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Vocabulary flashcards covering major rulers, events, gods, concepts, and cultural achievements of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman civilizations.
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Sumerians
The people who around 4000 BCE created the first Mesopotamian civilization, inventing the wheel and cuneiform script.
Cuneiform
Wedge-shaped writing system introduced by the Sumerians circa 3000 BCE.
Sexagesimal System
Mesopotamian base-60 mathematical system, source of the 60-minute hour and 360-degree circle.
Ziggurat
Mesopotamian terraced temple resembling a step pyramid, used for worship.
Sargon of Akkad
Semitic ruler who conquered Sumer c. 2331 BCE and founded the Akkadian Empire.
Akkadian Empire
First united Mesopotamian empire, established by Sargon with capital at Akkad.
Old Babylonian Kingdom
Mesopotamian state founded c. 1900 BCE; reached height under Hammurabi.
Hammurabi
Babylonian king (r. 1792–1750 BCE) famous for compiling the Code of Hammurabi.
Code of Hammurabi
One of the earliest written law codes, inscribed on a stone stele, promoting “eye for an eye” justice.
Marduk
Chief god of Babylon, elevated during Hammurabi’s reign.
Assyria
Militaristic Mesopotamian empire founded c. 1350 BCE, renowned for iron weapons and brutality.
Tiglath-Pileser I
Early Assyrian king credited with expanding Assyrian power (c. 1114–1076 BCE).
Sargon II
Assyrian king who conquered Israel in 722 BCE and took inhabitants captive.
Library of Ashurbanipal
Oldest known organized library, built at Nineveh by Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.
Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) Empire
Babylonian revival state (625–539 BCE) founded by Nabopolassar.
Nebuchadnezzar II
Greatest Chaldean king (605–562 BCE); built Hanging Gardens and destroyed Solomon’s Temple.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Legendary terraced gardens allegedly built by Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife.
Cyrus the Great
Persian ruler who captured Babylon in 538 BCE and allowed Jews to return to Palestine.
Anu
Mesopotamian sky-god and ancestor of the deities.
Enlil
Mesopotamian god of the earth and storms, wielding supreme authority.
Enki
God of wisdom who executes Enlil’s plans; also known as Ea.
Ea
Alternate name for Enki, Mesopotamian god of freshwater and creation.
Shamash
Mesopotamian sun-god associated with justice.
Sin
Mesopotamian moon-god.
Ishtar
Goddess of love and war in Mesopotamia (Akkadian form of Inanna).
Tammuz
Mesopotamian vegetation god whose death and rebirth symbolize crop cycles.
Menes
King credited with unifying Upper and Lower Egypt around 3100 BCE.
Old Kingdom (Egypt)
Egyptian era (c. 2660–2180 BCE) noted for pyramid construction.
Pyramid of Khufu
Largest pyramid at Giza, built for Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops).
Great Sphinx
Colossal limestone statue with human head and lion’s body guarding Giza.
Hyksos
Asiatic people who invaded and ruled Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period (c. 1640–1570 BCE).
Ahmose I
Pharaoh who expelled the Hyksos and began the New Kingdom (1558–1533 BCE).
Thutmose III
Expansionist New Kingdom pharaoh (1490–1436 BCE) who conquered Syria and Babylon.
Akhenaten
Pharaoh (r. 1367–1350 BCE) who promoted monotheistic worship of Aten (Amun-Ra).
Egyptian Monotheism
Brief period during Akhenaten’s reign when Aten was proclaimed the sole god.
Ramses II
Long-reigning pharaoh (1290–1224 BCE) who enslaved Israelites and built monumental temples.
Osiris
Egyptian god of fertility, afterlife, and judge of the dead.
Isis
Egyptian goddess of motherhood, wife of Osiris.
Amun-Ra
Composite sun-god worshiped as supreme deity in New Kingdom Egypt.
Anubis
Jackal-headed Egyptian god of mummification and deaths.
Mummification
Egyptian embalming technique to preserve bodies for the afterlife.
Hieroglyphics
Egyptian pictographic writing system used on monuments and papyri.
Obelisk
Tall, four-sided stone pillar tapering to a point, dedicated to Amun-Ra.
Minoan Civilization
Bronze Age culture on Crete (2200–1400 BCE) named after King Minos.
Mycenaean Civilization
Greek mainland culture (c. 1550–1000 BCE) known for fortress palaces and warfare.
Trojan War
Legendary conflict between Mycenaeans and Troy, dated c. 1230 BCE in Homer’s Iliad.
Odysseus
Greek hero of the Trojan War whose journey home is told in Homer’s Odyssey.
Greek Dark Age
Period (1000–750 BCE) of reduced literacy and cultural decline after Mycenae.
Polis
Independent Greek city-state, the basic political unit of classical Greece.
Sparta
Militaristic Greek polis characterized by oligarchic rule and strict discipline.
Oligarchy
Government in which power is held by a small elite, exemplified by Sparta.
Athens
Greek polis famous for developing direct democracy and cultural achievements.
Democracy
Rule by the people; pioneered in Athens under leaders like Pericles.
Persian Wars
Series of conflicts (490–479 BCE) in which Greek city-states fought the Achaemenid Empire.
Battle of Marathon
490 BCE clash where Athenian hoplites defeated Darius I’s Persians.
Battle of Salamis
479 BCE naval battle where Athens routed Xerxes’ Persian fleet.
Pericles
Athenian statesman (r. 461–429 BCE) who led during the city’s Golden Age.
Peloponnesian War
Civil war (431–404 BCE) between Athens and Sparta that ended Athenian dominance.
Alexander the Great
Macedonian king (r. 336–323 BCE) who conquered Persia and spread Hellenistic culture.
Hellenism
Blending of Greek, Egyptian, Persian and Indian cultures after Alexander’s conquests.
Homer
Epic poet credited with the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Herodotus
‘Father of History’; wrote Histories on Greco-Persian Wars.
Thucydides
Greek historian of the Peloponnesian War.
Polybius
Hellenistic historian whose ‘Histories’ analyzed Roman constitution.
Hippocrates
Greek ‘Father of Medicine’ who set ethical standards (Hippocratic Oath).
Thales
Early Greek mathematician and philosopher, pioneered geometry.
Democritus
Philosopher who proposed atomic theory of matter.
Archimedes
Syracusan mathematician, physicist, inventor of the screw pump and buoyancy law.
Pythagoras
Greek mathematician known for the Pythagorean theorem.
Socrates
Classical Athenian philosopher who used dialectic questioning.
Plato
Socrates’ pupil; founded the Academy and wrote philosophical dialogues.
Aristotle
Plato’s student, tutor of Alexander, systematized logic and science.
Zeus
King of Greek gods, lord of the sky and thunder.
Hera
Greek goddess of marriage, wife of Zeus.
Poseidon
Greek god ruling seas, earthquakes, and horses.
Hades
Greek god of the underworld and the dead.
Athena
Greek goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare, patron of Athens.
Ares
Greek god of war symbolizing bloodshed.
Aphrodite
Greek goddess of love and beauty.
Hermes
Greek messenger god, patron of travelers and merchants.
Apollo
Greek god of sun, music, prophecy and healing.
Romulus
Legendary founder of Rome, twin of Remus, dated 753 BCE.
Roman Kingdom
Earliest period of Rome (753–510 BCE) ruled by kings.
Roman Republic
Roman state (510–31 BCE) with elected consuls and Senate.
Consul
One of two annually elected chief magistrates of the Roman Republic.
Senate (Rome)
Council of elder aristocrats guiding Roman policy.
Punic Wars
Three wars (264–146 BCE) between Rome and Carthage for Mediterranean dominance.
Hannibal
Carthaginian general who crossed Alps to fight Rome in Second Punic War.
First Triumvirate
Political alliance (60 BCE) of Pompey, Crassus and Julius Caesar.
Julius Caesar
Roman general who conquered Gaul, became dictator, and was assassinated in 44 BCE.
Veni, Vidi, Vici
Caesar’s phrase “I came, I saw, I conquered,” celebrating swift victories.
Cleopatra VII
Last Ptolemaic queen of Egypt; allied romantically with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
Augustus (Octavian)
First Roman emperor (r. 27 BCE–14 CE) who ushered in Pax Romana.
Pax Romana
200-year period of relative peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire.
Nero
Roman emperor (54–68 CE) notorious for persecuting Christians and Great Fire legend.
Diaspora
Dispersal of Jews after Roman destruction of Jerusalem (70 CE).
Hadrian’s Wall
Defensive fortification in Britain built under Emperor Hadrian (122 CE).
Diocletian
Emperor (r. 284–305) who split the empire into East and West and persecuted Christians.
Byzantine Empire
Eastern Roman Empire centred on Constantinople, lasting 330–1453 CE.
Constantine the Great
Emperor who legalized Christianity (Edict of Milan, 313 CE) and founded Constantinople.