

Jewish / Hebrew Bible (significance)

Displays the massive difference between when texts are written and when our oldest surviving copy actually survives

Kerma Elite Tomb (date and location)

Classic Kerma Period in Kush

Kerma Elite Tomb (2 details)

1. Round graves with circular stone piles around the entry

2. people left offerings such as cattle skulls and food and drink outside the tombs.

Kerma Elite Tomb (significance)

They show the unique burial practices of the Kerma during Kushite power

Khufu’s Great Pyramid (date and location)

Old Kingdom Egypt (2600-2100 BCE) in Egypt

Khufu’s Great Pyramid (2 details)

1. Large tomb built for Pharaoh Khufu that used millions of stone blocks.

2. Built by workers who were well fed with bread, meat, and beer

Khufu’s Great Pyramid (significance)

Shows that slaves did not build pyramids, rather workers that were compensated to do it.

Kush / Nubia (date and location)

3800 BCE - 350 CE in Egypt

Kush / Nubia (2 details)

1. Powerful ancient African civilization along the Nile river.

2. Their kings once conquered all of Egypt

Kush / Nubia (significance)

Shows that black African kingdoms were very powerful during antiquity

Magic Bowls/Incantation Bowls (date and location)

Sasanian Period (225-650 CE) in Iraq

Magic Bowls/Incantation Bowls (2 details)

1. Clay bowls written with spiral spell texts.

2. They believed that these bowls could catch evil spirits

Magic Bowls/Incantation Bowls (significance)

It shows that Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians were similar in the magic practices they did in their homes

Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (date and location)

50 CE sent to Turkey

Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (2 details)

1. A letter written in Greek by Paul to new Christian groups

2. Says that non-jewish converts don’t need to follow rules like circumcision to join his religion

Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (significance)

Shows the moment that Christianity split from Judaism to be a religion open for everyone

Persepolis Reliefs (date and location)

Achaemenid Period (530-330 BCE) in Iran

Persepolis Reliefs (2 details)

1. Wall carvings on the staircases of a palace.

2. They shown 23 different foreign nations bringing gifts to the Persian king

Persepolis Reliefs (significance)

It shown that foreign subjects were viewed as partners rather than slaves in Persian ideology.

Plaque Showing Akhenaten and Nefertiti Under the Aten (date and location)

New Kingdom Egypt (1550-1100 BCE) in Egypt

Plaque Showing Akhenaten and Nefertiti Under the Aten (2 details)

1. It was a stone carving showing the Pharaoh and his family playing under the sun

2. The sun rays end in these little hands.

Plaque Showing Akhenaten and Nefertiti Under the Aten (significance)

It shows the emphasis of the belief that the god’s blessings are especially given to the royal family.

Seleucid Statue of Herakles-Bahram (date and location)

Hellenistic Period (330-30 BCE) in Iran

Seleucid Statue of Herakles-Bahram (2 details)

1. It's a rock carving of Herakles lying down with a wine cup

2. He is linked to the Iranian god Bahram.

Seleucid Statue of Herakles-Bahram (significance)

Example of cultural mix in the Hellenistic period of Greek and Iranian culture.

Shalmaneser III’s Black Obelisk (date and location)

Neo-Assyrian Period (900-610 BCE) in Iraq

Shalmaneser III’s Black Obelisk (2 details)

1. A black stone tower showing foreign kings bringing tribute

2. Shows the Israelite King Jehu bowing on his knees

Shalmaneser III’s Black Obelisk (significance)

Shows how these stone monuments were used to humiliate defeated and kings and for pride

Uruk Vase (date and location)

Uruk Period (4000-3000 BCE) in Uruk

Uruk Vase (2 details)

1. It is a tall stone vase with 3 levels of pictures

2. There are levels including workers, animals, and a ruler

Uruk Vase (significance)

It shown how ancient cities were structured with farm work feeding the state and kings serving the gods.

Ancient Christianity (definition)

A religious movement that started as a small Jewish group and grown to become a massive religion

Ancient Christianity (2 details)

1. It was spread through letters like Paul’s

2. Ended up becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire

Ancient Christianity (significance)

Shows how a movement that started small can turn into a religion that is most prominent today

Hellenism (definition)

The spread of greek culture and tradition to the Middle East after Alexander the Great

Hellenism (2 details)

1. To gain social status it was adopted a lot by wealthy people and governments

2. There was art created that blended the cultures, such as Greek heroes as Persian gods.

Hellenism (significance)

Shows that culture was not exactly finite in ancient times and that it was mixed.

Ancient Judaism (definition)

Monotheistic religion of the Judean/Israelite people worshiping one God

Ancient Judaism (2 details)

1. Became a scripture-based religion after losing their homeland in the Babylonian Exile

2. Included many different competing groups in the religion

Ancient Judaism (significance)

Shown that conquering from foreign empires led to groups writing and documenting to protect their religious traditions

Orientalism (definition)

A Western perspective that stereotypes Middle Eastern societies as violent, exotic, and irrational compared to the West.

Orientalism (2 details)

1. It can make racist stereotypes sound like everyday facts

2. It led to Western historians believing that ancient Middle Eastern kings were evil tyrants

Orientalism (significance)

Helps us busting modern myths and look at ancient history with an unbiased lens.

Sedentary vs. Mobile Populations (definition)

The differences that separates the farmers living in fixed cities and wandering nomadic herders.

Sedentary vs. Mobile Populations (2 details)

1. City governments needed grain taxes to thrive so they wanted to keep nomads out

2. There were harsh stereotypes towards nomads and they were viewed as animals

Sedentary vs. Mobile Populations (significance)

Shown that there was ancient prejudice towards lifestyle.

Race and Ethnicity (definition)

Ethnicity relies on the culture you share with others (food, language, traditions) while Race is something that is socially constructed based on differences for a hierarchy

Race and Ethnicity (2 details)

1. There is no such thing as biological race

2. Ancient societies did not divide humans into modern skin color categories

Race and Ethnicity (significance)

Shows the difference division among people today (physical traits) and division in ancient times (mainly lifestyle).

Racial Hinge / Loophole (definition)

Loophole is when your legal category is an excuse to not protect you from real-world racism. Hinge is using a different group to define your own race

Racial Hinge / Loophole (2 details)

1. Iranians were considered white but still faced backlash and racism, but couldn’t get compensated for their racism

2. Middle Eastern immigrants referred to Iran, which was considered a white country, to determine their whiteness.

Racial Hinge / Loophole (significance)

Shows that legal races are not based on science but the way court rulings determined the race of their subjects.

Ancient Zoroastrianism (definition)

The dualistic religion of Iran focused on the battle between good and evil.

Ancient Zoroastrianism (2 details)

1. Says there is a good God creator that is in a war against a evil Devil

2. Official state religion of the Persian Empire

Ancient Zoroastrianism (significance)

Talked a lot about ideas that eventually shaped Christianity and Islam such as Heaven, Hell, and the Devil