Early Western civilization

Eratosthenes

A Greek mathematician. He was a man of learning and was the first man to calculate the circumference of the Earth. He invented the discipline of Geography. He was also the first to calculate the tilt of the Earth's axis. He created the first map of the world, incorporating parallels and meridians based on the knowledge of his time.

Euripedes

A Greek playwright who was an innovator in Greek theater. He profoundly influenced drama down to modern times in the representation of traditional heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. His contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of intellectualism.

Greek Dark Age

A period of Greek history from the end of the Mycenaean civilization around 1100 BC to the first sign of Greek city states in the 9th century BC. Around 1100 BC, the palaces and settlements of the Mycenaeans began to be abandoned. By 1050 BC, any recognizable features of their civilization had disappeared. Many explanations point to environmental catastrophe. This combined with an invasion from the Dorians left the civilization in ruin.

Stoicism

A school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished throughout Rome and Greece until the 3rd century AD. It was a philosophy of personal ethics which is informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world.

Solon

An Athenian lawmaker. He was known for his efforts to legislate against political and economic decline in Athens. His reforms failed in the short term, yet he is credited with having laid the foundations for Athenian democracy. He also wrote poetry for pleasure and as patriotic propaganda

Theocritus

An ancient Greek poet. He was born in Sicily an was the creator of bucolic poetry.

Aristotle

Aristotle is considered the father of of western philosophy. At eighteen years of age, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens. His writings covered many subjects such as physics, biology, and logic. He taught Alexander the Great which gave him many opportunities and an abundance of supplies. He established a library in Lyceum which aided in producing many of his books.

Ahuramazda

He is described as the highest spirit of worship to Zoroastrianism in the Yasna. He was the supreme deity who brought all things into being. Ahuramazda possessed abstract qualities that all humans should aspire to, such as Good Thought, Right, and Peity.

Kingdom of Judah

Judah was an Iron age kingdom of Southern Levant. The territory of Judah was sparsely populated throughout small rural settlements. Jerusalem was the kingdom's capital. In the 7th century its population increased dramatically, prospering under Assyrian vassalage. Eventually the Assyrians and Judah were destroyed by the war between Egypt and Babylon.

Cuneiform

One of the earliest systems of writing which was invented by the Sumerians. It is distinguished by wedge-shaped marks which is where it derives its name. Cuneiform simply means wedge-shaped. Cuneiform began as a system of pictograms.

Demes

The demes of Attica were given status in local and state administration. They were local corporations with police powers and their own property, cults, and officials. Members met to decide matters and kept property records for the purposes of taxation.

Cyrus The Great

The founder of the first Persian Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all of the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East. His reign lasted 30 years until he was killed in battle. During his reign he led various conquests and captured numerous empires such as the Median Empire. Cyrus the Great respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered.

The Hittites

They were an ancient people who established an empire on Hattusa around 1600 BC. This empire reached its height during the mid 14th century BC under SUppiluliuma I. The empire encompassed most of Anatolia as well as parts of Levant and Upper Mesopotamia. By 1180 BC, the hittites had been annexed by the Assyrians and splintered into several independent Neo-Hittite city states.

Peloponnesian War

A Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta. It is a war that historians divide into 3 phases. The 1st phase began with the Archidamian War. Sparta launched repeat invasions of Attica, while Athens used its navy to take control of Peloponnese. Soon a peace treaty was signed. Soon, fighting erupted in Peloponnese and the second phase had begun. Athens dispatched a massive force to take Syracuse. This attacked failed with the destruction of the entire unit. This started the final phase of the war known as the Ionian War. Sparta with the help of the Persians was able to defeat Athens and gain full control of Greece. Those who helped Sparta in this war gained nothing while Sparta had gained greater power and resources.

Battle of marathon

A battle fought between Athens and the Perisa during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was the result of Darius I's attempt to subjugate Greeece. At the time of the battle, Sparta and Athens were the two largest city states in Greece. The battle of marathon ended up being a turning point in the war against Persia, showing that the Persians were not invincible. It also showed that the Greeks could win without the help of Sparta.

Code of Hammurabi

A well-preserved Babylonian code of law. It dates back to 1800BC. It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. Hammurabi enacted the code which consists of 282 laws, with scaled punishments. It is famous for creating the saying "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" as this was the punishment the laws were graded upon depending on social status.

The Assyrians

Centered on the Tigris in Mesopotamia, the Assyrians came to rule powerful empires at several times. Making up a large part of the "cradle of civilization". Assyria was at the height of technological, scientific, and cultural achievements for its time. At its peak, Assyria stretched from Cyprus to Iran.

Alexander the Great

He was a king who considered himself a god. He was a student to Aristotle and the son of Phillip II. After the death of his father he gained control of Greece at the age of 20. He spent most of his ruling years on a military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa and created one of the largest empires of the Ancient world. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of the greatest military tacticians. He died at the young age of 32 in Babylon. After his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart.

Hyksos

The Hyksos were a people of mixed origins possibly from Western Asia. They settled in the eastern Nile Delta. Their arrival led to the end of the 13th dynasty of Egypt and intiated the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt. The Hyksos brought several technical innovations such as new musical instruments. They brought new techniques for bronze working and pottery as well as new breeds of animals.

The Minoans

The Minoans were a Bronze age civilization on the island of Crete. It flourished between 2600 and 1100 BC. It preceded the Mycenaean civilization of Greece. Although its language and writing systems remain undecipherable, they apparently conveyed a language entirely different from the later Greek. The reason for their end is unknown, but theories include invasions from the Mycenaeans and a volcanic eruption.