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Amon

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the chief god of Egypt from Thebes that served to unify the country and strengthen the monarchy

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Hammurabi

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Amorite ruler of Babylon. He conquered many city-states in southern and northern Mesopotamia and is best known for a code of laws, inscribed on a black stone pillar, illustrating the principles to be used in legal cases

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Osiris

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a god who once ruled Egypt, whose example gave people hope of a new life in a world beyond this one

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Ptah

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the chief god of Egypt from Memphis that served to unify the country and strengthen the monarchy

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Re

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the sun-god, whom the Egyptians believed travelled around a great ocean by day, and then returned to the underworld at night, fighting off the attacks of demonic serpents so that he could be born anew in the morning

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Sumerians

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the people who dominated Southern Mesopotamia through the end of the third millennium B.C. They were responsible for the creation of many fundamental elements of Mesopotamian culture, such as irrigation technology, cuneiform, and religious conceptions, taken over by Semitic successors

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Babylon

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the largest and most important city in Mesopotamia. It achieved particular eminence as the capital of the Amorite king Hammurabi and the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar

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Bronze

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an alloy of copper with a small amount of tin, it is harder and more durable than copper alone

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Çatal Hüyük

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an early town in the Middle East that was excavated and gives us vivid glimpses of early Neolithic life

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City-state

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a small independent state consisting of an urban center and the surrounding agricultural territory. A characteristic political form in early Mesopotamia, Greece, Phoenicia, and Italy

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Civilization

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an ambiguous term often used to donate more complex societies but sometimes used by anthropologists to describe any group of people sharing a set of cultural traits

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Cuneiform

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a system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols represented words or syllables. It originated in Mesopotamia and because so many symbols had to be learned, literacy was confined to a small group of administrators and scribes

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Euphrates

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one river surrounding Mesopotamia which starts in the mountains of eastern Anatolia and empties into the Persian Gulf

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Harappa

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site of one of the great cities of the Indus Valley civilization of the third millennium B.C. It was located on the northwest frontier of the zone of cultivation and may have been a center of the acquisition of raw materials, such as metals and precious stones

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Hieroglyphics

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a system of writing in which pictorial symbols represented sounds, syllables, or concepts. It was used for official and monumental inscriptions in ancient Egypt

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Huang He

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the Yellow River; it was a great river system that supported intensive agriculture

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Ma'at

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Egyptian term for the concept of divinely created and maintained order in the universe. Reflecting the ancient Egyptians' belief in an essentially beneficent world, the divine ruler was the earthly guarantor of this order

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Megaliths

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structures and complexes of very large stones constructed for ceremonial and religious purposes in Neolithic times

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Memphis

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the capital of Old Kingdom Egypt, near the head of the Nile Delta. Early rulers were interred in the nearby pyramids

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Mesopotamia

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the land that was home to a complex civilization that developed in the plain of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers beginning in the fourth millennium B.C.

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Mohenjo-Daro

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largest of the cities of the Indus Valley civilization. It was centrally located in the extensive floodplain of the Indus River. Little is known about the political institutions of Indus Valley communities, but the large scale of construction at the city, the orderly grid of streets, and the standardization of building materials are evidence of central planning

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Mummy

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a body preserved by chemical processes of special natural circumstances, often in the belief that the deceased will need it again in the afterlife

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Papyrus

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a reed that grows along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. From it was produced a coarse, paper like writing medium used by the Egyptians and many other peoples in the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East

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Pharaoh

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the central figure in the ancient Egyptian state. Believed to be an earthly manifestation of the gods, he used his absolute power to maintain the safety and prosperity of Egypt

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Pyramid

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a large, triangular stone monument, used in Egypt and Nubia as a burial place for the king. The largest ones near Mesopotamia, built with stone tools and labor, reflect the Egyptian belief that the proper and spectacular burial of the divine ruler would guarantee the continued prosperity of the land

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Semitic

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family of related languages long spoken across parts of western Asia and northern Africa; included Hebrew, Aramaic, and Phoenician; most widespread member of the family is Arabic

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Thebes

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capital city of Egypt and home of the ruling dynasties during the Middle and New Kingdoms. Amon became one of the chief gods of Egypt. Monarchs were buried across the river in the Valley of the Kings

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Tigris

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the other river surrounding Mesopotamia which starts in the mountains of eastern Anatolia and empties into the Persian Gulf

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Ziggurat

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a massive pyramidal stepped tower made of mud bricks. It is associated with religious complexes in ancient Mesopotamian cities, but its function is unknown

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Agricultural Revolution

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the change from food gathering to food production that occurred between ca. 8000 and 2000 B.C. Also known as the Neolithic Revolution

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Anthropomorphism

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the belief that gods have human-like characteristics

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Code of Hammurabi

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inscribed on a polished black stone pillar, it provided judges with a lengthy set of examples illustrating principles to use in deciding cases. i. The free, landowning class, which included royalty, high-ranking officials, warriors, priests, merchants, and some artisans and shopkeepers ii. The class of dependent farmers and artisans, whose legal attachment to royal, temple, or private estates made them the primary rural work force iii. The class of slaves, primarily employed in domestic service

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Neolithic

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the period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient Agricultural Revolution(s). It follows the Paleolithic period

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River Valley Civilizations

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included Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley Civilization; these civilizations developed on rivers that were essential to life

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Celts

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peoples sharing common linguistic and cultural features that originated in Central Europe in the first half of the first millennium B.C.

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Chavín

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the first major urban civilization in South America (900-250 B.C.)

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Confucius

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western name for the Chinese philosopher Kongzi. His doctrine of duty and public service had a great influence on subsequent Chinese thought and served as a code of conduct for government officials

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Druids

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the class of religious experts who conducted rituals and preserved sacred lore among some ancient Celtic peoples

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Han Fei

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a Legalist writer and political advisor to the ruler of the ambitious state of Qin. Eventually he lost out in a power struggle at court and was forced to kill himself

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Olmec

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the first Mesoamerican civilization. Between ca. 1200 and 400 B.C., these people of central Mexico created a vibrant civilization that included intensive agriculture, wide-ranging trade, ceremonial centers, and monumental construction

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Divination

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the interpretation of phenomena in the natural world as signs of gods' will and intentions

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Druid

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a Celtic priest in Gaul and Britain that formed a well-organized fraternity that preformed religious, judicial, and educational functions

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Kush

answer

an Egyptian name for Nubia, the region alongside the Nile River south of Egypt, where an indigenous kingdom with its own distinctive institutions and cultural traditions arose beginning in the early second millennium B.C.

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Llama

answer

a hoofed animal indigenous to the Andes Mountains in South America. It was the only domesticated beast of burden in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans

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Loess

answer

a fine, light silt deposited by wind and water. It constitutes the fertile soil of the Yellow River Valley in northern China

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Meroë

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capital of a flourishing kingdom in southern Nubia from the fourth century B.C. to the fourth century C.E. In this period Nubian culture shows more independence from Egypt and the influence of sub-Saharan Africa

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Nubia

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the thousand-mile stretch of land in the Nile Valley; it served as a corridor of trade between tropical Africa and the Mediterranean; it had a complex political organization, social stratification, metallurgy, monumental building, and writing

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Oracle Bones

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the shoulder bones of cattle and the bottom shells of turtles employed by Shang rulers to obtain information from ancestral spirits and gods

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Confucianism

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the philosophy that focused on family and making society function smoothly. It provided a philosophical and ethical framework for conducting one's life and understanding one's place in the world

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Daoism

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Chinese school of thought, originating in the Warring States Period with Laozi. It offered an alternative to the Confucian emphasis on hierarchy and duty

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Legalism

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Legalists were willing to sacrifice individual freedom to guarantee the security and prosperity of the state, during the Qin era.

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Mandate of Heaven

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Chinese religious and political ideology developed by the Zhou, according to which it was the prerogative of Heaven, the chief deity, to grant power to the ruler of China and to take away that power if the ruler failed to conduct himself justly and in the best interest of his subjects

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Mesoamerican peoples

answer

the Olmec and Chavín civilizations; they lived in the mountainous Andean region of South America

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Qin era

answer

the most innovative state in the era; the first to put into practice the philosophy and methods of the Legalist school of political theorists

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Shang period/dynasty

answer

the dominant people/dynasty in China for which we have written records

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Warring States Period

answer

the second half of the Eastern Zhou era; called this because the scale and intensity of rivalry and warfare between the states accelerated

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Yin/yang

answer

in Chinese belief, complementary factors that help to maintain the equilibrium of the world. Yang is associated with masculine, light, and active qualities; yin with feminine, dark, and passive qualities

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Zhou period/dynasty

answer

the people and dynasty that took over the dominant position in north China from the Shang and created the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to justify their rule. The era, particularly the vigorous early period, was remembered in Chinese tradition as a time of prosperity and benevolent rule

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Akhenaten

answer

Egyptian pharaoh. He built a new capital at Amarna, fostered a new style of naturalistic art, and created a religious revolution by imposing worship of the sun-disk

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Ashurbanipal

answer

one of the last Assyrian kings who assembled a library

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Hatshepsut

answer

queen of Egypt. She dispatched a naval expedition to Punt, the far-away source of myrrh. There is evidence of opposition to a woman as a ruler, and after her death her name and image were frequently defaced

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Hittites

answer

a people from central Anatolia and Syria in the Late Bronze Age. With the wealth from the trade in metals and military power based on chariot forces, they vied with New Kingdom Egypt for control of Syria-Palestine before falling to unidentified attackers

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Minoan

answer

prosperous civilization on the Aegean island of Crete in the second millennium B.C. They engaged in far-flung commerce around the Mediterranean and exerted powerful cultural influences on the early Greeks

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Phoenicians

answer

Semitic-speaking Canaanites living on the coast of modern Lebanon and Syria in the first millennium B.C. From major cities, these merchants and sailors explored the Mediterranean, engaged in widespread commerce, and founded Carthage and other colonies in the western Mediterranean

question

Ramesses II

answer

a long-lived ruler of New Kingdom Egypt. He reached an accommodation with the Hittites of Anatolia after a standoff in battle at Kadesh in Syria. He built on a grand scale throughout Egypt

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Solomon

answer

Israelite king whose reign marked the high point of the monarchy. Through alliances and trade, he linked Israel with near and distant lands. He also built the First Temple in Jerusalem.

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Carthage

answer

city located in present-day Tunisia, founded by the Phoenicians. It became a major commercial center and naval power in the western Mediterranean until defeated by Rome

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Cnossus

answer

a Cretan city that was taken over by Mycenaean Greeks

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Crete

answer

an island that was home to the first European civilization to have complex political and social structures and advanced technologies

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First Temple

answer

a monumental sanctuary built in Jerusalem by King Solomon in the tenth century B.C. to be the religious center for the Israelite god Yahweh. The priesthood conducted sacrifices, received a tithe of percentage of agricultural revenues, and became economically and politically powerful

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Hebrew Bible

answer

a collection of sacred books containing diverse materials concerning the origins, experiences, beliefs, and practices of the Israelites. Most of the extant text was compiled by members of the priestly class the 5th century B.C. and reflects the concerns and views of this group

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Israel

answer

in antiquity, the land between the eastern shore of the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, occupied by the Israelites from the early second millennium B.C.

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Library of Ashurbanipal

answer

a large collection of writings drawn from the ancient literary, religious, and scientific traditions of Mesopotamia. It was assembled by the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal. The many tablets unearthed constitute one of the most important sources of present-day knowledge of the long literary tradition of Mesopotamia

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Linear B

answer

a set of syllabic symbols, derived from the writing system of Minoan Crete, used in the Mycenaean palaces of the Late Bronze Age to write an early form of Greek. It was used primarily for palace records, and the surviving tablets provide substantial information about the economic organization of Mycenaean society and clues about political, social, and religious institutions

question

Mycenae

answer

site of a fortified palace complex in southern Greece that controlled a Late Bronze Age kingdom. In Homer's epic poems, it was the base of King Agamemnon, who commanded the Greeks besieging Troy

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Assyrian Empire

answer

created the largest empire the world had seen, extending form the Iranian Plateau to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean and containing a diverse array of peoples

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Diaspora

answer

Greek word meaning "dispersal," used to describe the communities of a given ethnic group living outside their homeland

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Iron Age

answer

historians' term for the period during which iron was the primary metal for tools and weapons. It began at different times in different parts of the world

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Monotheism

answer

belief in the existence of a single divine entity

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Neo-Assyrian Empire

answer

an empire extending from western Iran to Syria-Palestine, conquered by the Assyrians or northern Mesopotamia. They used force and terror and exploited the wealth and labor of their subjects, and they also preserved and continued the cultural and scientific developments of Mesopotamian civilization

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Neo-Babylonian kingdom

answer

under the Chaldaeans (nomadic kinship groups in southern Mesopotamia), Babylon again became a major political and cultural center. After participating in the destruction of Assyrian power, the monarchs Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar took over the southern portion of the Assyrian domains

question

Achaemenids

answer

the Persian rulers; they traced their lineage back to an ancestor named Achaemenes

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Alexander

answer

king of Macedonia in northern Greece. He conquered the Persian Empire, reached the Indus Valley, founded many Greek-style cities, and spread Greek culture across the Middle East

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Aristotle

answer

a philosopher who studied at Plato's Academy and then tutored Alexander. He lectured and wrote about politics, philosophy, ethics, logic, poetry, rhetoric, physics, astronomy, meteorology, zoology, and psychology, laying the foundations for many modern disciples

question

Cyrus

answer

founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. He conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylon. Revered in the traditions of both Iran and the subject peoples, he employed Persians and Medes in his administration and respected the institutions and beliefs of subject peoples

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Darius I

answer

third ruler of the Persian Empire. He crushed the widespread initial resistance to his rule and gave all major government posts to Persians rather than to Medes. He established a system of provinces and tribute, began construction of Persepolis, and expanded Persian control in the east and west

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Hellenes

answer

the name the Greeks called themselves to distinguish from the barbaroi

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Herodotus

answer

heir to the technique of historia ("investigation/research") developed by Greeks in the late Archaic period. He came from a Greek community in Anatolia and travelled extensively, collecting information in western Asia and the Mediterranean lands. He traced the antecedents and chronicled the wars between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire, thus originating historical writing

question

Pericles

answer

aristocratic leader who guided the Athenian state through the transformation to full participatory democracy for all male citizens, supervised construction of the Acropolis, and pursued a policy of imperial expansion that led to the Peloponnesian War. He formulated a strategy of attrition but died from the plague early in the war

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Socrates

answer

Athenian philosopher who shifted the emphasis of philosophical investigation from questions of natural science to ethics and human behavior. He attracted young disciples from elite families but made enemies by revealing the ignorance and pretensions of others, resulting in his death

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Themistocles

answer

The smart Greek general of the hoplite army.He grew a big navy and gained support from all of the city-states except for Sparta.

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Thucydides

answer

an Athenian historian who wrote about the Peloponnesian War

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Xerxes

answer

Darius' son who completed Persepolis

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Zoroaster

answer

created Zoroastrianism and said that the world had been created by Ahurmazda, but its original state of perfect unity had been badly damaged by the attacks of demons. Good eventually wins

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Acropolis

answer

"top of the city" in urban centers, which offered refuge in an emergency

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Agora

answer

"gathering place"; an open area where citizens came together to ratify decisions of their leaders or to assemble with their weapons before military ventures

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Alexandria

answer

city on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt founded by Alexander. It became the capital of the Hellenistic kingdom of Ptolemies. It contained the famous library and the museum, a center for leading scientific and literary figures

question

Anatolia

answer

present-day Turkey; where some Greeks settled

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Anthropomorphic gods

answer

gods that have human-like characteristics

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Antigonid kingdom

answer

one of the three major Macedonian dynasties in the Hellenistic Age. It ruled a compact and ethnically homogeneous kingdom in Macedonia and northern Greece

question

Caucasus mountains

answer

the mountains to the northwest of Persia

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Helots

answer

state-owned serfs, the most abused and exploited population on the Greek mainland- Messenia

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Hoplite

answer

a heavily armored Greek infantryman of the Archaic and Classical periods who fought in the close-packed phalanx formation

question

Persepolis

answer

a complex of palaces, reception halls, and treasury buildings erected by the Persian kings Darius I and Xerxes in the Persian homeland. It is believed that the New Year's festival, coronations, weddings, and funerals of the Persian kings were celebrated here

question

Polis

answer

the Greek term for a city-state, an urban center and the agricultural territory under its control. It was the characteristic form of political organization in southern and central Greece

question

Ptolemaic kingdom

answer

one of the three major Macedonian dynasties that ruled Egypt. The economy was centrally planned and highly controlled. They encouraged Greek immigration and linked Egypt and the Mediterranean world

question

Ptolemies

answer

the Macedonian dynasty, descended from one of Alexander the Great's officers that ruled Egypt for 3 centuries. From their capital at Alexandria, they largely took over the system created by Egyptian pharaohs to extract the wealth of the land, rewarding Greeks and Hellenized non-Greeks serving in the military and administration

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Satrap

answer

the governor of a province in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, often a relative of the king. He was responsible for protection of the province and for forwarding tribute to the central administration

question

Seleucid kingdom

answer

one of the three major Macedonian dynasties that took over the bulk of Alexander's conquests. They controlled Mesopotamia, Syria, and parts of Anatolia

question

Trireme

answer

Greek and Phoenician warship of the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. It was sleek and light, powered by 170 oars arranges in three vertical tiers. Manned by skilled sailors, it was capable of short bursts of speed and complex maneuvers

question

Tyrant

answer

the term the Greeks used to describe someone who seized and held power in violation of the normal procedures and traditions of the community. In Greek city-states, they often took disadvantage of the emerging middle class and, by weakening the old elite, unwittingly contributing to the evolution of democracy

question

Zagros mountains

answer

the mountains to the west of Iran

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Delian League

answer

a voluntary alliance of Greek states to prosecute the war against Persia

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Democracy

answer

system of government in which all "citizens" have equal political and legal rights, privileges, and protections

question

Hellenistic Age

answer

the era in which Greek culture spread across western Asia and northeastern Africa after the conquests of Alexander the Great. The period ended with the fall of the last major Hellenistic kingdom to Rome, cultural influence persisted until the spread of Islam

question

Peloponnesian War

answer

a protracted and costly conflict between the Athenian and Spartan alliance systems that convulsed most of the Greek world. It was largely a consequence of Athenian imperialism. Possession of a naval empire allowed Athens to fight a war of attrition. Sparta prevailed because of Athenian errors and Persian financial support

question

Persian Wars

answer

conflicts between Greek city-states and the Persian Empire, ranging from the Ionian Revolt through Darius' punitive expedition that failed at Marathon and the defeat of Xerxes' massive invasion of Greece by the Spartan-led Hellenic League. This first major setback for Persian arms launched the Greeks into their period of greatest cultural productivity

question

Thesmophoria

answer

a three-day festival where the women of Athens lived together and managed their own affairs in a great encampment, carrying out mysterious rituals to enhance the fertility of the land

question

Zoroastrianism

answer

a religion originating in ancient Iran that became the official religion of the Achaemenids. It centered on a single benevolent deity, Ahuramazda, who engaged in a struggle with demonic forces before prevailing and restoring the pristine world. It emphasized truth-telling, purity, and reverence for nature

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