Tigris River
A river in southwestern Asia that flows through the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent; parallel to the Euphrates River
Euphrates River
A river in southwestern Asia that flows through the southern part of the Fertile Crescent; parallel to the Tigris River
Mesopotamia
the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers;birthplace of the Sumerian civilization
Fertile Crescent
an arc of fertile farmland in Southwest Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf
Sumerians
the creators of the first Mesopotamian civilization
Polytheistic
worshipping or believing in more than one god
Uruk
an independent city in Mesopotamia
City-states
the basic units of Sumerian civilization
Ziggurat
a large, stepped platform topped by a temple dedicated to the city's chief god or goddess
Theocracy
government by divine authority
Cuneiform
an ancient wedge-shaped script used in Mesopotamia by the Sumerians
Akkadians
Semitic people" north of the Sumerian city-states
Sargon
leader of the Akkadians, overran the sumerian city-states and set up the first empire in world history
Empire
a large political unit, usually under a single leader, that controls many peoples or territories
Babylon
a city-state south of Akkad
Hammurabi
Babylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia
Patriarchal
Dominated by men.
Code of Hammurabi
the set of laws drawn up by Babylonian king Hammurabi dating to the 18th century BC, the earliest legal code known in its entirety
Nile River
The world's longest river, which flows northward through East Africa into the Mediterranean Sea
Lower Egypt
the Nile Delta region in the northern section of Africa
Upper Egypt
the land upstream, to the south
King Menes
According to legend it was this person who united Upper and Lower Egypt
Dynasty
a family of rulers whose right to rule is passed on within the family
Pharaoh
the title of the ancient Egyptian kings
Bureaucracy
an administrative organization with officials and regular procedures
Vizier
a high government official in ancient Egypt or in Muslim countries
Mummification
a process of slowly drying a dead body to prevent it from rotting
Giza
an ancient Egyptian city; the site of the Great Pyramid
Hyksos
nomadic people from Asia who conquered and ruled ancient Egypt between 1650 and 1550 B.C
Hatshepsut
one of the first woman to become pharoh; built a great temple at Deir el-Bahri, near Thebes
Akhenaten
early ruler of Egypt who rejected the old gods and replaced them with Aten, the sun god.
Tutankhamen
a 10 year old pharaoh who ruled for nine years and then died unexpectantly; restored the old gods
Ramses II
powerful pharoah who kept Egypt together during invasion; helped to regain control of Palestine
Cleopatra VII
tried to reestablish Egypt's independence; her involvement with Rome led to her suicide and defeat
Hieroglyphics
priest-carvings" or "sacred writing"; a complex system of writing that used in ancient Egypt
Hieratic Script
simplified version of hieroglyphics used in ancient Egypt for business transactions, record keeping, and the general needs of daily life
Pastoral Nomads
a person who domesticates animals for food and clothing and moves along regular migratory routes to provide a steady source of nourishment for those animals
Indo-Europeans
one of the most inportant nomadic people
Hittites
created an empire in western Asian and threatened the power of the Egyptians; were the first Indo-Europeans to use iron
Phoenicians
located on eastern Mediterranean coast; invented the alphabet which used sounds rather than symbols like cuneiform
Israelites
semitic-speaking people that influenced other religions with theirs of Judaism
Jerusalem
capital of Israel
King Solomon
son of King David, the King that expanded the government and army and encouraged trade
Monotheistic
believing that there is only one god
Assyrians
Semitic-speaking people who exploited the use of iron weapons to establish an empire
King Nebuchadnezzar
rebuilt Babylon to the greatest city of the time
Persians
Indo-European who lived in now what is called Iran, created one of the largest empires of the world
Cyrus
Persian Empire's 1st emperor
Darius
came to throne in 521 B.C. He reorganized the government to make it work better. He divided the empire into 20 provinces. Each was ruled by an official with the title of satrap.
Satrapies
the 20 states into which Darius divided the Persian Empire
Satrap
a governor of a province in ancient Persia
Royal Road
a road in the Persian Empire that Darius orgainized stretching over 1,600 miles from Lydia to Susa
Immortals
best trained Persian soldiers; named Immortals because when any of them died, they were instantly replaced
Monarchy
rule by a king or queen
Zoroaster
Persian prophet who founded Zoroastrianism (628-551 BC)