Quiz 1 Study Guide — Prehistory to Early Greece

Vocabulary practice flashcards generated from Chapters 1-3 study guide covering ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Hebrews, Near Eastern Empires, and Early Greece.

cuneiform

The Sumerian writing system created on clay tablets with a reed stylus, considered Mesopotamia's single greatest contribution to Western civilization.

Ma'at

The ancient Egyptian concept of cosmic and social order, guaranteed by the pharaoh.

Akhet

The Egyptian season of inundation when the Nile River swells.

covenant

The binding agreement between Yahweh and his chosen people in Hebrew tradition.

polis

The ancient Greek term for a city-state.

ephors

Five elected Spartan officials who held real executive power alongside the council of 28 elders.

metics

Foreign residents in Athens who made up the largest single group share of the Athenian population around $431\,\text{BCE}$.

ethical dualism

The distinctive feature of Zoroastrianism focused on its understanding of evil and human moral choice.

King Hammurabi

The Babylonian ruler behind Hammurabi's Code, a collection of $282$ laws based on eye-for-an-eye justice that favored higher social classes and men.

Cyrus the Great

Persian king who permitted conquered peoples to keep their religions, customs, and local laws, and allowed deported populations to return.

Nebuchadnezzar II

The Neo-Babylonian ruler responsible for the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the First Temple in $586\,\text{BCE}$.

Solon

Athenian reformer who introduced legal and political reforms in $594\,\text{BCE}$ (or $584\,\text{BCE}$) to address growing wealth disparity.

Homer

Author of the Iliad and Odyssey, epics regarded by ancient Greeks as history and used as foundational educational texts.

Herodotus

Greek historian known for his inquiry into historical evidence.

Thucydides

Greek historian who insisted on human causation rather than divine cause in historical events.

Philip II of Macedon

King of Macedon who defeated the allied Greek forces of Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in $338\,\text{BCE}$.

Tigris and Euphrates

The two rivers defining Mesopotamia ("Land Between The Rivers") that deposited fertile silt for early agricultural settlements.

Nile River

The river in Egypt whose annual flooding left fertile silt on the soil, making agriculture possible ("gift of the Nile").

Pyramids at Giza

Egyptian monuments built during the Old Kingdom period.

Crete

The island where the peaceful, Bronze Age Minoan trading civilization arose.

Jerusalem

Capital city that fell in $586\,\text{BCE}$ to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, resulting in the destruction of the First Temple.

Nineveh

A major imperial city in the ancient Near East associated with the Assyrian Empire.

Susa and Sardis

The two cities connected by the Persian Royal Road across approximately $1,600\,\text{miles}$.

Battle of Marathon

A $490\,\text{BCE}$ battle where outnumbered Athenian hoplites charged across the plain to defeat Persian forces.

Battle of Chaeronea

A $338\,\text{BCE}$ battle in which Philip II of Macedon defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes.

Six Characteristics of Civilization

Urban Focus, Religious Structure, Political and Military Structure, Social Structure based off Economic Power, Writing and Artistic Ability, and Intellectual Ability.

End of the Paleolithic Era

Occurred around $10,000\,\text{BCE}$, marked by the start of agriculture and animal domestication.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

A major Mesopotamian literary "Great Work" composed around $2000\,\text{BCE}$ featuring a Great Flood and a boat built to survive it.

Hittites

An Akkadian-language group who were the first to make weapons out of iron and transmitted Mesopotamian culture westward.

Phoenician Alphabet

A radical simplification using $22$ consonantal signs, making literacy easy to learn for people beyond priests.

Royal Road

A Persian transportation route spanning about $1,600\,\text{miles}$ connecting Susa to Sardis.

Aramaic

The common administrative language used across the Persian Empire.

Council of 500

Athenian governing body that set the assembly's agenda, whose members were chosen by lottery.

Athenian Assembly

Direct democratic body open to all ~$30,000\text{--}40,000$ adult male citizens (quorum $6,000$) meeting ~$40$ times a year to vote on war, treaties, and laws.

Fall of the Kingdom of Israel

The collapse of the northern kingdom composed of $10$ tribes in $720\,\text{BCE}$ to the Assyrian Empire.