Early River Civilizations - Intro to AP World History

First Villages

These emerged in the Middle East from 8000-6000 B.C. because of the climate and vegetation

Advanced Cities

Large concentration of a population that is also a center for trade and artisanship

Specialized Workers

People who have skill in a specific kind of work

Artisans

Skilled craftsman, such as potters, weavers, and metalworkers

Merchants

Engaged in trade and marketing

Soldiers

Protected the community

Complex Institutions

Long-lasting patterns of organization within a community

Government

Creates and enforces laws

Religion

Maintains Religious sites (temples) and conducts rituals

Education

Trains scribes

Ziggurat

Served as the center for both religion and government

Record Keeping

Allows for documentation of important legal, historical, and economic records

Scribes

Used cuneiform style writing to keep records in clay tablets; cuneiform means wedge-shaped

Advanced Technology

New tools and techniques that are created to solve complex problems and advance society

Bronze Age

Age of strong metal ushered in 3000 B.C.

Mesopotamia

Civilization in Sumer that emerged in 3500 B.C.

Fertile Crescent

Place where Mesopotamia is in

Mesopotamia Rivers

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Irrigation

Method of supplying water to an area of land or crops

Mesopotamia Agriculture

Farmers depended on the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates for their crops and had irrigation systems

Polytheism

The belief of many gods in Mesopotamia

Epics

Long poems that tell stories of heroes

Epic of Gilgamesh

A Mesopotamian story about a superhuman Sumerian king who fights demons for glory and wants to live forever

Cuneiform

World's first writing system, triangle-shaped symbols, which could stand for syllables or entire words, that were imprinted on clay tablets using a reed stylus

Sailboat

Allowed people to travel across water, transport goods, and trade with other civilizations

Wheel

Helped transport people and heavy objects over long distances in a shorter amount of time

Cylinder Seal

Small object used for signing documents and personal identification

Plow

Separated the soil to more easily plant seeds for growing crops

Bronze

Mixture of copper and tin that could be used to build better weapons and tools

Lunar Calendar

Mathematical system that divided a year into 12 months and measured the length of months using the moon phases

Base-60 Number System

Mathematical system where 60 seconds equaled 1 minute and 60 minutes equaled 1 hour

Monarchy

Type of government where a single king or queen rules a civilization in Mesopotamia

Theocracy

Type of government where Kings, along with the priests, would commonly declare that their power came from the gods

City-states

Political unit with a city and the surrounding area in Mesopotamia

Sargon of Akkad

Conquered all of northern Mesopotamia and establish the Akkadian Empire, which was the first empire in world history

Empire

Territories and groups of people from different lands under a single rule

Babylon

This city took control of Mesopotamia under the leadership of Hammurabi and formed the Babylonian Empire

Hammurabi

He created one of the oldest sets of written law codes in history and displayed them publicly throughout his Babylonian Empire

Hammurabi’s Code

Famous collection of 282 written laws that governed Babylonian society

Sumerians

Civilization between 4200-2004 B.C.

Akkadians

Civilization between 2334-2154 B.C.

Babylonians

Civilization between 1894-539 B.C.

Assyrians

Civilization between 1365-612 B.C.

Phoenicians

Civilization between 1200-800 B.C.

Persians

Civilization between 550-330 B.C.

Surplus

More than what is needed in agriculture

Specialized Labor

Everyone does specific tasks

Hierarchy

A division of society that is based upon one’s rank or class and Mesopotamia had a very rigid one

Mesopotamia Slavery

Their slavery was not based on race

Nile River

River where the Egyptian River Valley started

Upper Egypt

Southern kingdom at the start of the Nile river

Lower Egypt

Northern kingdom at the end of the Nile river

Delta

Marshy, usually triangular area of sediment (dirt or soil) deposited at the mouth of a river that flows into larger body of water and the de

Nubia

Area south of Egypt that helped Egypt and adop

Kush

A kingdom in Nubia that helped restore Egypt after Libyans took over Egypt

Nubian Tools

This group used iron tools and traded it along the Red Sea

Nubian Women

These women had many strong roles and would sometimes rule and be military generals

Egypt Religion

They were polytheistic and Pharaoh were worshiped as a God

Ra

Egyptian Sun God

Isis

Egyptian

Horus

Egyptian god of light

Osiris

Egyptian god of the

Atum

Egyptian creator god

Amun

Egyptian King of the Gods

Mut

Egyptian goddess of the sky

Hieroglyphics

Egyption writing system that consisted of pictographs

Rosetta Stone

Writing on stone that was written in multiple languages and taught people to translate hieroglyphics and it was discovered by the french

Ka

The Pharaohs believed they could rule in the afterlife through this eternal spirit that mummified dead bodies

Mummification

Process to preserve bodies and prevent decay when they’re dead

Pyramids

Gigantic tombs where mummified bodies of Pharaohs were kept and these places were sometimes robbed

Egypt Achievements

* Created the 365 day calendar based on *Sirius* or the *Dog Star* and they used knowledge of astronomy and the predictable flooding the Nile to help create the calendar


* Developed medicine and treatments for broken bones and fevers
* Used metals like bronze and iron and steel and loved gold

Great Pyramid of Giza

* Built under Pharaoh Imhotep


* 481 feet tall
* 6 million tons of stone
* Likely held Pharaoh Khufu
* Built around 2580 BC

Papyrus

A type of river plant used as paper

Menes

Pharaoh that united the Upper and Lower kingdoms under his sole control at around 3100 B.C.

Dynasty

Ruling type where power would pass on to family for generations

Hatshepsut

* The fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt


* She came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BC
* Officially, she ruled **jointly** with Thutmose III who had ascended to the throne as a child one year earlier
* He was her two-year old nephew/stepson 
* They co-ruled for 21 years
* Her rule was successful, she focused on the economy and **encouraged trade** 
* After her death, Thutmose III erased her inscriptions and tried to eradicate her memory

Akhenaten

* Pharaoh during the 18th dynasty, 1351 - 1344 BC
* Married **Nefertiti***,* queen and possible Pharaoh after her husband's death
* Together, they were known for a religious revolution, in which they worshiped one god only, *Aten*, or the sun disc
* The new monotheistic faith **weakened** the empire

Tutankhamun

* The most famous mummy ever found was discovered in 1922 by a British archaeologist named Howard Carter


* Remarkable because tomb wasn’t robbed and remained untouched for nearly 3300 years
* His tomb was from a period after pyramids when pharaohs were buried underground
* It is known that his was only 19 when he died, after being Pharaoh for 8-9 years

Ramses II

* Pharaoh 1279 BC to 1213 BC (66 years)
* Married *Nefertari*, who would rule alongside Ramses and would become powerful in her own right
* He expanded the Egyptian empire and secured its borders against attackers (Hittites, Syrians, Libyans, Nubians)
* He established one of the **first major peace treaties in history** with the Hittites. This helped to establish a peaceful northern border throughout the rest of his rule

Copper

First metal to be used in human tool making

Iron

Material that was stronger than both copper and tin

Bronze

A mix of copper and tin which was also used to make the first tools

Egypt Social Classes

Pharaoh and God, visors, soldiers and scribes, merchants and skilled artisans, farmers and workers, then slaves

Hittites

* From **Turkey/Asia Minor/Anatolia** originally involved in trade in the Mediterranean
* They invaded Mesopotamia after Hammurabi, and were able to rule because they could make **iron**
* Mesopotamians couldn’t defend themselves with softer bronze and copper
* They used chariots and iron-working technology led to military successes due to the **superiority** of the harder metal.
* At first, they were able to keep the “recipe” for iron secret to keep their power, but eventually it got out. 
* They lost control of their empire as knowledge of iron spread around the world  - starting the *Iron Age*

Akkad

City-state that is located in central Mesopotamia and shared a similar culture as the Sumerians

Bureaucracy

A system of (non-elected) officials that carry out the work of a government

Abraham

* According to Torah tradition, he lived around 2000-1750 B.C.E.


* Moved from Ur (Sumer) to Canaan
* Faithful to God’s(YHWH) call – A model to all Jews Covenant 
* Book of Genesis account says that he was the father (patriarch) of the Hebrew nation
* Father of Isaac and grandfather of Jacob (Israel) 
* Jacob’s 12 sons became the founders of the “Twelve Tribes of Israel,” which migrated to Egypt

Jerusalem

Place where Abraham almost sacrificed

King David

This Jewish King defeated the Philistines and established Jerusalem as the capital of the Kingdom of Israel

Solomon

This song of David built the first temple as the religious center of Jewish life and expanded Israel’s power and influence

Jewish Split

The Jewish people split into two kingdoms (Israel & Judah) after Solomon’s death around 920 B.C.E.

Diaspora

The dispersion of people from their original homeland

First Library

Built by King Ashurbunipal at Nineveh which contained thousands of clay tablets including a copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh

King Nebuchadnezzar

* Rebuilt Babylon and ruled from it from 612-539 BCE until Persians conquered Babylon


* His palace contained the *Hanging Gardens of Babylon*—one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world
* During this time the *Hebrews* were exiled from Jerusalem and moved to Babylon (Babylonian Captivity)

Persepolis

Capital of the Persian Empire

Religiously Tolerant

Persians excepted anyone’s cultures so there would be less rebellion

Cyrus the Great

The Persian king who defeated Babylon and freed the Hebrews who were held there (Babylonian Captivity) and Cyrus kept his army from looting and destroying cities he took over, and allowed people to keep their own local governments and religions which led to peace instead of revolt

Charter of Human Rights

Cyrus the Great is known for creating the first one of these

Darius I

This Persian ruler expanded the Empire, he divided Persia into provinces (similar to states) ruled by governors called Satraps. Each Satrap controlled his territory and collected taxes for the Persian emperor. Darius set up common weights and measurements to help trade and encouraged the use of money (coins) in trade rather than using the bartering system

Royal Road

A 1,677 mile long road connecting the heart of the empire, which allowed communication and business to move quickly that was created by Darius I