Ancient Middle East & Egypt Flashcards

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, leaders, geographical features, and religious concepts of the Ancient Middle East and Egypt based on the lecture notes.

Sumer

The southernmost region of Mesopotamia, located nearest to the Persian Gulf.

Fertile Crescent

The nickname for the region located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Epic of Gilgamesh

An ancient Sumerian poem about a great flood that destroys the world.

Ziggurat

Mesopotamian pyramid-shaped temples with a shrine to the city's chief god or goddess on top.

Silt

Fine dirt and plant material left behind after rivers flood, which creates fertile soil.

Cuneiform

The Mesopotamian writing system consisting of wedge-shaped marks made in clay tablets.

Bureaucracy

A system of managing government through a set of departments run by officials.

Hierarchy

A system in which people or groups are ranked one above the other by status or authority.

Tolerance

A policy where conquered peoples are allowed to keep their own cultures and customs.

Alphabet

Letter symbols that represent sounds, which are then grouped to form words.

Colonies

Territories settled and ruled by people from another land.

Money Economy

An economy where trade is conducted using currency or coins.

Hammurabi

The Babylonian King who created the first codified legal system.

Sargon I

The Akkadian King who first formed an empire in Sumer.

Cyrus 11

The ruler who conquered the majority of the Persian Empire and extended tolerance to conquered peoples.

Darius I

The ruler who expanded Persia to its greatest extent, ruled through a bureaucracy, and created a money economy.

Delta

A triangular area of marshland formed by silt deposits at the mouth of a river.

Cataract

Another term for a waterfall, often used in the context of the Nile.

Pharaoh

An Egyptian ruler who was all-powerful and viewed as a god.

Dynasty

A line of rulers belonging to one family.

Vizier

The Egyptian Chief Minister in charge of the bureaucracy and tax collection.

Amon-Re

The Egyptian chief god and sun god, who was closely linked to the Pharaoh.

Osiris

The Egyptian god of the dead and god of the Nile.

Isis

The Egyptian goddess of magic and motherhood, who was the wife of Osiris.

Hieroglyphics

The Egyptian written language where symbols and pictures represent objects, concepts, or sounds.

Mummification

The process of preserving dead bodies by embalming them and wrapping them in cloth.

Rosetta Stone

A flat black stone with the same message carved in hieroglyphics, demotic, and Greek, used by Jean Champollion to translate hieroglyphics.

Papyrus

An Egyptian paper-like writing material made from a river plant.

Monotheism

The belief in only one god.

Covenant

An agreement or promise, specifically those made between the Jewish people and God.

Torah

The most sacred text of the Jewish faith.

Sabbath (Shabbat)

A holy day for rest and worship observed from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night.

Prophet

A person chosen by God to speak his messages.

Patriarchal

Describes a society where men hold the greatest legal and moral authority.

Diaspora

The spreading out of the Jewish people throughout the world after the Babylonian Captivity.

Ethics

Moral standards of behavior.

Abraham

The Jewish patriarch who made the first covenant with God, promising to move his family to Canaan and follow God.

Moses

The Jewish patriarch who made the second and third covenants with God, involving the Exodus from Egypt and the Ten Commandments.

David

The King of Israel who built the capital city of Jerusalem and fought to secure the nation's borders.

Solomon

The King of Israel known for his wisdom who built the Temple.

10,000 immortals

The nickname for the professional, trained, and elite permanent army of the Persian Empire.

Royal Road System

A Persian infrastructure project that made communication easier across the empire.

Phoenician Alphabet

The predecessor of the modern-day alphabet system.

Gift of the Nile

A term for Egypt, referring to how the river's seasonal flooding allowed the civilization to flourish in a desert area.

Mosaic Laws

Rules and guidelines for daily life in Judaism, such as keeping a Kosher diet and following mitzvot.

Talmud

A collection of commentary and writings on the Torah written by rabbis and scholars between $200$ and $600\,CE$.

Sumerian Writing

Cuneiform, the earliest known writing, used wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets.

Sumerian Religion

Polytheistic, worshipping many gods associated with natural forces; included rituals and ziggurats.

Sumerian Social Classes

Structured with priests and nobles at the top, followed by merchants, artisans, and farmers.

Sumerian Government

City-states governed by kings. They established laws and maintained order through employing scribes and ruled through a monarchy.

Sumerian Economy

Based on agriculture and trade, utilizing irrigation systems to enhance crop production.

Sumerian Cities

Included Ur, Uruk, and Eridu, characterized by large populations and advanced urban infrastructure.

Egyptian Government

Ruled by pharaohs, considered divine, supported by bureaucrats managing resources and laws.

Egyptian Achievements

Pyramids, hieroglyphics, and advances in mathematics, medicine, and engineering.

Egyptian Religion

Polytheistic, focusing on gods like Amon-Re and Osiris, belief in an afterlife with mummification.

Egyptian Society

Hierarchical, with pharaohs at the top, followed by priests, nobles, merchants, and farmers.

Patriarchs of the Hebrews

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, key figures in the Jewish tradition who made covenants with God.

Basic Beliefs of Judaism

Monotheism, following the Torah, observing ethical laws, and awaiting the coming of the Messiah.