Advanced World History | Unit I Test Review

Terms: Be able to define all of the following terms from the unit. On test day, students will select any 5 terms from the list to give a complete definition and explanation of that term's importance to the unit.

1. Ziggurtat: A pyramid-like temple tower with a statue of a god atop it. Served as the home for a city's god and the central hub for religious, political, and economic life.

2. Cuneiform: Earliest known writing system in human history. Societies used it to track trade, taxes, temple activities, and grain stores as cities expanded.

3. Empire: A large political unit made up of several different areas ruled by a single authority, such as an emperor.

4. Papyrus: A paper-like material made from the papyrus reed. The first major paper, provided a portable alternative to stone slabs, allowed for the preservation of knowledge.

5. Monotheism: The belief in the existence of only one superior god

6. Polytheism: The belief in many different gods/goddesses

7. Hieroglyphics: A formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians

8. Pharaoh: The supreme religious and political leader of ancient Egypt

9. Mummification: The ancient Egyptian process of preserving a dead body. Shows the complex religious beliefs, social structure, and scientific advancements of ancient Egypt.

10. Ka: A person's vital life or spiritual double in ancient Egyptian religious beliefs.

11. Maat: The ancient Egyptian concept of cosmic order, balance, justice, truth, and harmony. Gave the pharaoh power, shaped the afterlife, and maintained social stability.

12. Dynasty: a series of rules from the same family who maintain power over an empire across generations.

People: Be able to explain the importance of all of the following people from the unit. On test day, students will select any 5 from the list to give a complete definition and explanation of the person or group’s importance to the unit.

1. Hammurabi: The sixth king of the first Babylonian Dynasty. He created one of the world's earliest and most complete written legal codes. HAMMURABI’S CODE

2. Nebuchadnezzar: Most powerful king of the Chaldean Empire. He restored Babylon to its former glory and shaped the geographical landscape.

3. Moses: Pivotal prophet credited with turning a group of enslaved people into a unified nation built around monotheism.

4. King Menes: First pharaoh of ancient Egypt.

5. King Tut: Ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Restores traditional polytheistic religion and his tomb was found intact.

6. Osiris: God of the underworld, afterlife, and resurrection.

7. Anubis: God of mummification, embalming, and the afterlife.

8. Hapshetsut: First major female pharaoh in ancient Egypt

9. Akhenaton: Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled during the new kingdom. He launched the first recorded instant of monotheism.

10. Ramses the Great: Powerful Pharaoh of the New Kingdom. Fought the Hittite Empire at the battle of Kadesh, built temples and monuments like Abu Simbel, and ruled for 67 yrs.

Themes: Be able to explain the significance of the following themes from the unit:

1. Geography of the Fertile Crescent. Advantages/Disadvantages and comparison with Egypt. 

   1. Fertile Crescent: Abundance of water and fertile soil. Unpredictable flooding, lack of natural barriers and resources.

   2. Egypt: Predictable flooding, natural barriers, and resources. Isolated.

2. Sumerian Civilization (PERSIA Model)

   1. P: Sumer was a network of independent city-states.

   2. E: Complex networks of canals for farming, trading, and specialized labor.

   3. R: Polytheistic beliefs, ziggurats, humans are servants to god.

   4. S: Society was divided into distinct classes based on power.

   5. I: Cuneiform, base-60 numerical system, Hammurabi’s Code.

   6. A: Monumental construction and statues.

3. Cycle of invasions and empires in the Fertile Crescent

   1. Shaped civilization by accelerating cultural diffusion, driving technological innovation, and standarding governance.

4. Hummarabi’s Code (themes, characteristics)

   1. Oldest and most complete written legal code in human history.

   2. Themes: the punishment should fit the crime, punishments were not equal, claimed the laws come from the gods

5. Advancements of the Assyrians and Hittites

   1. Permanently altered the geographical landscape. Developed breakthroughs in military and iron technology.

6. Persian Empire (tolerance, politics, Royal Road)

   1. Proved a massive, multi-ethnical territory could be successfully governed.

   2. Bureaucracy: Uses chain of command, centralized power, and local administration.

   3. Royal Road: Used as an ancient postal system, movement of military and merchants, and trade.

7. Hebrew Society: Exodus from Egypt, 10 Commandments, ethical monotheism

   1. Foundational shift from polytheism to ethical monotheism (Moses), anchored by Exodus of Egypt, and codified by the 10 Commandments.

8. Phoenicians and Lydians (trade, alphabet, money economy)

   1. Created trade networks, the first phonetic alphabet, and world's earliest coined money.

9. Importance of the Nile River to Egyptian Society

   1. Served as an essential lifeline and foundation of civilization. Farming, transportation, resources, and journey to the afterlife.

10. Egypt’s natural protection, both advantages and disadvantages for their civilization

    1. Advantages: Deserts and seas provide protection from invasion and help them maintain a unified identity.

    2. Disadvantages: Limited expansion and trade, isolation

11. Pre-dynastic Egypt, Upper and Lower Kingdom, symbols and unification under Menes

    1. The unification of the Upper and Lower Kingdom marked the birth of the ancient Egyptian State and as a foundation of enduring civilization.

12. Hieroglyphs and the Rosetta Stone

    1. Rosetta Stone provided the key for modern scholars to read and translate hieroglyphics.

13. Major events/characteristics of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms

    1. Old: Building of the Pyramids.

    2. Middle: Reunification of Egypt + expansion.

    3. New: Militaristic expansions, wealth, and vast temples. Peak of Egyptian power.

14. Social Structure of ancient Egypt

    1. Pharaohs

    2. Government officials

    3. Scribes and soldiers

    4. Merchants

    5. Peasants and the enslaved (only in New Kingdom)

15. Egyptian religion (major gods, afterlife, importance of Maat and Ka)

    1. Maintaining Maat, promise of the afterlife, Osiris (god of afterlife), Horus, and Anubis

16. Egyptian contributions in architecture, art, astronomy, and medicine

    1. Archetecture: Built the pyramids.

    2. Art: Bland but functional.

    3. Astronomy: 365 day calendar, tracked the Nile flooding.

    4. Medicine: Surgical practices, Mummification.

17. The mummification process and its religious significance

    1. The process of preserving the physical body so the soul could recognize it and live forever in the afterlife.

    2. Remove organs, dry with Natron, restore + wrap, Mouth ritual.

18. Importance of Akhenaten, King Tut, and Ramses the Great to Egyptian history

    1. Disrupted traditional religion, restored political stability, and expanded the empire to its peak during the New Kingdom.