Chapter 2 - The Ancient Near East: Peoples and Empires

Chaldean king Nabopolassar

The ________, joined forces with the Medes to capture the Assyrian capital Nineveh in 612 B.

Ishtar Gate

The ________ opened onto the Triumphal Way, which led to the sacred precincts of Marduk, the chief Babylonian god.

Ashurbanipal

________ was one of the strongest Assyrian rulers, but it was already becoming apparent during his reign that the Assyrian Empire was greatly overextended.

Hebrew law

________ limited kings to eighteen wives and citizens to four.

Nebuchadnezzars reign

During ________, Babylonia was renowned for prosperity based on lush agricultural lands, lucrative trade routes, and industries, especially textiles and metals.

seventh century

The Medes had begun to form a confederation of the various tribes, and around the beginning of the ________, they became unified under a monarchy.

Cyaxares

King ________ established a Median empire, the first Iranian empire known to the ancient Near East.

Nabonidus

________ was the last king of the Chaldean dynasty.

Nebuchadnezzar

________ rebuilt Babylon as the center of his empire, giving it a reputation as one of the great cities of the ancient world.

ancient Israel

In ________, polygamy was an accepted form of marriage, especially for kings and wealthier citizens.

Babylon

________ was surrounded by towering walls, 8 miles in length, encircled by a moat filled by the Euphrates River.

real merchant class

There was no ________ in ancient Israel.

Persians

The ________ lived to the southeast of the Medes, who occupied the western Iranian plateau south of the Caspian Sea.

Mesopotamia

Although part of ________, Assyria, with its hills and adequate, if not ample, rainfall, had a different terrain and climate.

control of Syria

Under his rule, the Chaldeans defeated Egypt to gain ________ and Canaan, destroyed Jerusalem, carried the people of Judah into exile in Babylon, and in the process regained for Babylonia a position as the leading power in the ancient Near East.

Babylonia

The Chaldeans, a Semitic- speaking people, had gained ascendancy in ________ by the seventh century and came to form the chief resistance to Assyrian control of Mesopotamia.

Assyrian Empire

The ________ created by Tiglath- Pileser was unable to maintain its strength after his death.

Neo-Babylonian Empire

The ________ took over the rest of the empire.

Hebrew Bible

Although the ________, a male- edited work, reveals a society dominated by men, it also includes stories of women who played heroic roles in the early history of Israel.

The Hebrews

________ were Semitic-speaking people who had a tradition concerning their origins and history that was eventually written down as part of the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament.

The Phoenicians

________ had resided in Canaan for some time but now found themselves with new independence.