box notes for quiz 1-11

monarchs

when some commanders became full time rulers

polytheistic religion

believing many gods control nature

cuneiform

system of 700 symbols that represented sounds, objects, and ideas. Written on Clay tablets.

ziggurats

temples to the gods (architecture)

hammurabi's law code

282 laws dealing with all aspects of society: family relations, business conduct, crime. The Code applied to everyone but had different punishments for different classes of people.

dynasties

families who pass power from generation to generation

pharaohs

Kings that were considered gods

theocracy

When kings are the center of government and religion

ra

the sun god

osiris

The Egyptian god responsible for life, death and rebirth - also known as the God of the Afterlife

mummified

to preserve the body and put into tombs with his belongings

book of the dead

contained prayers to go to next life

hieroglphics

pictures representing ideas (writing system)

papyrus

reeds that grew near the Nile (paper)

rosetta stone

stone had 3 languages on it including Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Greek

hieratic script

Everyday Egyptian writing

city states

included a city, farms, and the villages around the city

ur, uruk, eridu

considered to be some of the world’s first cities

animal sacrifice

sacrificing animals to the gods to ensure good growing seasons

social classes

Highest: Priests and Kings, wealthy merchants, laborers and common people; slaves, atriarchal society

amorites

Nomadic warriors that invaded Mesopotamia

hammurabi

a ruler of the Amorites

babylon

the capital of the Amorites in Mesopotamia

assyrians

Civilization (2500 - 605BCE). Empire included Mesopotamia, parts of present day Iran, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt.

nineveh

the capital of the assyrians

chaldeans and medes

(people from the east) united and overthrew the Assyrians

assyrian military innovation

Well disciplined army, Iron weapons, chariots used as platforms to shoot arrows. Infantry and cavalry used together (new strategy)

menses

united upper and lower Egypt into one and established the 1st dynasty

memphis

capital of menses

pyramids

places to honor and bury their god-kings (built during the king’s life to show strength in his dynasty)

old kingdom

Egyptian period/dynasty (pyramids built during this time)

egyptian women

had the ability to own property, testify in court, and begin the divorce process

the hyskos

were able to invade and defeat the Egyptians because they had better tools and horse drawn chariots (1500s BCE)

geometry

used to survey the land after floods