HIST 110A

Ostraca

A potsherd used as a writing surface. This form of writing is used by common people because it is cheap relative to papyrus and parchment.

Babylonians

Babylonia was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in central-southern Mesopotamia. A small Amorite-ruled state emerged in 1894 BC, which contained at this time the minor administrative town of Babylon.

Atman

Hinduism: World Soul, the fundamental spiritual life principle of the universe.

Be able to compare and contrast the different religious worldviews of the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Hebrews, Vedic texts and Upanishads, and the ancient Chinese civilizations.

The cultures of Mesopotamia had a polytheistic belief system, which means that the people believed in multiple gods instead of just one. They also believed in demons created by the gods, which could be good or evil. In ancient Mesopotamia the oldest known materials, the Sumerian myths, have relatively little to say about creation; scholars must, for the most part, turn to the introductions of tales and disputations to infer how things were believed to be in the beginning. Thus, a story about the hero Gilgamesh refers in its introductory lines to the times "after heaven had been moved away from earth, after earth had been separated from heaven." The same notion that heaven and earth were once close together occurs also in a bilingual Sumero-Akkadian text from Ashur about the creation of the human race. Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with many deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces of nature. Religion guided every aspect of Egyptian life. Egyptian religion was based on polytheism, or the worship of many deities, except for during the reign of Akenaton. The Egyptians had as many as 2,000 gods and goddesses. Their religion was strongly influenced by tradition, which caused them to resist change. "Egyptians did not question the beliefs which had been handed down to them; they did not desire change in their society. The ancient Egyptians thought that it was very important to please the gods and goddesses. For that reason, worshipping the deities was a large part of life in ancient Egypt. Some gods and goddesses were worshipped by the pharaoh and priests in large temples. One God (whose name must not be pronounced) has created all things and, through his special covenant with the Jews, has guided human life and destiny. God is the creator and the Book of Genesis says he created in six days and rested on the seventh. God will end creation in his own time. There is one Godhead or Divine Power, with innumerable forms. Three major forms are: Brahma, creator of each universe; Vishnu, sustainer and defender; and Shiva, destroyer and re-creator. (Vishnu has ten main forms or avatars, which come to the help of the universe. These include Krishna and Rama.) Time is cyclical. The world passes through various stages, from birth to growth to decline. We are currently in Kali Yuga, the age of decline. The world will eventually be destroyed, only for a new world to appear in the distant future. Upanishads are seen as the most important. Vedism is the oldest stratum of religious activity in India for which there exist written materials. It was one of the major traditions that shaped Hinduism. Knowledge of Vedic religion is derived from surviving texts and also from certain rites that continue to be observed within the framework of modern Hinduism. The worldview found in Chinese religion is generally dualistic, emphasizing the two opposed and complimentary principles of the universe: yin and yang (see article below). But the yin and yang are the double manifestation of the single, eternal cosmic principal: the Tao (see article below). Also important is the concept of heaven (T'ien), which is sometimes described in terms of an impersonal power or fate, other times as a personal deity, and can also be equated with the Tao.

Regional crops

barley in the west, west in more prominent lands

Moksha

release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma.

Vedas / Vedic Texts

the most ancient Hindu scriptures, written in early Sanskrit and containing hymns, philosophy, and guidance on ritual for the priests of Vedic religion. Believed to have been directly revealed to seers among the early Aryans in India, and preserved by oral tradition, the four chief collections are the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda.

Dharma

the principle of cosmic order.

Assyrians

Assyria was a major Mesopotamian East Semitic-speaking kingdom and empire of the ancient Near East and the Levant.

Cuneiform

Cuneiform is a system of writing first developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia c. 3500-3000 BCE. It is considered the most significant among the many cultural contributions of the Sumerians and the greatest among those of the Sumerian city of Uruk which advanced the writing of cuneiform c. 3200 BCE.

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh is the semi-mythic King of Uruk in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an Akkadian poem that is considered the first great work of literature, and in earlier Sumerian poems. It is the great Sumerian/Babylonian poetic work which pre-dates Homer's writing by 1500 years and, therefore, stands as the oldest piece of epic Western literature. Gilgamesh is only part god, and he makes a temple out of wood to make himself immortal.

Hammurabi

Hammurabi was the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty, reigning from 1792 BC to 1750 BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. One of the earliest and most complete ancient legal codes was proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi. Hammurabi's Code was proclaimed at the end of his reign and carved onto a massive, finger-shaped black stone stela (pillar) that was looted by later invaders and rediscovered in 1901 by a French archaeological team in present-day Iran.

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, the first being Sobekneferu. Hatshepsut came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BCE.

Hungry Ghosts

Hungry ghost is a concept in Chinese Buddhism and Chinese traditional religion representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way.

Oracle Bones

Oracle bones are pieces of ox scapula or turtle plastron, which were used for pyromancy - a form of divination - in ancient China, mainly during the late Shang dynasty.

Akhenaton

Pharoah who ruled for 17 years while worshipping Aton. He closed down traditional temples, to devote all of Egypt to Aton, though his death freed Egyptians from Aton. He granted his wife, Nefertiti, power only surpassed by the pharoah.

Phoenicians

Phoenicia was a thalassocratic ancient Semitic civilization, that originated in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the west of the Fertile Crescent. The Phoenicians were prominent traders in their time, and their main export was snails. Purple dye could be extracted from the snails and used as ink, and they also formed the basis for the modern alphabet. In fact, they created the first widely used writing system in history.

Ramses II

Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He often is regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire. Ramses II ruled as pharaoh, or king, of ancient Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC, the second longest reign in Egyptian history. He was the third king of the 19th dynasty, during the New Kingdom. Ramses, also spelled Ramesses or Rameses, was a highly popular ruler, and under him Egypt enjoyed great prosperity. In addition to his wars with the Hittites and Libyans, he is known for his extensive building programs and for the many colossal statues of him found all over Egypt.

Sargon

Sargon of Akkad was the first ruler of the Semitic-speaking Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.

Shiva

Shiva is the third god in the Hindu triumvirate. The triumvirate consists of three gods who are responsible for the creation, upkeep and destruction of the world. The other two gods are Brahma and Vishnu. Brahma is the creator of the universe while Vishnu is the preserver of it.

Hittites

The Hittites were an Ancient Anatolian people who established an empire centered on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia around 1600 BC. They developed a culture apparently from the indigenous Hatti (and possibly the Hurrian) people, and expanded their territories into an empire which rivaled, and threatened, the established nation of Egypt. Iron weapons popularized by Hittites were used until Imperial times. Another reason the Hittites were successful in battle was their use of light chariots. The chariots they used were powered by two horses.

Harrapans

The Indus Valley Civilisation or Harappan Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation mainly in the northwestern regions of South Asia, extending from what today is northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. Harappan people used an early form of writing based on hieroglyphs.

New Kingdom

The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt.

Old Kingdom

The Old Kingdom is the period in the third millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization - the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley.

Olmec

The Olmecs were the first major civilization in Mexico following a progressive development in Soconusco. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the present-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco.

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty (c.1600-1046 BCE) was the second dynasty of China which succeeded the Xia Dynasty. Folk religion during the Shang dynasty was polytheistic, meaning the people worshipped many gods. This bronze sculpture of a human head with gold leaf is typical of the bronze artwork created during the Shang dynasty. Ancestor worship was also very important to the Shang. It is China's first ever recorded history.

Egyption-Hittite Treaty

The Treaty of Kadesh is the world's earliest peace treaty that is still extant. It was signed by Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses the Great and Hittite Great King Hattusili in approximately 1259 BC, making it over three thousand years old.

Upanishads

The Upanishads are a collection of ancient Sanskrit texts that contain some of the central philosophical concepts and ideas of Hinduism, some of which are shared with Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

Mandate of Heaven

The Zhou created the Mandate of Heaven: the idea that there could be only one legitimate ruler of China at a time, and that this ruler had the blessing of the gods. They used this Mandate to justify their overthrow of the Shang, and their subsequent rule.

Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou created the Mandate of Heaven: the idea that there could be only one legitimate ruler of China at a time, and that this ruler had the blessing of the gods. They used this Mandate to justify their overthrow of the Shang, and their subsequent rule.

Tutmoses I

Thutmose I was the third pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. He received the throne after the death of the previous king, Amenhotep I. He expanded Egypt's empire in Nubia (in present-day Sudan) and also penetrated deep into Syria. Within Egypt, Thutmose thoroughly renovated the Middle Kingdom (1938-c. 1630 bce) temple of Amon at Thebes. Thutmose also was the first king to cut his tomb in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, probably to obtain greater security for it.

Semitic Languages

a language that belongs to a subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic language family including Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, and Ethiopic.

Hebrews

a member of an ancient people living in what is now Israel and Palestine and, according to biblical tradition, descended from the patriarch Jacob, grandson of Abraham. After the Exodus ( c. 1300 BC) they established the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and their scriptures and traditions form the basis of the Jewish religion.

Brahmins

a member of the highest Hindu caste, that of the priesthood.

Creation Myth

a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it

Henotheism

adherence to one particular god out of several, especially by a family, tribe, or other group.

Covenant

an agreement

Karma

the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.