SS 8 Unit 1

Ziggurats

Ziggurats

religious temple built on a stepped tower

Cuneiform

sumerian writing

Theocracy

government lead by religious officials

Sargon

Ruler of the Akkadians, conquered Sumerian city states

Hammurabi

• Ruler of Babylonian

• United all of Mesopotamia under Babylonian empire

• Member of Amorite Dynasty

Code of Hammurabi

• 282 laws for all aspects of life

• Punishment depended on social status

• Favored nobles and men

• Unified the expanding empire

• Allowed everyone to know the rules

Nile River

The longest river in the world that flooded annually

Lower Egypt

Northern egypt where the nile delta and most large cities were located

Upper Egypt

Southern egypt

Hatshepsut

• First female pharaoh 

• Built great temple at Deir el Bahri

Tutankhamen

• Boy king

• Revived the old gods after Akhenaton changed them

Akhenaton

• Originally named Amenhotep IV

• Got rid of all of the old gods

• Made one singular god: Aton, god of the sun disk

• Caused Egypt to lose territory

Ramses II

• Fought for more land again

• Wasn’t able to make up all that was lost after Akhenaton

Cleopatra VII

Tried and failed to reunite Egypt and long time after it was originally conquered by the “Sea Peoples”

The Ka

A person’s spiritual self

Mummification

• way of preserving physical bodyFor wealthy people

• Drys out body

• 70 day process

• Liver, lungs, stomach, intestines, and brain removed

Pyramids

tombs built for Pharaoh mummies, royal family and officials

Great Pyramid

In Giza, King Khufu’s Tomb, largest pyramid, guarded by Great Sphinx

Re

Sun god, Atum in human form, Egyptian rulers were called Son of Re

Hieroglyphics

writing comprised of mostly pictures and written in stone on temples and tombs

Hieratic Script

a simpler version way of writing used for business and records and written on papyrus

Menes

united Upper and Lower Egypt

Dynasty

family line of rulers passing down power within a family

Intermediate Periods of Egypt

unstable periods between three main periods, with much chaos and violences

Bureaucracy

organization that helps rule

Vizier

answers directly to the Pharaoh and over saw the whole Bureaucracy

Governors

appointed by Pharaoh, in charge of one of the 42 provinces, answered to Vizier and Pharaoh

First Intermediate Period

150 years of chaos, central government breaks down, reunited by Pharaoh Mentuhotep II

Middle Kingdom

• Expanded kingdom

• Traded with other groups

• Pharaoh became more concerned with the wellbeing of the people

Second Intermediate Period

Hyksos invade and rule for 100 years and had better weapons, Egyptians eventually learn to make stronger weapons including bronze and drive them out

New Kingdom

• Egypt has much more active military

• Egyptian Empire

• Invaded by “Sea Peoples,” Egypt collapsed, ruled by many different groups

Pastoral Nomads

moved along regular paths to provide food for animals

Monotheism

worship one god

Abrahamic religions

Judaism, Christianity, Islam

King Solomon

• had control over all of Palestine

• Seen as very wise because of the god, which helped him administer justice

• Expanded government, army and trade

Divided Kingdom

After Solomon died the kingdom split into the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah

Cyrus the Great

a Persian king who made a strong Persian state and captured Babylonia

Darius

• Expanded to Western India, Greece and parts of Europe

• Made government stronger by splitting empire into 20 satrapies

Satrapies

provinces ruled by Satrap

Satrap

led Satrapies, collected taxes, recruited soldiers and were in charge of justice and security

Royal Road

a road used for communication and travel with stations along it

Immortals

cavalry force and infantry force of 10 thousand that replaced members immediately after they were lost and was at the heart of the army

Zoroastrianism

Persian religion that followed Zoroaster, the prophet of the “True Religion”

Ahuramazda

god worshiped by Persians who represents goodness

Ahriman

the evil spirit in Persian religion