Ancient History Test

Fertile Crescent

The land around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Fertile silt for farmland.

Chaldeans

Fought with/ captured jewish people.

Babylonian Captivity/ Jewish Diaspora

The scattering of people. Nebuchadnezzer took many Jews back to Babylon.

Theocracy

Government directed by religion (or religious leaders).

Pharaoh

Ruler of Egypt.

Hieroglyphics

Egyptian writing.

Delta

Mouth of the river, shaped like a triangle.

Silt

Fertile dirt from river.

Old Kingdom

2500 BC; Built the pyramids; Pharaohs buried in pyramids; Pharaohs were god like; Tombs easy to rob; Spent lots of money on pyramids.

Middle Kingdom

2000 BC; Golden Age; Pharaohs were wise and good rulers; Built hidden tombs; Powerful army; Many palaces.

New Kingdom

1000 BC; Time of expansion; Conquered other areas; Ramses the Great; Pharaohs in the Valley of Kings.

Cuniform

Sumerian form of writing; pictographic wedge shaped writing type. First written language.

Hebrew

Jewish language, old testament is written in this language.

Bantu People

West African people who created iron working and agricultural development. Hunter/ gatherer society who spoke Swahili.

Olmec

The earliest American civilization. South Mexico expanded into Guatemala. 2 classes, polytheistic.

Caste System

Rigid structure governing life; 5 levels: Brahmans (Religious Leaders), Kshatryas (Warriors/ Civil Leaders), Vaisyas (Skilled workers, merchants, minor officials), Sudras (Serfs/ Servants), Pariah (UNTOUCHABLES) outcasts.

Sanskrit

Indian language.

Aryans

Fairskinned herdsman from Central Asia.

Indus and Ganges Rivers

Rivers of India.

Huang He and Yangtze Rivers

Rivers of China.

Goals of Chinese society (Confucian Perspective)

Through proper conduct man can solve the problems of society and live in happiness. 5 basic human relationships - Father/Son, Elder/Younger brother, Husband/Wife, Friend/Friend, Ruler/Subjects.

Kung Fu-tzu

Taught that tao was a pervading force of nature. Free from responsibility, passive lifestyle.

Ancient Japanese belief

The ancient Japanese people believed they descended from the sun goddess.

Sumerians

_ was organized into several independent city states. Their social status was organized into a triangle. The Ruler/Priest was at the top with the Merchants, artists, and scribes below, Peasants and Farmers underneath, with Slaves at the bottom. They were polytheistic with many gods.

Egyptians

The _ were centered around the Nile River and their civilization was broken up into three time periods, the OLD, the MIDDLE, and the NEW. The pharaoh was the ruler, They were polytheistic and mainly worshiped the sun god ra.

Hebrews

The _ were the Jewish people who began with Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

Bantu

The _ originated from West Africa and developed iron working and increased agriculture. They developed Swahili and were likely polytheistic.

Sumerian Social Structure

Their social status was organized into a triangle. The Ruler/Priest was at the top with the Merchants, artists, and scribes below, Peasants and Farmers underneath, with Slaves at the bottom.

Hammurabi's Code

was the first written set of laws. They provided justice and punished with revenge. Most of the Hammurabi Code is on a stele in the Louvre. It was written in Cuneiform.

Changeless Lands

China, Japan, and India are called the because many of their beliefs have been the same since their origin.

Hinduism

A major belief system that includes concepts such as Brahman, Reincarnation, and Karma.

Buddhism

A belief system that includes the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold path to Nirvana.

Confucianism

Teaches that through proper conduct and the five basic relationships, man can solve all problems and be completely happy.

Taoism

Taught peace by living in happiness. Teaches an inactive, passive lifestyle.

Shintoism

Form of nature worship, way of the gods, love for one's clan, loyalty to their country, and respect for the emperor.

Fall of the Zhou empire

China expanded and stronger nobles used their power to take over weaker ones. There was no protection for the common people. There was constant war and since there was no order, it collapsed.

Silk Road

The _ introduced trade to China as well as many western goods such as spices, jade, metalwork, and many textiles.

Gupta Empire

The ___ empire was a profitable empire within the Mediterranean world. They were largely involved with trade, had the greatest Indian authors, made many achievements in medicine, literature, math, and astronomy.

Taika Reform

The was a government reform that modeled the T'ang dynasty in China. This allowed civilians to get government jobs and a permanent capital. This created a more powerful, more centralized government.

Essay

Small groups of people develop into large empires because they get prosperous enough to settle down, develop their populations, and have excess time to learn new things.