Ancient Middle East and Egypt Quiz

Study Notes

Ancient Middle East and Egypt (3200 B.C. – 500 B.C.)

Fertile Crescent: Region in the Middle East where civilizations first emerged.
Mesopotamia: Region within the Fertile Crescent, situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Sumer: Location of the world's first civilization in southeastern Mesopotamia.
The Epic of Gilgamesh: Mesopotamian narrative poem, originally told orally in Sumer.
Hierarchy: System of social ranking.
Ziggurat: Large, stepped platform in ancient Mesopotamia, often topped by a temple dedicated to a city's chief god or goddess.
Cuneiform: System of writing in the ancient Middle East using wedge-shaped marks.
Sargon: Ruler of Akkad who conquered neighboring city-states of Sumer.
Hammurabi: Babylonian king who expanded Mesopotamian control, improved irrigation, and organized a strong army.
Codify: To arrange laws or rules in writing.
Civil Law: Branch of law dealing with private rights and matters.
Criminal Law: Branch of law dealing with offenses against others.
Nebuchadnezzar: Second king of Babylon.
Barter Economy: Economic system where goods or services are traded for other goods or services.
Money Economy: Economic system where goods or services are traded for a token of agreed value.
Zoroaster: Persian thinker who rejected existing Persian gods and taught about one wise god, Ahura Mazda.
Colony: Territory settled and governed by another country or people.
Alphabet: Writing system where each symbol represents a single sound.
Cataract: Waterfall.
Delta: Triangular area of marshland at the mouth of a river, formed by silt deposits.
Dynasty: Ruling family.
Pharaoh: Title for rulers of ancient Egypt.
Bureaucracy: System of government with multiple levels of officials.
Vizier: Chief minister who oversaw government affairs in ancient Egypt.
Hatshepsut: First female pharaoh who ruled with full authority.
Thutmose III: Great military leader who greatly expanded Egypt's boundaries.
Ramses II: Pharaoh of the New Kingdom who ruled for 66 years.
Amon-Re: Great lord of the Egyptian gods.
Osiris: Egyptian male god.
Isis: Egyptian female god associated with love, jealousy, and other emotions.
Akhenaton: Pharaoh who changed his name to mean "he who serves Aton" and introduced new religious beliefs.
Mummification: Process of preserving dead bodies through embalming and wrapping.
Hieroglyphics: System of writing in ancient Egypt using pictures (hieroglyphs) to represent objects, concepts, or sounds.
Papyrus: Plant used to make writing material in ancient Egypt.
Decipher: To figure out the meaning of.
Rosetta Stone: Stone inscription with the same text written in three scripts (hieroglyphics, demotic, and Greek), used to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Monotheistic: Believing in one God.
Torah: Sacred text of the Hebrew Bible, containing the first five books.
Abraham: Considered the father of the Israelites, migrated to Canaan.
Covenant: Binding agreement, particularly the agreement between God and Abraham.
Moses: Israelite who led his people out of Egypt.
David: Second king of Israel who unified the tribes.
Solomon: King of Israel known for his wisdom and capital city.
Patriarchal: Society where men held the most legal and moral authority.
Sabbath: Holy day for rest and worship.
Prophet: Spiritual leader who interprets God's will.
Ethics: Moral principles of behavior.
Diaspora: Dispersal of Jews beyond their homeland.