Early River Valley Civilizations

mesopotamia

the land between the Tigris and Euphrates; site of several ancient civilizations

euphrates river

River to the west of mesopotamia

bronze age

a period between the Stone and Iron Ages, characterized by the manufacture and use of bronze tools and weapons

new ideas in the bronze age

sailing, cities, writing, bronze tools, temples, artisans and specialists

Tigris River

River to the east of mesopotamia

fertile crescent

a geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates

sumer

an area in the southern region of Babylonia in present-day Iraq; site of the Sumerian civilization of city-states that flowered during the third millennium BC

irrigation

supplying dry land with water by means of ditches etc

hierarchy

a series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system

caste

social status or position conferred by a system based on class

cuneiform

an ancient wedge-shaped script used in Mesopotamia and Persia

akkadian

an ancient branch of the Semitic languages

hammurabi

Babylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia

hammurabi's code

set of laws of Mesopotamia

hittite

a member of an ancient people who inhabited Anatolia and northern Syria about 2000 to 1200 BC; had a monopoly on iron ore

assyria

an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia which is in present-day Iraq; warlike people who used cavalry

cavalry

troops trained to fight on horseback

library at nineveh

one of the first libraries containing the epic of gilgamesh

babylon

the chief city of ancient Mesopotamia and capital of the ancient kingdom of Babylonia

nebuchadnezzar

revived the power of babylon, also called chaldea.

rosetta stone

a part of an inscribed granite stela that was originally about six feet tall and was set up in 196 BC

egypt

a republic in northeastern Africa known as the United Arab Republic until 1971; site of an ancient civilization that flourished from 2600 to 30 BC

nile

the world's longest river; flows northward through eastern Africa into the Mediterranean

upper egypt

one of the two main administrative districts of Egypt; extends south from Cairo to Sudan

lower egypt

one of the two main administrative districts of Egypt; consists of the Nile delta

egyptian kings

both kings and priests, believed to be godlike

scorpion of narmer

first ruler of both upper and lower egypt

crete

the largest Greek island in the Mediterranean; site of the Minoan civilization that reached its peak in 1600 BC

theocracy

a political unit governed by a deity

minoan civilization

the bronze-age culture of Crete that flourished 3000-1100 BC