Clep Study: Western Civilization 1 ancient near east

The ___ ___ refers to a historical region in the arid Near East that extends in a semi-circular band from the Tigris-Euphrates valley, northwest into Syria, and then south from the Mediterranean Sea shore toward Egypt's Nile River Valley; this area presented good conditions for agriculture and thus encouraged growth of populations.

Fertile Crescent

The formation of ____ first came along fertile river valleys where persons living in the city focused on specialized trades, persons living in outlying areas could raise food, and each could exchange needed goods.

cities

The ___ Age represented the first phase of human technology and consisted of small nomadic communities of hunters and gatherers who used fire and crude tools constructed of stone and wood in order to survive.

Paleolithic

The ___ Age, which began around 8000 B.C.E. was a period in the development of human technology in which many humans organized themselves in villages, used domesticated crops and animals, and developed more refined stone tools

Neolithic

The ___ Age began in the Fertile Crescent around 3000 B.C.E. and was characterized by advanced metalworking and creation of tools from copper and tin alloys.

Bronze

Early civilization in the Fertile Crescent was characterized by cities, metal-working, writing, and ___, which brought water from a river into nearby fields and thus gave protection against drought periods and higher crop production.

irrigation

The development of a skill called ____ became necessary in order to keep record of business transactions as cities served as centers for the exchange of goods.

writing

In order to remember important events before the development of writing, history was passed from generation to generation in oral traditions known as ______.

legends

A region known as ______, which arose around 3200 B.C.E. in the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley, was the location of the earliest cities in the Fertile Crescent.

mesopotamia

____, was a group of cities in southern Mesopotamia, each about 10 miles in diameter, that became small warring states.

sumer

The Sumerians' religion is described in the ancient poetic work known as The Epic of _______ as having a very uncertain and dismal view of the afterlife and including a large group of capricious, powerful gods; this piece of literature, which recounts a great flood, is about an epic hero, the king of Uruk, who is in search of immortality.

Gilgamesh

Around 3000 B.C.E. the Sumerians began to practice a method of using a stylus to make wedge-shaped strokes on a clay tablet in a writing form known as _______.

Cuneiform

Cuneiform tablets show that the Mesopotamian people calculated numbers on a ________, a base 60 system which continues to be utilized to this day for keeping time

Sexagesimal

One of the most important inventions in Mesopotamian society, the _____, which greatly improved transportation, work, and life in general, came between 3500 and 3000 B.C.E.

wheel

The ____, led by King Sargon (c. 2372-2316) moved into the Tigris-Euphrates valley and conquered certain Sumerian city-states and created an empire that unified Mesopotamia and stretched into the Iranian plateau

Akkadians

Fueled with resentment over the Akkadian rule, the Sumerian city of ___ rose up to gain control of Mesopotamia around 2100 B.C.E.

ur

A people known as the _____ unified Mesopotamia and ruled the area following the Sumerians; this group's empire, which was known as Old Babylon ruled from approximately 1900 to 1600 B.C.E.

Amorites

The most well known Amorite king, ____, was made famous by his comprehensive law code.

Hammurabi

Hammurabi's ___, a collection of old and new laws, dealt mainly with family law, land ownership, and commercial transactions, and included very harsh punishments for crimes: "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

code

The Amorites' Old Babylon empire fell around 1600 B.C.E. due to invasion by a group of people known as the ______ from Asia Minor to the north and Kassites from the east (modern day Iran).

Hittites

Although the Hittites plundered the Amorite empire and returned home, the ____ conquered and set up rule in the region

Kassites

The civilization of a group known as the _______, who unified the regions around the Nile River valley, was much more protected than that of the Mesopotamians due to the surrounding vast deserts

Egyptians

The ____ Dynastic Period in Egypt was a time in which the Nile River valley was unified and a centralized government led to efficient economic and agricultural practices; this period, lasting from about 3100 to 2700 B.C.E. included the first two Egyptian dynasties.

Early

During the ___ Kingdom in Egypt, which spanned from the Third to the Sixth dynasties (2700 to 2200 B.C.E., pharaohs were seen as immortal gods and the greatest pyramids were constructed at Giza

old

During the Fourth dynasty of the Egyptians, the great pyramids at ___ were constructed and used as huge tombs for the pharaohs and their families

Giza

In the First _____ Period in Egypt (2200 to 2050 B.C.E.) nobles known as "nomarchs" controlled the government as the pharaohs' power declined, civil war resulted from this transference of power and from the warring for power between nomarchs, and famine resulted due to lack of planning and coordination in agriculture.

Intermediate

The ___ Kingdom in Egypt (2050 to 1700 B.C.E.) was a time in which a centralized government was reinstated under the Eleventh and Twelfth dynasties.

Middle

The Middle Kingdom in Egypt fell to the ____ who invaded from the Nile delta and defeated the Egyptian army

Hyksos

The ___ Intermediate Period (1700 to 1550 B.C.E.) was a period in Egypt in which the Hykos dominated mainly in the Nile delta but were unable to achieve full control of the Nile valley.

second

The ___ Kingdom in Egypt (1550 to 1100 B.C.E.) was a time in which the pharaohs came back into power and spread their rule southward into Africa and northeastward into the Sinai peninsula.

new

While trying to extend their rule into the Sinai peninsula, the Egyptians came into conflict with the ____ who wanted the same territory; after many battles, there was no clear victory.

Hittites

The Egyptians' polytheistic religion included gods with human and animal characteristics such as ____, the sun-god who had a human body and the head of a hawk, and belief in an afterlife in which a soul could reach blissful immortality.

RA

The Egyptian literary work, Book of the ___, a group of prayers and spells related to the afterlife, reflects their belief in the afterlife and the process to attaining happy immortality.

dead

The Egyptian pharaoh _____ (c. 1375-1358 B.C.E.) brought in the religious phase in Egypt known as the "Amarna period," moved the capital from Thebes to Akhenaton, and focused attention on only worshiping the disk of the sun, a god named Aton.

Akhenaton

_________, sacred writings of the Egyptians, which were used in religious architecture and for official and archival reasons, were written on papyrus, a medium derived from reeds grown along the Nile.

Hieroglyphics

Around 1250 and 1150 B.C.E., a group known as the "___ Peoples," motivated possibly by famine, invaded and overthrew empires around the eastern Mediterranean area including the Mycenaean empire

sea

The _____ society prospered on the island of Crete by 2000 B.C.E.; this empire enjoyed a powerful navy which was used to control people living on the Aegean Sea shores, trade between the Aegean people, Egyptians, and Hittites, and vast wealth including grand palaces often with plumbing and grand artwork

Minoan

___ __ is an ancient script written in an early form of Greek that suggests that early Greeks invaded and took over Crete toward the end of Minoan history

Linear B

Most likely, Cretans palaces were destroyed and the people overpowered between about 1550 and 1375 B.C.E. by a people group from the Balkan peninsula known as the _____.

Mycenaeans

The Homeric epic poem the ____ (800-750 B.C.E.) was likely based on true events surrounding the Trojan War around 1250 B.C.E

Iliad

The ______ were a Canaanite group (1150 to 750 B.C.E.) who lived among independent city-states such as Tyre, Byblos, and Sidon on the coast of modern-day Lebanon and are known for their alphabet, commerce, and colonization efforts

Phoenicians

The ancient people group known as the ______ are known for their adaptations of the Ugaritic cuneiform script alphabet which used only 30 symbols into an alphabet with 22 simpler letters that could be written more easily.

Phoenicians

The Phoenician city _____ served as the prominent center for the manufacture of writing materials in the ancient world.

Byblos

Beginning with the island of ___, the Phoenicians established a colony and then endeavored out into the western Mediterranean where they established many colonies beginning in the ninth century B.C.E. such as colonies on North African shores, Malta, Sicily, and Iberia (modern Spain).

cyprus

The Phoenician colony of _______ in North Africa was founded around 750 B.C.E. by Tyre; after Assyrian overthrow of the Phoenician homeland, this colony assumed control over other Phoenician colonies and became a powerful political and economic empire.

Carthage

Using iron weapons, the ______ empire functioned as a powerful war machine from the eighth to seventh centuries B.C.E. and conquered the entire Near East including all of Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, and southern Anatolia

Assyrians

Known for their cruelty and brutality toward any opposition, the ____ deported rebellious populations in order to force those persons to lose their national identity or desire for independence.

Assyrians

The Assyrian empire was faced with a major revolt in Mesopotamia around 612 B.C.E. in which they were overthrown by a new Neo-Babylonian dynasty known as the ____.

Chaldeans

Under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 B.C.E.), the _____ Empire conquered the Hebrew people living in the kingdom of Judah and took them as captives after the conquest of Jerusalem

Babylonian

The ancient wonder of the world known as the _____ ______, in addition to advances in the studies of astronomy and astrology, can be attributed to the Babylonian empire under King Nebuchadnezzar II.

Hanging Gardens

The Babylonian empire was conquered in 539 B.C.E. by a powerful group known as the ____ who were led by king Cyrus the Great.

Persians

When King Cyrus came into power, his kingdom was under control of the Median empire; Cyrus led the Persians in a conquest of the Medes in 550 B.C.E. and made the Medes partners with the Persians and established ____ as his first satrapy (province).

media

King Cyrus was able to conquer the ____ empire in a bloodless victory because he offered the people religious freedom and limited local autonomy and escape from oppressive rule and heavy taxation.

Babylonian

Westward expansion of the Persian Empire ended when King ____ (486-465 B.C.E.) was defeated after he attempted to occupy the Balkan Peninsula

Xerxes

A Hellenic (Greek) army led by Macedonian king ____ __ ____ (336-323 B.C.E.) conquered the Persian Empire

Alexander the Great

Zoroasrianism, the religion of a people group known as the ______, included beliefs in ethical dualism in which the universe was in a cosmic struggle between Ahura Mazfa, the god of good and truth, and Ahriman, the principle of evil and darkness; humans were allowed to choose sides and in the end, a Last Judgment would result in the rewarding of those following Ahura Mazfa and the punishment of those loyal to Ahriman

Persians

Hebrews claim their descent from the patriarch ____ who was told by Yahweh (God) that his descendants would be greatly blessed and would receive a promised land near the Mediterranean Sea

Abraham

Abraham's grandson ____, later renamed Israel, had twelve sons who were the first leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel

Jacob

A Hebrew man known as ____ was instrumental in liberating the Hebrew people from bondage as slaves under Egyptian rule around 1275 B.C.E., bringing them laws from Yahweh (God), and leading them toward the land where Abraham had dwelt and that had been promised to them by Yahweh.

Moses

Encamped in the desert around Mount Sinai while en route to Canaan, Yahweh gave Moses and the Hebrew nation the _____ _____, a list of religious and moral imperatives in the form of two stone tablets

Ten Commandments

The ___ Covenant, was a covenant that Yahweh entered into with the Hebrew people while they were encamped in the desert at Mount Sinai; in this covenant, Yahweh promised to dwell amongst His people, to make Israel into a holy nation, and to make Israel his special people among the people in the land (Canaan).

Mosaic

The first monarch of the Hebrews, ____, (c. 1020-1004 B.C.E.) united the twelve tribes of Israel under unified rule.

Saul

Hebrew King Saul's successor, King ____ (1004-965 B.C.E.), established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel after securing the nation's borders.

David

David's son, King ___ (965-928 B.C.E.) built the first Jewish temple in Jerusalem, a magnificent temple and focal point for worship and sacrifices in ancient Judaism.

Solomon

The Hebrew prophet ___ approached Ahab, king of Israel (871-852 B.C.E.) and delivered a message to him denouncing him for having ordered the execution of his subject Naboth in order to obtain his property; Ahab repented.

Elijah

In the eighth century B.C.E., Hebrew society experienced an economic transformation in which society moved from being centered around small pastoral settings to people settling in cities; the prophet ____ (c. 750 B.C.E.) saw the exploitation in cities of those in poverty by the extremely wealthy and addressed issues of social justice and empty religious practices as he preached against economic exploitation and urged the people to change their ways in order to avoid ruin.

Amos

Israel and Judah were conquered in 721 B.C.E. by a group known as the _______.

Assyrians

After Assyrian conquest c. 720 B.C.E., people living in the Northern kingdom of ___ were deported, assimilated into the Assyrian polytheistic society, and never returned to their homeland.

Israel

Following the conquest and deportation of the Northern kingdom of Israel by Assyria c. 721 B.C.E., the Southern kingdom of ____ was allowed to remain in existence as a vassal state

Judah

In 586 B.C.E., Judah fell to the Neo-____ empire; this empire took many exiles from Judah but these exiles were careful to preserve their national identity and monotheistic religion.

babylonian

After King Cyrus of Persia overthrew the Neo-Babylonian empire in 539 B.C.E., the Jews were allowed to return home and rebuild the ____, a holy structure in Jerusalem

Temple

The _____ is the term given to Jews who were living outside Judea but retained their Jewish identity.

Diaspora

The ___ were a nomadic people led by Ghengis Khan who seized Russia in 1237 and founded a state known as the Golden Horde.

Mongols

________, the name given to the European style of art and architecture present beginning in the early seventeenth century is characterized by flamboyant, dramatic grandeur.

Baroque