History Vocab

Civilization

A civilization is a complex culture with advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and advanced technology. It is said that the first civilization began in Sumer, Mesopotamia. It's believed that the first civilization was started around 3000 BC. Civilizations were able to create a modern working society. We wouldn't have the structure of life that we have now if they hadn't created civilization.

Zoroaster

A persian prophet named Zoroaster offered an answer to one of the most asked questions, "Why should so much suffering and chaos exist in the world?". His answer was that the earth is a battlefield between the spirit of god and the spirit of evil.

Ziggurat

A ziggurat was a pyramid shaped monument. The definition of ziggurat is a mountain of god. On the top of a ziggurat a priest conducted rituals to worship the city god who loomed over Ur. Sumerians in 3000 B.C had elaborate burial rituals and believed in an afterlife. This belief shows how even the early humans tried to explain the unexplainable just as we do today.

Darius

After Cambyses died, Darius started his career as a member of the king's bodyguard. With the help of an elite group of persian soldiers, Darius was able to seize the throne around 552 BC. Darius spent some time building an administration.

Cambyses

After the great Cyrus dies his son took over the empire. Cambyses was able to expand the empire by conquering Egypt. Although Cambyses was an empire he didn't follow his father's example. After conquering Egypt he scorned the religion.

Cuneiform

Around 3000 BC in Sumer, scribes invented a system of writing called cuneiform, meaning wedge-shaped. To write cuneiform, scribes would sharpen a reed to make it into a stylus and press the stylus into a clay tablet. Before cuneiform, scribes and other people would write in pictographs. Cuneiform was the first written language in history. Scribes used cuneiform to record their cities dramatic events. It marked the beginning of written history and carved a path for future systems of writing.

Artisan

Artisans are skilled workers who make goods by hand. Artisans were found in ancient cities such as Sumer. They were able to make goods like jewelry, weapons, clothing, and pottery. Since they developed such a wide range of crafts it helped cities became centers of trade. They were able to create tools that the ancient citizens needed.

Phoenicians

At about 1100 BC the most powerful traders were now the Phoenicians. This all occurred after the decline of Crete. Phoenicia was mainly founded in what is present day Lebanon. Although Phoenicia never formed to be a country, they did make a lot of successful city-states that were important centers of trade.

Barter

Bartering is the way of trading goods and services without the use of money. Bartering was popular in 3000 B.C in the civilization of Sumer, which is present day Iraq. It allowed the civilization to trade goods and have a sort of trade system without the use of money.

Dynasty

By 2500 BC must Sumerian city-states were under the ruling of a dynasty. Some military leaders eventually became rulers and passed the royalty downed to their sons, and then down to their sons and so on and so forth. Such a series of running was called a dynasty.

City-state

By 3000 BC the sumerians had built many cities. Each city was controlled by a city-state. City-states act as an independent country would today. The city-states kept the cities organized and in tact.

Cultural Diffusion

Cultural diffusion started to occur around 2500 BC. Cultural diffusion is the spread of items or ideas from one culture to another. In what is now southern Iraq cultural diffusion was well in tact. Cultural diffusion is the reason why cultural ides were able to spread throughout countries.

Cyrus

In 550 BC Cyrus was the king of Persia. Cyrus was able to concur many neighboring kingdoms. Cyrus was a military genius, and for that reason he was able to control an empire that spanned two thousand miles from the Indus river in the east to Anatolia in the west.

Bronze Age

In Sumer during the time around 3000 BC, metal workers in Sumer began using bronze to make tools and weapons instead of copper and stone. After 2500 BC, Sumerians began to make thousands of bronze spearheads. This increase in merchandise made Sumer a major trading center and helped the civilization thrive.

Minoans

From about 200 to 1400 BC a powerful group of people controlled the trade in the eastern part of Mesopotamia. The Minoans created some of the finest pottery. They used this pottery to trade along with other items they may have acquired: swords, figurines, and vessels of precious metal.

Satrap

In every province, Darius placed a government called a satrap who ruled over the section he was assigned. Also with the installation of the satrap, he placed a military leader and tax collector for each province.

Royal Road

In order for Darius to have a successful empireship he had to have a good system of transportation. One of the most famous roads was the Royal Road. This road ran from Susa, Persian to Sardia, Anatolia. The road was a grand total of one thousand six hundred seventy-seven miles long.

Institution

In sumer institution were parts of civilizations and all created at the same period of time of around 3000 bce. Institution is a long lasting pattern of organization in a community. This includes government, religion and economy . institutions allowed city's like Sumer to expand and cultures to grow as well.

Polytheism

In the fertile crescent the sumerians believed in more than one god. The belief in more than one god is called polytheism. Because of Polytheism sumerians were able to believe in more than one god.

Ashurbanipal

King Ashurbanipal, one of the rulers of Nineveh, was famously known for having collected more than twenty thousand cay tablets and storing them in one of the worlds largest libraries.

Knossos

Knossos is the capital of the ancient city of Minoan. In the ruins of the city archaeologists found the remains of what looked like an advanced culture. They also figured out that is must have been a peaceful culture because they didn't need fortification to protect them.

Assyria

Located in southwest Asia from around 850-612 BC Assyria was a kingdom. This kingdom was especially special because it controlled a large empire. Assyria accomplished this by means of a highly skilled military system and a state-of-the-art weaponry.

Nebuchadnezzar

More than one thousand years after Hammurabi had ruled there, a Chaldean king named Nebuchadnezzar restored the city. The most impressive part of the restoration was the famous hanging gardens.

Sennacherib

Sennacherib was an ancient king that ruled during the time of assyria. Sennacherib bragged that he destroyed 89 cities, 820 villages, burned babylon, and ordered most of its inhabitants killed.

Specialization

Specialization is the development of skills in a specific work. The people of Sumer specialized in other jobs besides farming, because of the abundant food supply. Because of this specialization ancient cities became the hub of trade in Sumer.

Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea contained many islands that were used from about 2000 BC to 1400 BC. A large island of the southern edge was called Crete. Crete was home to the Minoans.

Mesopotamia

The Mesopotamia is a plain located in the fertile crescent. The rivers that face the Mesopotamia are the Tigris and Euphrates. The Mesopotamia is flooded at least once every year causing its soil to be rich and easy to farm on. The Mesopotamia is the home to a great farming era.

King Minos

The archeologists named the civilization they found in Crete after King Minos. According to legends, when Minos was king he owned a half-human, half-bull monster called a Minotaur.

Nineveh

The capital of the ancient city of assyria was Nineveh. It was about three miles long and a mile wide. Completely walled around the outside. Inside Nineveh archaeologist found finely carved sculptures. Two artistic subjects particularly fascinated the Assyrians:brutal military campaigns and the lion hunt.

Fertile Crescent

The fertile crescent is located between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea in Southwest Asia. Because the land is a such a dry region, it provides some of the best farming. It includes a plain called Mesopotamia.

Hammurabi

The reign of Hammurabi was from 1792 BC - 1750 Bc. The babylonian empire reached its peak during the reign of Hammurabi. The biggest impact that the Hammurabi reign left on the world was the code of laws it put together.

Empire

The world's first empire was created by taking control of both southern and northern mesopotamia. Because of the first empire a new set of ruling was created and the way of life would never be the same. Although the Sargon's dynastly lasted only 200 years, the idea of dynasty would live on for much longer.

Scribe

around 3000 bc in Sumer, professional record keepers, or scribes were started. Scribes developed the first written system of writing Cuneiform. they used a stylist to press into moist clay to create symbols. at a result dramatic events were documented and written history began.

Medes and Chaldeans

people who decided to burn Nineveh to the ground and totally destroy it. The destruction happened shortly after King Ashurbanipal's death. Most people in the region rejoiced at Nineveh's destruction.