Ancient Egypt through the Old Kingdom and the Old Babylonian Period

Fill-in-the-blank practice flashcards covering the emergence of Egyptian civilization through the Old Kingdom, as well as political legitimacy, monumentality, trade networks, and legal traditions in the Old Babylonian period.

In ancient Egyptian administrative geography, the country was subdivided into regional districts called __________.

nomes

In ancient Egyptian symbolic geography, the Nile's east bank represented the land of the living, whereas the west bank was designated as the land of the __________.

dead

In ancient Egypt, the fertile cultivated floodplain was known as Kemet ("Black Land"), while the arid desert margin was called __________ ("Red Land").

Deshret

The organization of Egyptian history into Dynasties 1 through 30 was formulated in the 3rd century B.C. by the historian __________.

Manetho

The Greek historian Herodotus Hellenized traditional Egyptian place names and royal names, recording Waset as __________.

Thebes

The Old Kingdom of Egypt is designated as the "Iconic Age" within the Early Bronze Age, dating from ca. __________ B.C.

$$2700\text{ to }2200$$

The periods of decentralization and political fragmentation between centralized Egyptian kingdoms are referred to as __________ Periods.

Intermediate

During Egyptian Intermediate Periods of balkanization, local provinces were governed independently by officials known as __________.

nomarchs

This predynastic artifact with a master-of-animals scene, dating to ca. $3200$ B.C., is the carved handle of the __________.

Gebel el-Arak Knife

Discovered at the Temple of Horus in Hierakonpolis, this Protodynastic ceremonial weapon head is known as the __________.

Scorpion Macehead

In Cemetery U at Abydos, the elite multi-chambered tomb hypothesized to have belonged to King Scorpion is Tomb __________.

U/J

On the Narmer Palette (ca. $3100$ B.C.), the king is depicted wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt and the __________ Crown of Lower Egypt.

Red

The intertwined, long-necked serpopards on the Narmer Palette share close iconographic parallels with cylinder seals from the Uruk period found at __________.

Susa II

The rectangular mudbrick superstructure tombs utilized for Early Dynastic royal and elite burials at sites such as Saqqara are called __________.

mastabas

This Dynasty 3 monumental limestone funerary complex located at Saqqara was constructed for Pharaoh __________.

Djoser

The Egyptian royal jubilee festival celebrating the renewal of kingship after $30$ years on the throne was the __________ festival.

Heb Sed

The Dynasty 4 pharaoh noted for extensive pyramid experimentation—building at Meydum as well as the Bent and Red Pyramids—was __________.

Snefru

The royal funerary boat buried beside the Great Pyramid of Khufu to transport the king into the afterlife was built from cedar imported from __________.

Lebanon

During the Old Babylonian period, Old Babylonian Akkadian functioned as the spoken vernacular and diplomatic tongue, while __________ was maintained as the language of literature and education.

Sumerian

While southern Mesopotamia between $2000\text{ and }1600$ B.C. is often called the "Age of the Amorites," the northern region during this timeframe is called the __________ period.

Old Assyrian

In the Old Assyrian long-distance commercial network in Anatolia, a primary trading colony or harbor enclave was called a(n) __________.

karum

In a cuneiform letter recovered from karum Kanesh, the senior merchant Itur-ili warned his junior partner __________ not to succumb to drink.

Ennam-Ashur

These cylinder seal impressions from sites including Assur, Kanesh, Tuttul, and Bogazkoy illustrate standardized __________ scenes used across western Asia to legitimize royal power.

presentation

A letter from Mari describing Amorite alliances notes that while Hammurapi commanded 10 to 15 kings, twenty kings followed Yarim-Lim of __________.

Yamhad

Archaeologist James F. Osborne notes that the word "monument" derives etymologically from the Latin verb monēre, which means "to __________."

remind

In his royal inscription on a palace disc, King Yahdun-Lim of Mari stated that the god __________ proclaimed his kingship and provided a weapon that felled his royal enemies.

Dagan

In an arid wasteland along the Euphrates where no prior king had built, Yahdun-Lim established a fortified settlement called __________.

Dur-Yahdun-Lim

This map illustrates the maximum territorial extent of the northern Mesopotamian kingdom established by __________ (c. 1813–1781 B.C.).

Shamshi-Adad

An archive containing more than $20,000$ cuneiform tablets documenting warfare and diplomacy was preserved at the site of __________ due to its destruction by Hammurapi.

Mari

The Laws of Hammurapi define three legal social strata: the awilum (free man), the mushkenum (dependent), and the __________ (slave).

wardum

In the epilogue to his law code, Hammurapi advises any wronged party with a legal dispute to read his stele before his statue named "__________."

King of Justice

Underground royal burial chambers built directly beneath residential palace complexes at sites such as Qatna and Ebla are known as __________.

hypogea

The First Dynasty of Babylon fell around ca. $1595$ B.C. after an invasion from Anatolia by the Hittite king __________.

Murshili I

In ancient Egyptian geography, the fertile soil of the Nile Valley was known as Kemet, which translates to "__________."

Black Land

In contrast to the fertile valley, the barren desert surrounding Egypt was called Deshret, meaning "__________."

Red Land

The traditional territorial and administrative subdivisions of ancient Egypt were known as __________.

nomes

In Egyptian symbolic landscape organization, the east bank of the Nile represented the land of the living, whereas the west bank was designated as the land of the __________.

dead

The Dynasty $5$ artifact that records major historical events continuously without dynastic breaks is the __________ Stone.

Palermo

The 3rd-century B.C. historian who established the traditional division of Egyptian history into Dynasties $1$ to $30$ was __________.

Manetho

The Greek historian [figure: https://assets.knowt.com/pdf-flow-prod/a45fd80c-d396-4ae3-82ae-261eaaf2124d-figures/2.jpg] __________ Hellenized Egyptian names around $450\text{ B.C.}$, recording Waset as Thebes and Amenhotep as Amenophis.

Herodotus

In the historical sequence of Egyptian kingdoms, the Old Kingdom is designated as the "__________ Age" within the Early Bronze Age.

Iconic

During Egypt's decentralized Intermediate Periods, authority over the $42$ nomes fractured and was held locally by officials known as __________.

nomarchs

This predynastic carved ivory artifact [figure: https://assets.knowt.com/pdf-flow-prod/a45fd80c-d396-4ae3-82ae-261eaaf2124d-figures/10.jpg], dating to ca. $3200\text{ B.C.}$ and now housed in the Louvre, is the __________ Knife handle.

Gebel el-Arak

Excavated from the Temple of Horus at Hierakonpolis, this Protodynastic ceremonial weapon head [figure: https://assets.knowt.com/pdf-flow-prod/a45fd80c-d396-4ae3-82ae-261eaaf2124d-figures/14.jpg] is known as the __________ Macehead.

Scorpion

The elite predynastic burial complex Tomb U-j, located at Cemetery U in Abydos, is identified as the probable tomb of King __________.

Scorpion

On the Narmer Palette, the king is depicted wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt and the __________ Crown of Lower Egypt.

Red

Direct evidence of Egyptian presence in the Early Bronze Age Southern Levant includes an incised serekh of King __________ found at Arad.

Narmer

Flat-roofed, rectangular mudbrick superstructures used as tombs for Early Dynastic Egyptian rulers and elites are called __________.

mastabas

Dynasty $3$ pharaoh Djoser constructed Egypt's monumental Step Pyramid complex at the necropolis site of __________.

Saqqara

The royal Egyptian jubilee festival celebrated to renew the king's rule after $30$ years (and every $3$ years thereafter) was the __________ festival.

Heb Sed

The Dynasty $4$ pharaoh who undertook extensive architectural experimentation by building pyramids at Meidum, the Bent Pyramid, and the Red Pyramid was __________.

Snefru

The largest of the Giza pyramids was constructed during the 4th Dynasty for the pharaoh __________.

Khufu

The royal funerary boat (bark) excavated beside the Great Pyramid of Khufu was constructed using cedar imported from __________.

Lebanon

During the Old Babylonian period, Old Babylonian Akkadian served as the common spoken language, while __________ remained the language of literature and education.

Sumerian

In the Old Assyrian trade network with Anatolia, a primary merchant trading enclave or settlement was called a __________.

karum

In a commercial letter sent from Assur, the senior merchant Itur-ili instructed Ennam-Ashur not to succumb to drink while stationed at the Anatolian trading hub of __________.

Kanesh

In the preceding Ur III fiscal system, core city-states paid the bala tax, whereas peripheral territories paid the __________ tax.

gun mada

A letter discovered at Mari notes that while $10$ to $15$ kings followed Hammurapi, Rim-Sin, or Ibal-pi-el, as many as $20$ kings followed Yarim-Lim of __________.

Yamhad

Archaeologist James F. Osborne notes that the word 'monument' derives from the Latin verb monēre, which translates as '__________.'

to remind

On an inscribed disc from Mari, King Yahdun-Lim proclaimed that his kingship was sanctioned by the god __________.

Dagan

The diplomatic archive containing more than $20{,}000$ cuneiform tablets at Mari was preserved following the city's destruction by King __________.

Hammurapi

Subterranean elite burial chambers built directly within or beneath Old Babylonian palaces and residences are termed __________.

hypogea

In the Laws of Hammurapi, the three principal social classes are the free citizen (awilum), the dependent commoner (mushkenum), and the enslaved person (__________ ).

wardum

In the epilogue of his legal code, Hammurapi instructs an aggrieved person to have his stele read aloud in front of his statue named 'King of __________.'

Justice

The First Dynasty of Babylon came to an end around $1595\text{ B.C.}$ following an invasion and sack led by the Hittite king __________.

Murshili I

A late Old Babylonian legal proclamation issued around $1640\text{ B.C.}$ that remitted debts is the Edict of __________.

Ammisaduqa

The Upper Mesopotamian kingdom depicted here [figure: https://assets.knowt.com/pdf-flow-prod/345e835b-6669-4e60-8911-bb62265d1546-figures/20.png], spanning Assur, Mari, and the Khabur basin ca. $1813\text{--}1781\text{ B.C.}$, was ruled by __________.

Shamshi-Adad