HI 207 Midterm 1

Solomon

(Old Testament) son of David and king of Israel noted for his wisdom (10th century BC)

Minoan civilization and Mycenaean civilization- Aegean (key developments)

- Construction of elaborate palaces-- 2000BC Crete (First palace known as Knossos) - Emergence of palace-based redistributive economies - Development of significant social inequality - Emergence of distinctive architectural, artistic, and religious traditions-- Fresco painting (Crete) - Development of two key writing systems: Linear A (undeciphered) and Linear B-- Linear B tablets from Pylos - Shift from Minoan (based in Crete) to Mycenaean (based in Mainland Greece) dominance-- 1450BC Mycenaeans take over Crete - Integration within system of Late Bronze Age "Great Powers" - Collapse as part of the broader Late Bronze Age collapse

Old Kingdom- Egypt (key developments)

- Political and economic centralization; focusing on the king as a god on earth - resources poured into royal construction projects; tombs, temples, palaces-- royal tombs and pyramids including Djoser, Sneferu, and the Giza Pyramids (Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure), Autobiography of Weni - Development of a complex bureaucracy; managing redistributive economy centered around royal mortuary cult-- Breakdown of centralized rule, local governors assuming royal prerogatives (autobiography of Weni)

Uruk period- Mesopotamia (key developments)

- Urbanization; emergence of cities and integrated countryside; occupational specialization; monumental architecture; emergence of social hierarchy; etc. - State formation; emergence of kingship, centralized state institutions, administrative apparatus; conflict and conquest; economic centralization and expansion; creation of dependent labor force - Writing; emergence of a pictographic script and numerical sign system for use as an administrative tool

Assyrian empire and Persian empire- Near East (key developments)

- regional politics dominated by a series of empires based in Mesopotamia or Iran-- including Assyrian and Persian empires - annual military campaigns; to deal with rebellious vassal kingdoms or to support projects of imperial expansion - regular demands for tribute - violence and the threat of violence consciously employed as a tool of political intimidation - massive forced population movements (deportation within imperial territories) - major monumental construction projects; new capital cities, palaces decorated with elaborate reliefs and/or glazed bricks, temple complexes Assyrian empire - successful capital cities (Nineveh) - Northwest Palace, state apartments (Kalhu) - "Fortress of Sargon"; Wall relief showing transportation of timber by boat along Phoenician coast - Stages of incorporation within the Assyrian empire -vassal state: local ruler required to deliver annual tribute -puppet state: local ruler loyal to Assyria placed on throne -province: ruled by governor directly under Assyrian control - Israelites; Lachish Persian empire - organization and administration; the Persian Royal Road - capital cities; Pasargadae, Persepolis - royal tombs - religion - The Cyprus Legend

King Scorpion

A Protodynastic king of upper Egypt

Nubia

A civilization to the south of Egypt in the Nile Valley, noted for development of an alphabetic writing system and a major iron working industry by 500 BCE; Known for rich deposits of gold, Nubia was also the gateway through which luxury products like incense, ivory, and ebony traveled from their source in sub-Saharan Africa to the civilizations of Egypt and the Mediterranean.

Natufians

A culture of successful foragers whose remains are found in much of the Fertile Crescent. Around 14,000 years ago, the Natufians lived in villages and harvested wild grains and hunted gazelle. Although they didn't farm, their culture suggests some of the transitional stages between foraging and early forms of agriculture; The Natufian culture is the name given to the sedentary Late Epi-Paleolithic hunter-gatherers living in the Levant region of the near east

Amorites

A group of people who overwhelmed the Mesopotamians and founded the Babylonian Empire; The Amorites of the Bible are depicted as pre-Israelite inhabitants of the land of Canaan and clearly separate from the Israelites

Troy

A kingdom that was destroyed by the Greeks in the Trojan War. It is located on the western coast of Asia Minor

Hittites

A people from central Anatolia who established an empire in Anatolia and Syria in the Late Bronze Age. With wealth from the trade in metals and military power based on chariot forces, they vied with New Kingdom Egypt over Syria; The Hittites were an ancient group of Indo-Europeans who moved into Asian Minor and formed an empire at Hattusa in Anatolia

Thutmose III

A pharaoh during the Middle Kingdom that was one of the greatest conquerers and many new lands were brought under control under his reign; Thutmose III is known as one of the greatest pharaohs in the history of Ancient Egypt. During his rule of 54 years, he defeated many of Egypt's enemies and greatly expanded the extent of the Egyptian Empire; stepson of Hatshepsut

Philistines

A powerful nation that invaded Canaan from the sea and became the most hated enemies of Israel; The Philistines were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan between the 12th century BC and 604 BC when they were exiled to Mesopotamia by King Nebuchadnezzar II. They are known for their biblical conflict with the Israelites.

Linear B

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 Linear B tablets provide substantial information about the economic organization of Mycenaean society and tantalizing clues about political, social, and religious institutions

Ziggurat

A ziggurat is a type of massive structure (stepped tower) built in ancient Mesopotamia and Iran; its purpose is to get the temple closer to the heavens, and provide access from the ground to it via steps. The Mesopotamians believed that these pyramids temples connected heaven and earth; made of mud brick

Akkadian empire and Third Dynasty of Ur (Ur III)- Mesopotamia (key developments)

Akkadian Empire: - political expansion; city-states developing into regional- scale states-- Naram-Sin "Palace" - political and economic centralization; consolidation of agricultural land; complex systems of economic management and administration; divine kingship-- The Exaltation of Inanna - Standardization; script, measuring systems, calendar, record keeping (cuneiform tablets) Third Dynasty of Ur - Monumental architecture; Ziggurat - Administration; workers and workshops staffed by women - Political developments; expansionist states

Narmer palette

An artifact discovered at the site of Hierakonpolis; its two sides show the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under King Narmer; an artifact which supports the theory that Narmer unified Egypt because it shows him wearing both the white and red crown

Sennacherib

Assyrian king who burned Babylon and ordered its residents killed; He is principally remembered for his military campaigns against Babylon and Judah, and for his building programs - most notably at the Assyrian capital of Nineveh.

Djoser

Built the step pyramid in the 3rd Dynasty of the Early Bronze Age in Egypt

Tell el-Amarna

Capital City created by Akhenaton (Amenhotep IV) to worship the god he created, named Aten; site of the ruins and tombs of the city of Akhetaton ("Horizon of Aton"

Cyrus

Created the Persian Empire by defeating the Medes, Lydians, and Babylonians; was known for his allowance of existing governments to continue governing under his name

Israelites

Descendants of Abraham who left Mesopotamia and settled in Canaan; god's chosen people

Weni

Early Bronze Age of Egypt; Autobiography of Weni which highlighted the old kingdom, centralized rule, and emphasizes ties to king; he was a military commander

Akhenaton

Egyptian pharaoh of the New Kingdom; attempted to establish a one-god religion, replacing the traditional Egyptian pantheon of gods.

Nebuchadnezzar

King of Babylon; Nabopolassar had defeated the Assyrians with the help of the Medes and liberated Babylonia from Assyrian rule; A Babylonian king who conquered Jerusalem and built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

New Kingdom- Egypt (key developments)

Late Bronze Age - emergence of "Great Powers" in Egypt that interacted with one another on equal terms-- New Kingdom Egypt, Kassite Babylonia, Assyria, Mitanni, Hatti, Cyprus, Minoan Crete, Mycenaean Greece - diplomacy and trade; Amarna Letters (Letter from Babylonian king to Egyptian king), focus on diplomatic exchange of messengers, goods, and women among the Great Powers - emergence of true territorial states across the Near East (except for the Levant) - political maneuvering among vassal states; explicit jockeying for position visible in letters between kings and vassals - political relations codified through treaties; always between two people (not states), either equals or a king and a vassal-- Hittite-Egyptian Peace Treaty - international trade; among kings and via merchants - warfare endemic; among Great Powers, via vassal states (especially in the Levant), or among vassal states; most visible in royal inscriptions - increasing social stratification; increasing distance between elite and commoners; commoner flight

Nineveh

Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia; the area was settled as early as 6000 BCE and, by 3000 BCE, had become an important religious centre for worship of the goddess Ishtar.

Jericho

Oldest Neolithic community in the West Bank between Israel and Jordan; According to the Bible, at around 1,400 BCE, Jericho was the first city attacked by the Israelites after they crossed the Jordan River and entered Canaan. The Wall of Jericho was destroyed when the Israelites walked around it for seven days carrying the Ark of the Covenant

Abydos

One of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt. According to Egyptian Mythology-the holy city where Osiris was buried, in addition to many other pharaohs; Abydos is notable for the memorial temple of Seti I, which contains an inscription from the nineteenth dynasty known to the modern world as the Abydos King List.

Kassites

People who lived north of Babylon defeated the Hittites after their king was killed by an assassin and captured Babylon and ruled for almost 400 years; The Kassites were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire

Essay: Justice

Primary Sources - The Code of Hammurabi; The Hammurabi code of laws, a collection of 282 rules, established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. - The tale of the Eloquent Peasant

Essay: Warfare

Primary Sources - The Invasion of the "Sea Peoples" - The Cursing of Agade - Deborah the Judge Defeats the Canannites

Essay: Kingship

Primary Sources - The Sumerian King List - The Cyrus Legend - The Behistun Inscription

Essay: Creation

Primary sources - The Creation of Humans by Enki and Ninmah - The Creation Story; "A book of Knowing the Evolutions of Ra" - The Creation of Humans: Pseudo-Apollodorus, "The Library" - The Creation Story: Genesis 1-7 - The Creation of Humans: The Qur'an, Surah

Ur

Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia

Uruk vase

The Warka Vase or Uruk vase is a slim carved alabaster vessel found in the temple complex of the Sumerian goddess Inanna in the ruins of the ancient city of Uruk; depicting the presentation of offerings to Sumerian goddess Inanna

Ebla

The first Eblaite kingdom has been described as the first recorded world power. Starting as a small settlement in the Early Bronze Age (c. 3500 BC), Ebla developed into a trading empire and later into an expansionist power that imposed its hegemony over much of northern and eastern Syria.

Uruk

The largest city of ancient Mesopotamia; it is considered the first true city in the world, the origin of writing, the first example of architectural work in stone and the building of great stone structures, the origin of the ziggurat, and the first city to develop the cylinder seal which the ancient Mesopotamians used to designate personal property or as a signature on documents.

Sea Peoples

Unknown group of strong warriors who crushed the Hittites and destroyed cities in southwest Asia, who fought the Egyptians for 50 years; collapse of Late Bronze Age system

Enkidu

a central figure in the Ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. Enkidu was formed from clay and water by Aruru, the goddess of creation, to rid Gilgamesh of his arrogance.

Eridu

considered the oldest known city in the world. it is located in southern mesopotamia and was inhabited by sumerians

Enheduanna

daughter of Sargon, high priestess of the moon god Nanna at Ur and possibly the sky god Anu at Uruk - allowed Sargon to control the southern cities

Phoenicians

located on eastern Mediterranean coast; invented the alphabet which used sounds rather than symbols like cuneiform; The Phoenicians prospered from trade and manufacturing until the capital, Tyre, was sacked by Alexander the Great in 332 BC.

Thera

of the natural disasters that plagued the Minoans, the most devastating was the volcanic eruption in 1628 BCE on the island of?; Thera is the remaining eastern half of an exploded volcano.

Sargon

ruler of Akkad; Sargon of Akkad, also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC. He is sometimes identified as the first person in recorded history to rule over an empire

Utnapishtim

survivor of a flood sent by the gods to destroy humanity; the gods granted him eternal life; Utnapishtim, in the Babylonian Gilgamesh epic, survivor of a mythological flood whom Gilgamesh consults about the secret of immortality. Utnapishtim was the only man to escape death, since, having preserved human and animal life in the great boat he built, he and his wife were deified by the god Enlil.

Hyksos

the people who invaded Egypt thus beginning the second Intermediate period during which the Hyksos ( a word meaning "foreigner) ruled as pharaohs in Lower Egypt and exacted tribute from the royal families in Thebes; 'Rulers of Foreign Lands'

Cuneiform

the world's first system of writing

Çatal Hüyük (Çatalhöyük)

Çatalhöyük was a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia