History 307 Reading Weeks 1-3

Ziggurats

Mesopotamian temples. Resembles how the Ancient Mesopotamians honored the gods or their family, also what religion they followed

Cuneiform

Writing which was made by pressing reeds into clay tablets. Was the written language of the Sumerians, one of the earliest. Some tablets remained intact, and scholars deciphered them.

Epic of Gilgamesh

An epic written in cuneiform by the Sumerians. Though fantastical, it reveals aspects of life in Ancient Mesopotamia, and shows what was viewed as an interesting tale.

Lex talonix

Law of retaliation, strongly imminent in Hammurabi's code. An example of how laws in different societies for the same crimes differ. This only applied if the offender was below or on the same social class as the victim

Yahweh

God of Judaism. This idea that a supreme being influences us and how this world was created still impacts the world today; Christianity and Islam both branched off Judaism, and are popular religions today.

Sumerians

Members of earliest Ancient Mesopotamian society

3000 BC; earliest writing system; very dry land; economy based on agriculture; few natural resources; everything else obtained by trade and war; sheep/goat - main animals; government based on monarchy; city state of Mesopotamia; first people to discover beer; fell to Babylon in 1750 BC; in modern day Iraq; invented Cuneiform; had Ziggurats; Abraham was born in a city of this state

Babylonians

People of Babylon, Mesopotamian empire.

A Semitic people from the Arabian peninsula who had invaded southern Mesopotamia and ruled from 1792-1750 BCE, under the leadership of their ruler, Hammurabi.

Assyrians

Were south-west Asian people who built a powerful empire noted for a powerful army and a well structured state, most powerful during 8th and 7th centuries B.C.E.

Known as a warrior people who ruthlessly conquered neighboring countries; their empire stretched from east to north of the Tigris River all the way to central Egypt; used ladders, weapons like iron-tipped spears, daggers and swords, tunnels, and fearful military tactics gain strength in their empire

Phoenicians

Were the people of powerful maritime civilization of the Mediterranean, developed powerful and expansive trade network. Developed the first alphabetic script, which had 22 letters (all consonants and no vowels in 1500 B.C.E.).

Torah

Completion of teachings, Judaism's holy book

A Hebrew word meaning "law," referring to the first five books of the Old Testament.

Hittites

A group that settles in central Anatolia around 2000 B.C.E., establishes powerful kingdoms, conquers the Babylonian empire in 1595 B.C.E., and dissolves about 1200 B.C.E. Technological feats include iron metallurgy and light horse-drawn chariots. Makes way for the Assyrians who take over the Hittites. *Monopolized ironwork*

Hebrews

A group of people often referred to as the "father of the Israelites". They developed Judaism (the Jewish religion), a monotheistic religion. They established the Ten Commandments and the Old Testament.

A smaller early civilization whose development of a monotheistic faith provided the foundation of modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Pastorial nomads between Mesopotamia and Egypt

Israelites

Section of Hebrews who migrated from Palestine to Egypt in 1300 B.C.E. In 1800 B.C.E. they went back to Palestine with Moses. Became a loose federation of 12 tribes, known as the Israelites. Eventually created monarchy, and unified tribes under one rule. Kingdom was divised into Israel and Judea. Assyrians conquered northern kingdom and most lost their identity. New Babylonians conquered Judah. Most Israelites maintained religious identity, many deportees returned to Judea, known as Jews

Jews

New Babylonians conquered Judah. Most Israelites from Judah maintained religious identity, many deportees returned to Judea, known as __.

Monotheism

The belief in one all-powerful god, and only that god. This lead to disbelief in all other religions, as there was only one god that existed, and that was supposedly theirs

Polytheism

The belief in many gods, rather than just one

Sargon of Akkhad

Creator of the world's first empire (2370-2315 B.C.E.)

Created coup against king of Kish, seizes trade routes and natural resources. His empire gradually weakens and collapses about 2000 B.C.E.

Hammurabi

King following Sargon of Akkhad (Hammurabi ruled 1792-1750 B.C.E.)

Centralizes the bureaucracy and regulates taxation, the capital is Babylon. Emphasizes law of retribution and importance of social status. Hittite assault and empire crumbles in 1595 B.C.E.

Gilgamesh

Sumerian king who rules over Uruk. In Gilgamesh, the epic, his friend Enkidu dies, and Gilgamesh is left to find his own path and face his mortality

Abraham

Was a Hebrew patriarch who came from Sumerian city of Ur, then migrated to Palestine. His descendants recognized many of the deities, values, and customes common to Mesopotamians.

David

King of the Israelites (1000-970 B.C.E.)

Solomon

King of the Israelite (970-930 B.C.E.)

Nebuchadnezzar

(reigned 605-562 B.C.E.) Ruler of New Babylonian empire. Had lots of wealth, the hanging gardens

Ashurbanipal

An Assyrian king who collected about 20,000 cuniform tablets were now found form him. Made a huge library in Nineveh (668-627 BC)

Moses

Embraced monotheism, taught there was only one god, Yahweh, all other gods were fake imposters. Branch of Hebrews who migrated to Egypt went to Palestine under the leadership of Moses.

Gilgamesh was

A king of the city-state of Uruk, the hero in a popular Mesopotamian epic, a warrior in conflict with the city of Kish, and the legendary loyal friend of Enkidu.

Which of the following is NOT true of the land called Mesopotamia?

It is a land of abundant rainfall and fertile plains

Which of the following did Sumerian cities and their governments do?

Organize work on building projects, rule over the area surrounding the city, oversee the construction and maintenance of irrigation systems, and organize the defense of the city against attacks

Was a gifted administrator and warrior

Sargon of Akkhad

In Hammurabi's code, one can find laws

With punishments that differ according to social class, prescribe the death penalty, regulating commercial transactions, wages, and prices, and relying on the principle of retaliation.

Which of the following peoples did not rule a Mesopotamian Empire

The Jews

Which was the latest invention?

Iron metallurgy

Which of the following is true of the social classes of ancient Mesopotamia?

Priests and priestesses were powerful rulers over temple communities.

Cuneiform writing

Involved wedge-shaped symbols pressed onto clay with a reed

Which of the following was NOT a form of written documentation from Mesopotamia?

Instructions on mummification of bodies

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Recounts the adventures of Gilgamesh and his friend, describes the hero's efforts to attain immortality, explored relations between humans and the gods, and contemplates the meaning of life and death.

The religious beliefs of the Israelites after Moses included

Monotheism.

After the 10th century B.C.E., the Israelite experienced

The division of the kingdom of Israel, conquest by the Assyrians, the destruction of Jerusalem by the New Babylonian empire, and the return of deportees to Judea, where they became known as Jews.

The Phoenicians

Were prosperous, based on their sea trade and commercial networks.

Which of the following is not associated with the Phoenicians

Agriculture

Who first deduced the existence of an Indo-European culture?

Nineteenth-century linguists.

The key element in the expansion of the Indo-Europeans from their homeland was

Horses.

Which of the following was not an area to which the Indo-Europeans migrated?

East and southeast Asia

Writing and reading

Create a class distinction