Ancient Civilizations Part 1 (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, China)

Where was Mesopotamia located?

Between Tigris and Euphrates

“Between two rivers”

Where is Mesopotamia located now?

Modern Day Iran, Syria, Iran, Turkey (SIIT)

What was the birthplace of agriculture"?

Fertile Crescent

What was Mesopotamia labelled as?

Cradle of Civilization

Who was the first human civilization?

Sumerians. Settled around 4500BC

Most well known Sumerian cities?

Uruk, Ur, Kish, Lagash, Eridu

What are ziggurats?

Tiered pyramids dedicated to gods. Also functioned as shrines, admin centers. Usually in center of city states

Who dismantled Sumer

Babylonians and Akkadians

What was the first true empire? How long did it last?

Akkadia lasted for approx 200 years

Why did Akkadia collapse?

Draught, revolts, invasions

What text was created during the Babylonian Empire?

Code of Hammurabi

What was the Code of Hammurabi and what did it contain?

282 laws set by the king. Very strict and class based.

“eye for an eye”

Now held in the Louvre

What Mesopotamian civilization was known as the warrior nation?

Assyria

Highlights of Assyria

Iron innovators

Expantionist empire

Early road networks

What library did Assyria hold and what did it contain?

Library of Nineveh/Ashurbanipal contained Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem that folllowed an uruk king.

What religion did the Assyrian’s adopt?

Christianity

What was Egypt known as?

Gift to the Nile

Factors of the Nile River

Longest river in the world

Leads to the Mediterraniean Sea

Upside down flow

What cities are alongside the Nile River?

Cairo, Khartoum, Jinja, Jiba

Why was Egypt protected in the beginning?

Geography; surrounded by deserts and bodies of water

Compare pharoahs and priests

Pharaoh’s were believed to be actual Gods and conduits

Priests were servants of God

What was one of Egypt’s downfall?

Incest. It lead to downfall due to infant death, genetic weakness, and weak pharaohs.

Vizier

Second in command, trusted advisor to king

What as the shorthand scribes developed?

Hieratic

What was discovered that helped translate hieratic?

Rosetta Stone in 1799

Registers

Lines that seperated art.

Ka

Physical element of soul

Ba

Spiritual part of soul

How could Ba and Ka be reunited and what is that called?

Only in death if you were worthy. Called Akh

Ancient Egypt Old Kingdom was known as the Age of the __

Pyramids

What was the first pyramid anad what was it’s purpose?

Pyramid of Saqqara/Djoser. It was a staircase to the sky.

Who was Pepi ii and why was he connected to the Old Kingdom’s downfall?

Last pharaoh of Old Kingdom. He grew to be in his 90s and outlived all his heirs. Local governors took power.

Famous quote of Old Kingdom falling apart?

70 pharaohs, 70 days (not actually true)

What was built to protect King Khafre?

Great Sphinx

What is the basic timeline of Ancient Egypt’s history?

Centralized power > monuments > decentralization

What was ancient egypt known as?

Golden Age of Arts

Where was the Middle Kingdom located?

Primarily in lower egypt

Difference in art between Egypt’s Old and Middle Kingdoms?

Middle Kingdom’s art was more delicate, and held more personalized portraits of rulers

Difference in afterlife between Egypt’s Old and Middle Kingdoms?

O.K believed that afterlife was just for pharaohs and priests

M.K believed that it was open for everyone

Who took over lower egypt during the Middle Kingdom?

Hyksos “ruler of foreign lands”

What were the Hyksos known for?

Improvements of bronze casting, composite bow, and brought horse and chariot

What led to the emergence of the New Kingdom?

Kings Kabose and Ahmose expelled the Hyksos

What was Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom known as?

Golden age of territory expansion and military

Famous pharoahs from Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom

Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, Ramesses

What was Hatshepsut known for?

One of Egypt’s few female pharaohs, she established vast trade network and was marked by massive building projects, most notably her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri.

Who was known as the Heretic King?

Akhenaten

What were some of of Ramesses’ achievements?

He ruled for over 60 years and produced more monuments than almost any other pharaoh

Why did pyramids stop being built and what was it transitioned to?

Due to tomb raiders and not having enough space in the new capitol (Thebes). Transitioned to complex hidden tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

Where did the New Kingdom expand into?

Nubia, Syria, and Palestine

Poleis

Ancient Greek city states

Why were poleis separated and who united them?

Separated due to rocky terrain, and constant war. Alexander the Great united them

Which poleis was known as the first democracy?

Athens

Demokratia

Rule by the people (only adult men)

Three tiers of Athens democracy

Demes, Trittyes, Phylia

Demes and how many

Villages/city wards.

139-159

Trittyes and how many

Connected demes

30

Phylai and how many

Tribes

10

Parthenon

Temple to Athena in Acropolis

Arts in Athens

Focused on realism. Had Egyptian influences in pottery and building columns and temples.

What was considered the birthplace of drama?

Theatre in Dionysus

How many legislative bodies did Athens democracy have and what were they called?

2

Ekklesia and Boule

Ekklesia; who could join and how much did they meet? Where there representatives?

Open only to adult men, met 40 times a year. No representitves

Boule. How many and from where?

500 members.. 10 from each phylai. Members cycled through quickly.

Dikasteria

Court

Thesmophoria

Secret 3 day fertility festival only for women.

Olympian Games; who was it dedicated to and how often?

Dedicated to Athena. Every 4 years, competed for resources

What was Sparta known as?

Military

What was Sparta’s government system?

Diarchy, 2 king system

Parts of the Spartan’s diarchy and what were they known for?

Agiad (senior, more honorable and militaristic)

Eurypontid (more domestic + religious duties)

Ephors

5 elected officials, who oversaw state and kings

Gerousia

A council of men 60 y/o and up, similar to Supreme Court

Apella

Open assembly for mean 30 y/o and up, met up once a month

Agoge

Brutal training regimen from 7-30 years old

When could Spartans join the military?

20 years old

Women in Sparta

Enjoyed rights, which grew with more children. Were educated and owned land

Perioki and their jobs

“dwellers around”Not citizens or slaves.

Lived around Sparta

Traders, Sailors, Craftsmen

Helots

State slaves/serfs

Messenians that were conquered

Outnumbered Spartans, which is why they were watched closely

Highlights of the Persian War

Athens and Sparta united

What sparked the Persian Wars?

Ionian Revolt in 499 BCE

Who was defeated in the first invasion of Persian War and where?

Persians defeated by Athenians at the Battle of Marathon

Who was defeated in the second invasion of Persian War and where?

Spartans lost the battle due to betrayal by Ephialetes, but won the war.

Persians defeated at sea

What sparked the Peloponnesian Wars?

Sparta feared Athens growth (Delian League)

Who fought in the Peloponnesian War and for how long?

Athens vs Sparta for 30 years

What army did Athens have vs Sparta?

Athens navy vs Sparta’s land army

How did Sparta win the Peloponnesian War?

Athen’s lost many boats, and became surrounded. Walls were torn day by Sparta.

What made Greece susceptible to Macedonia?

Inner conflicts after Peloponnesian War

Socrates and his concepts

Athenian scholar

Emphasized critical thinking and ethics

Socratic Method

Questioning to stimulate critical thinking over lecturing

Plato and his concepts

Emphasized education and how physical world is imperfect

Name of Plato’s university

Academy in Athens

Plato’s Republic

How to build the perfect society, justice is harmony when people perform their roles without interfering.

Allegory of the Cave

People live in ignorance, limited perceptions (shadow). It argues that most people are "chained" by ignorance or societal conventions, taking the first thing they see as the truth. Enlightenment requires uncomfortable, hard work to learn the real truth

Aristotle and his concepts

Empiricism; knowledge comes from observation

Golden means

Virtue lies in moderation (the mean)

Syllogism and it’s 3 steps

Major premise > minor premise > conclusion

Name of Aristotle’s university and students who attended

Lyceum. Students called “peripatetics”, those who walked and talked

Hippocrates and his concepts

Father of Western Medicine. Shifted medicine to science and ethics

Homer and his famous works

Poet who focused on heroic deeds (Odyssey and Iliad)

Why was Alexander the Great known as a military genius?

Never lost a battle, conquered the largest empire.

What is hellenization and who is most responsible?

Spread of Greek cuulture, Alexander the great spread it across Greece to India (70 cities)