Studied by 11 people
Fertile Crescent
Also known as Mesopotamia
Has Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Negatives/Positives of Rivers
Positive:
Reliable Water Source - good for irrigation
Flooding - leaves behind silt - extremely fertile soil
Negative:
Unpredictable Flooding - not seasonal, destroyed crops, homes, lives
Epic of Gilgamesh
Ancient Sumerian poem about a great flood that destroys the world
Sumer
Southern region of Mesopotamia
First known civilization
Ziggurats
Large pyramid shaped temples with a shrine to the city’s chief god/goddess to top
Rulers responsible for:
Maintaining the city walls & irrigation
Leading the armies in war & enforcing laws
Religious duties
Rulers employed scribes to keep records & collect taxes
Hierarchy
A system of ranking groups
Roles of women:
Goddesses were highly revered in Sumer
Women never had legal rights equal to men
Codify
To write down a law system
Cuneiform
Wedge chapped marks made in clay tablets (based on pictographs)
Originally used for keeping trade records
Used for stories, prayers, laws, contracts, etc.
Tolerance
To conquered people
Allowed to keep their cultures/religions as long as they follow the conquerors laws
Bureaucracy
A system of managing governments through a set of departments run by officials
Money Economy
Economy based in coins rather than trading goods/barter economy
Established a currency
Colonies
Territories settled and ruled by people from another land
Alphabet
Letter symbols that represent sounds which are grouped to form words
Sargon I
First emperor of Mesopotamia
Conquered Sumer & Northern Mesopotamia
Hammurabi
Babylonian Empire, King of Babylon
Code of Hammurabi - First attempt by a ruler to codify a law system
“An eye for an eye”
Both criminal and civil laws
Cyrus II
“The Great”
Conquered the majority of the Persian Empire
Had tolerance to his conquered people
Darius I
Expanded Persian borders
Great administrator - established a bureaucracy
Money economy
Cataract
A waterfall
Delta
A triangular area of marshland formed by silt deposits
Dynasty
Line of rulers in one family
Pharaoh
Egyptian Ruler
Vizier
Chief Minister
Amon-Re
Chief God (Sun God)
Closely linked to the Pharaoh
Osiris
God of the dead, God of the Nile
Isis
Goddess of magic and motherhood (Wife of Osiris)
Book of the Dead
spells, charms and formulas meant to help the dead in the afterlife
Mummification
Preserving dead bodies by embalming them & wrapping them in cloth
Society Class Structure
Top:
Pharohs
Viziers/priests
Scribes
Craftsmen and artists
Peasants
Slaves and servants
Bottom:
Hieroglyphics
Writing system
Symbols and pictures represent objects, concepts, or sounds
Papyrus
A paper-like writing material made from a river plant
Used with reed pens and dink for informal records
Rosetta Stone
Flat black stone with the same message carved in hieroglyphics, demotic (simpler Egyptian script) & Greek
Monotheistic
The belief in one god
Torah
Most sacred text of the Jewish faith / The Christian Old Testament - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Covenant
Agreement or promise (w/ god)
Patriarch
The founder of ruler of a tribe, family, or people
Sabbath
Holy day for rest and worship
Sunset Friday to sunset Saturday
“Shabbat”
Prophet
A person who speaks for God
Ethics
Moral standards of behavior
Diaspora
The spreading out of the Jewish people throughout the world
Abraham
Made 1st covenant w/ god
Abraham will:
Accept monotheism, agree to move to Canaan (promised land)
God will:
Make Abraham’s descendants “as numerous as the stars”
Protect & provide a “promised land” for his people
Had a son named Isaac who had a son named Jacob or Israel
Moses
Made the 2nd covenant w/ god
God will:
Free the Israelites out of bondage back into the “promised land” (Canaan)
Moses will:
Reject his Egyptian royal family
Demand that Pharoah let the Israelites go (10 plagues)
3rd covenant w/ god
Hebrews will:
Accept the 10 commandments as God’s law
God will:
Provide for the Hebrews always as God’s “Chosen People”
David
King David
Built the capital city of Jerusalem and fought to secure Israel’s borders
Solomon
King David’s son, King Solomon
Built the Temple
Known for his wisdom
Worked to increase Israel’s influence in Mesopotamia
Talmud
Collection of oral teachings and commentaries about the Hebrew Bible and Jewish law
Rabbi
Jewish word for teacher
Note 
Flashcard (32)