2.1
Nile River: provided food protection, trade routes, rich soil, unified Egypt.
cataract: waterfall
delta: triangular area of marshland, formed by deposit of silt at the mouth of some rivers.
King Menes: united Upper and Lower Egypts, using the Nile.
Pharoahs: Egyptian Rulers who organized a strong central state, claimed divine support, believed to be gods, had absolute power.
Ptahotep: vizier who trained young officials, wrote instructions on manners and behaviors in politics.
Hatshepsut: female monarch, ruled after her husband's death, encouraged trade in the Mediterranean and along the Red Sea.
Ramses II: most powerful monarch, pushed his rule into Syria, Egyptian power declined after his death.
Hittites: the largest battle between Egypt and them was saved by Ramses, later they became brothers with the Egyptians.
Pyramid: tombs for eternity, millions of blocks, weighing one to two tons, long term project. Palaces of the dead, signified great strength.
2.2
Amon Re: sun god, the pharoah could talk to him.
Osiris: the ruler of the underworld and the god of the Nile, lived with the dead after being chopped up.
Isis: feminine appeal, goddess of house work, farming, wife of Osiris.
Akenaton: young pharoah, proclaimed Aton's superiority. Ordered priests to stop worshipping other gods, priests resisted.
hieroglyphics: pictographs used by the ancient Egyptians for language.
ideograms: a symbol that represents an idea or action
demotic: simplified language developed by Egyptian scholars for everyday use.
Rosetta Stone: messages carved in demotic, hierglyphics and Greeks, used by the French to understand Hieroglyphics.
Book of the Dead: spells, charms, and formulas to be used in the afterlife.
Nefertiti: wife of Akenaton, supported his goal of monotheism.
2.3
fertile crescent: ark of land from the Persian Gulf to the Eastern Mediterranean, on the floodplain of the Tigres and the Euphrates
Mesopotamia: land between the rivers, Sumerian civilization
Tigres/Euphrates: the two rivers of the fertile crescent.
hierarchy: system of ranks used in a civilization
Sumerian Social Classes: ruling family, leading officials, high priests, then lesser priests and scribes, and the majority/low class were peasant farmers.
Sumerian Religion: polytheistic, gods and goddesses behaved as normal people, caused good and bad, the people should keep the gods happy.
ziggurat: pyramid temple, a shrine to the chief god/goddesses, offered sacrifices there.
cuneiform: earliest form of writing, used a reed pen to make wedge shaped marks in tabelets.
Sumerian mathematics: basic algebra and geometry, number system based on 6.
warlords: acted in times of crisis, became heriditary positions, enforced the law and led in times of war. Seen as chief servants of the gods.
2.4
Hammurabi: king of Babylon, brought Mesopotamia under his control, famous for his laws.
codify: to set down in writing, to make code of.
criminal law: branch of law dealing with offenses to others related to assault, robbery, murder.
civil law: branch of law dealing with private rights, business contracts, inheritance, marriage, divorce.
Hammurabi's Code: not written by Hammurabi, artisans carved them into stone, displayed publicly, common punishments were death, enslavement, or fines.
Satrap: Persian governer of a Satrapy.
barter economy: exchanging a good or service for another.
money economy: exchanging coins for a good or a service.
Phoenicians: famous for sailing, occupied the Eastern Mediterranean, manufacturing and trade. Famous for their purple dye.
alphabet: letters that represent spoken sounds, phonemes.
