ancient history - chapter 2 the ancient middle east and egypt

Fertile Cresent

area between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea, "crossroads of the world" and the center of cultural diffusion

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

the two rivers that surround Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia

translates to "land between the rivers", those rivers being the Tigris and Euphrates

Silt

fertile soil that came from the bottom of rivers when it flooded

How rivers led to government

Floods could be dangerous but beneficial, so people had to control them. Irrigation projects in order to build dikes and dams were organized by governments, and priests also began to worship gods.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Epic poem from Mesopotamia that discusses a huge flood

Sumer

the world's first civilization, founded in Mesopotamia, which existed for over 3,00 years

Sumerian cities

Ur, Uruk, Nippur, Kish, Lagash, Eridu

Ziggurats

the largest Sumerian buildings; pyramid-temple structures used to honor other gods

Polytheism

the belief in many gods that control all aspects of life

Clay

the finest soil that Sumerians used for their structures because it was common around the rivers, rather than natural stone or wood

Cuneiform

An early form of writing where Sumerians used wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets

Scribes

special workers who can read and write before literacy was widespread

Cultural Diffusion

the spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one person to another

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Mesopotamia had a lot of cultural diffusion because the "river people" and the "mountain people" constantly fought and spread ideas due to the lack of resources

Sargon

ruler of Akkad who conquered Sumer and built the world's first empire

Empire

a group of states controlled by one ruler

Order of Civilizations in Mesopotamia

Sumer, Akkad, Babylon 1, Hitties, Assyria, Babylon 2, Persia

Hammurabi

King of Babylon who tried to unify Babylonian empires through creating a uniform set of laws called the Code of Hammurabi

Hammurabi's Code

a set of 282 laws that dealt with almost every aspect of daily life; these laws were divided into criminal laws (murder, assault, theft) and civil laws (taxes, marriage)

Steles

large stone pillars with Hammurabi's Code written on them, had a statue of Hammurabi receiving laws from Marduk (the chief god of Babylon) on top

Hammurabi's Accomplishments

wrote down a uniform set of laws, improved irrigation systems, made a good army, fixed temples, and gave religious unity by making Marduk the patron god

Hitties

people from Asia Minor who conquered the Babylonians the first time; used iron as their military advantage against the Babylonians

Assyrians

an empire that stretched from the East to the North of the Tigris River all the way to central Egypt who were known as the most warlike people in history because of their constant conquering of neighboring countries

Nineveh / Assur

Assyrian capitals

Nebuchadnezzar

the second King of Babylon who overthrew the Assyrians and made Babylon the capital city; captured Jews as slaves and burned down Solomon's temple

Cyrus the Great

leader of the Persian army who conquered Babylon and freed Jews from Babylonian captivity

Darius I

third Persian king who unified the empire by setting up a bureaucracy, provinces across the empire, royal roads, a mail system, a code of laws, and most importantly, a common set of weights and measures to improve trade

Bureaucracy

a system of managing government through departments run by appointed officials

Satrapies

regions the Persian Empire was divided into, which helped keep the empire under control and people in each region happy

Satrap

the governor of a province in the ancient Persian Empire

Royal Road

a road in the Persian Empire that allowed communication through mail and transportation to be quicker

Zoroaster

Persian prophet that believed life is a battle of good vs. evil and gave hope for the afterlife; pushed for one of the first monotheistic religions, Zoroastrian

Zoroastrianism

the monotheistic Persian religion where the belief of a good god (Ahura Mazda) and a bad god (Ahriman) in constant battle

Phoenicians

traders and sailors who lived in a string of cities along the Mediterranean coast, called the "carriers of civilization"

Colonies

territories settled and ruled by people from another land; Phoenicians set up colonies to promote trade

Phoenician Alphabet

the greatest Phoenician invention with 22 symbols for consonants (later adapted by the Greeks to add vowels); quicker than cuneiform

Tyre

the Phoenician capital city

Persian Capitals

Persepolis, Susa, Babylon

Carthage

most famous Phoenician colony that became strong trading power in the Mediterranean

Nile River

The river that early kingdoms in Egypt were centered around

Upper Egypt

the southern part of ancient Egypt where less people lived

Lower Egypt

the northern part of ancient Egypt near the Nile Delta where most people lived

Memphis

the capital of Egypt that is a political/economic gateway between Upper and Lower Egypt

King Menes

United Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom and created the first royal dynasty

Old Kingdom

the first part of ancient Egyptian history, known as the "pyramid age"

Pharaoh

a king of ancient Egypt, considered a god as well as a political and military leader

Vizier

a chief minister who supervised the business of government in ancient Egypt, heads bureaucracy

Giza

an ancient Egyptian city where the Great Pyramid is

Pyramids

monumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs but were too costly to make which led to the downfall of the Old Kingdom

Middle Kingdom

a new dynasty that reunited Egypt where the capital of Middle Kingdom Egypt is now Thebes, and irrigation projects and canals between the Nile and Red Sea were built so Egyptian ships could trade along coasts of Arabian Peninsula and East Africa

Hyksos

a group of nomadic invaders from southwest Asia who ruled Egypt; they had an advantage over Egypt in battle because of their chariots

New Kingdom

the period during which Egypt reached the height of its power and glory, where the empire went up to Syria

Queen Hatshepsut

an Egyptian queen who worked to increase trade with places outside of Egypt and ordered many impressive monuments and temples built during her reign

Thutmose III

a pharaoh during the New Kingdom that was one of the greatest conquerers; many new lands were brought under his reign

Ramses II

a long-lived ruler of New Kingdom Egypt who reached an accommodation with the Hitties of Anatolia after a standoff in battle at Kadesh in Syria; he built on a grand scale throughout Egypt

Nubia

an ancient region in the Nile River Valley, where during the Middle Kingdom they had soldiers there and in the New Kingdom Egypt conquered them

Ra

God of the Sun with a falcon head, a sun, and a snake

Osiris

God of the Underworld and the Nile, father of Horus, brother of Set, husband of Isis

Isis

Goddess of Fertility, mother of Horus, husband of Osiris

Set

God of War and the Desert, husband of Nephthys, brother of Osiris

Horus

God of the Sky who is portrayed as a falcon with a crown, son of Osiris and Isis

Anubis

God of Mummification who is portrayed with a jackal head, performs the Weighing of the Hearts ceremony

Sphinx

body of a lion with a human head, carved out of limestone rocks in front of temples to guard them: greatest one in Giza

Obelisk

a tall, four-sided pillar that is pointed on the top, in front of temples to guard them and to help Ra raise the sun each morning

The Story of Osiris, Set, Isis, and Horus

In a jealous rage, Set murders his brother Set by shoving him into a coffin and throwing him down the Nile River. Isis finds him here and brings him back to life, and now even more infuriated Set chops up Osiris' body into 14 pieces and flings them across Egypt. Isis ends up recovering every piece so she could conceive a child, but the only part Osiris was missing was his genitals. Isis ended up miraculously conceiving Horus either way. Horus ends up fighting Set for revenge after what he did to his father.

Weighing of the Heart Ceremony

the ceremony that Egyptians believed decided whether a person's soul moved onto the afterlife through measuring a feather with a person's heart and seeing which is lighter

Mummification

a process Egyptians used of embalming and drying corpses to prevent them from decaying; rulers are mummified and buried with riches with the belief that it will go with them to the afterlife

Theocracy

government controlled by religious leaders who ruled in the name of god(s), Egypt was one with pharaohs

King Tutankhamen

Egyptian pharaoh who died while still a young king; the discovery of his tomb in 1922 taught archaeologists much about Egyptian culture

Howard Carter

the man who discovered King Tut's tomb

Hieroglyphics

an ancient Egyptian writing system in which pictures were used to represent ideas and sounds

Papyrus

a long-lasting, paper-like material made from reeds

Rosetta Stone

a huge stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics, Greek, and demotic that allowed historians to understand Egyptian writing

Jean Champollion

a man who worked for Napoleon and deciphered the Rosetta Stone

Egyptian Conquerers

Hyksos, Nubians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans

Egyptian Cities

Giza, Memphis, Thebes, Luxor, Karnak

Peasant Farmers

the social class most people in ancient cultures were; the lowest class next to slavery

Torah

Israelite's sacred texts that tells the history and relationship with Yahweh, containing the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible

Abraham

the father of Israelites and Judaism, as well as the father of Isaac; God made a covenant with him and told him to leave his home in Ur to be in Canaan

Isaac

one of three patriarchs, Abraham's son that God told him to sacrifice to prove his loyalty

Covenant

a covenant is an agreement, and God made one with Abraham saying that he would have a special relationship with Abraham and his descendants, and that Canaan would be the promised land

Jacob

the son of Isaac who had 12 kids known as the descendants of Israel

Joseph

son of Jacob who was in charge of Egypt's food supply; he had a vision of a famine, moved his family to Egypt, and eventually became slaves

Moses

an Israelite who renewed God's covenant by leading Israelites through a desert for 40 years to Canaan to be free from slavery

3 Jewish Patriarchs

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Saul

first king of Israel who united the 12 tribes into one nation

David

second king of Israel who made Jerusalem as the capital and conducted border campaigns

Solomon

third king of Israel and the son of David who is wise and understanding; made a large temple and negotiated with Egypt and Mesopotamia

Solomon's Temple

a monumental sanctuary built in Jerusalem by the third king of Israel; costly to make and eventually split the kingdom of Israel in two

Yahweh

Hebrew name for God

Prophets

spiritual leaders who interpret God's will and spread it, such as Isaiah or Jeremiah

10 Commandments

the 10 laws given by God to Moses that deals with religious duties to God and conduct towards others

Sabbath

a holy day for rest and worship, where it is said that God has one each week in the 10 commandments

Diaspara

the dispersal of Jews after the end of Babylonian captivity

Dynasty

a series of rulers from the same family

Delta

a low triangular area where a river dides before entering a large body of water