Ancient History Pt1

Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Africa, Ancient Persia, Ancient India, Dynasties of India

King Sargon I

the first emperor (Akkadian Empire; Mesopotamia)

Hammurabi

Babylonian king, expanded Babylon into a unified southern Mesopotamia; created Code of Hammurabi (earliest/most comprehensive legal codes in Ancient Hi.)

Sumerians

~ 4,000 - 1750 BCE
Southern Mesopotamian civilization known for Cuneiform (first writing), the Epic of Gilgamesh (one of first major lit.), complex economy, and the wheel/ships

Akkadians

~ 2350 - 2150 BCE
First Empire (King Sargon) spanning from Persian gulf to Mediterranean (southern Mesopotamia); early Semitic language

Babylonians

~ 2350 - 2150 BCE
Mesopotamian civilization along Euphrates River through Southern region; known for Hammurabi’s Code

Assyrians

~ 900 - 600 BCE
Empire that expanded from northern Mesopotamia/grew to encompass from Egypt to Persia;
known for war tech (cavalry, siege warfare, iron weaponry) and aggressive expansionism (with conquest/power-centric religion)

Hittites

~ 1650 - 1190 BCE
Civilization originating in Anatolia (Turkey) and Upper Mesopotamia (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine); majorly developed iron-working and chariot warfare

Nile River

resource allowing Egyptian empire domination in the Bronze Age with freshwater, predictable flooding/schedules (in addition to the area being bordered fully by desert and sea)

pharaoh

Egyptian family-dynasty based (dynastic) rulers; god-kings buried in pyramids (testaments to Egyptian technological advancement)

Pharaoh Menes

greatest political movement in Egypt, unification of Upper/Lower regions, solidified it as an empire under…
(aka Narmer)

polytheistic

a complex social class of priests developed out of ___________ religions in early civilizations (Egypt, Phoenicia, Assyria, etc);
gods were closely tied to various processes of nature and priests, second only to royalty, were their interpreters/communicators

Egypt

most notable contributions of Ancient _______:
Mathematic advancements, written lang. (hieroglyphics), agricultural and military technology
Library of Alexandria and the Great Pyramids

Bantu

diverse group of (African( ethnic communities sharing linguistic/cultural heritage
starting in West Africa (~2000 BCE), their southern/eastern migrations spread advanced cultivation and ironworking skills, leading to village/city development into those regions

Axum

Ancient kingdom (modern ~Ethiopia, ~1000-700 BCE) known for early written scripts, granite architecture (obelisks), and one of the first states officially adopting Christianity
Fell from gradual decline with changing trade routes and rise of region’s Islamic powers

Red Sea

Axum’s location along the _____ _____ made it a key trade center of great value to Mediterranean world (Arabia, India, East Africa) with valuable exports (ivory, spices, gold/frankincense)

Sudanic

these kingdoms across semi-arid Western African regions (bordered to SOUTH by Sahara and NORTH by grassy-woodlands) shared geographic and cultural (ruling-class Islam conversions) characteristics
~700-1600 CE

Ghana

Sudanic Kingdom, began at Senegal River and achieved wealth with gold, ivory, and slave trade

Sudanic rulers

They allowed some control (trade routes/individual areas) to Ghana locals conditional on paying kingdom taxes

Mali Empire

Falling from drought, civil wars, and competing trade routes led to Ghana Empire’s absorption into the newly formed…

govern

first ruler (Sundiata Keita) freed the Mali from the Sosso Empire and became its own large kingdom/empire; prosperous with Niger River proximity, gold mines, copper/salt exports, and import taxes
Largely peaceful as individual villages/areas could _____ themselves according to their local customs

Songhai Empire

broke off independently from Mali empire, prospering through salt, gold, metal, textile, and slave trade
began ~Gao (African city) and expanded into Timbuktu and Jenne; fell by Moroccan army (and their guns)

Swahili

originally referencing costal settlements of Eastern/Great Lakes regions of Africa; name of linguistic/cultural practices established (alongside Arab counterparts) with trade and colonial settlement (by Arabs/Persians)
Often associated with practice of Islam and exporting salt, slaves, ebony, ivory, gold, sandalwood; declined as Portuguese empire + trade began/grew

Persian Empire

amalgamated many cultures, grew greater than other ancient empires (including Roman), spanning from Indian border to Greece + from Middle East to East African coast
fell to Arab invasion/conquest, eventually replacing main Zoroastrians religions with spread of Islam in the region
~600 BCE-651 CE

Cyrus the Great

beginning with the Achaemenid Empire formation, _______ ___ ______ led Persian empire to conquer Median, Lydian, and Babylonian empires (including Mesopotamia, Egyptian Nile Valley, and Indus Valley)

standardized

in addition to interconnecting road systems, Persians famously introduced ___________ currency and measurements/weight across their empire