Flashcards

Ancient Mesopotamia

Erica Storms English 32 cards

Cards in this deck (32)

1MesopotamiaName means "land between the rivers"; where the 1st civilizations began; present day Iraq and Syria
2Fertile CrescentThe region in the Middle East which curves, like a quarter-moon shape; Known as the Cradle of Civilization
3Polytheistic (aka polytheism)Belief in MANY gods; Ancient Sumerians believed over 3,000 gods.
4ZigguratThe massive platform that the Sumerians built their religious temples on
5TheocracyMeans "rule by god"; describes a govt. where the ruler is thought to be a god ex. Ancient Egypt
6Cuneiform1st writing system developed by the Sumerians; "wedge-shape" writing
7Hammurabi's Law Code (33)1st written laws; given to people of Ancient Babylon by King Hammurabi; very strict laws based on principle of an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth
8PatriarchalDescribes a society dominated by men
9Nile RiverThe longest river in the world; Egypt is often called "the gift of the Nile River"; Egyptians depended on the Nile for everything
10InundationThe annual flooding of the Nile River. The flood river leave behind rich fertile mud.
11SiltRich black mud left behind from the flooding of the Nile River
12King MenesKing who united Lower & Upper Egypt around 3,100 BC
13DynastyMeans "great house of"; a family of rulers
14PharaohName for Egyptian King
15"Ka"Ancient Egyptians thought that when someone died the Ka, or the life force, left the physical body; the Ka could drink and eat, but was stuck in the tomb in the body of the mummy or the small status that were left in the tomb
16"Ba"The Ba was the part of the soul that embarked on a journey to follow the gods; the symbol of the Ba is often shown as a bird with a human head and wings
17MummificationIt was very important to Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs that the human body was preserved. Their method of preserving the body was called mummification. The process lasted up to 70 days
18Canopic JarsContainers used to hold the internal organs (lungs, stomach, intestines, liver) of the deceased that was going to be mummified; the jars had lids shaped as the heads of the 4 sons of Horus
19SarcophagusA sarcophagus formed the outer layer of protection for a royal mummy, with several layers of coffins nested within, and was often carved out of alabaster
20King Khufu (aka Cheops)Earned everlasting fame for being the pharaoh responsible for the Great Pyramid at Giza which he built to serve as his tomb
21The Great PyramidLargest of the 3 pyramids at Giza; built by King Khufu; the only monument of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World to survive
22King Khufu's boatDiscovered in 1952 buried under the Great Pyramid; it would be needed to ferry King Khufu's spirit across the sky to be with Ra, the sun god
23Great SphinxOne of the largest and oldest statues in the world. Archeologists believe that it was carved around 2,500 BC and that the head is meant to be the likeness of the Pharaoh Khafra
24HieroglyphicsEgyptian picture writing
25The Rosetta StoneA stone with writing on it in two languages (Egyptian and Greek), using three scripts (hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek)
26HyksosInvaded Egypt; and ruled for 200 years; introduced the horse drawn chariot
27HatshepsutFirst great woman ruler in history; she ruled Egypt as king and not queen. Sculptures and masks show her with a flase beard
28Akhenaten (aka Amenhotep)Rejected the traditional religion in favor of worshipping the Aten, or sun disc, after whom he renamed himself. He closed all the temples to the old gods and obliterated their names from monuments
29King Tut (Tutankhamen)17 year old boy pharaoh whose tomb survived untouched by grave robbers; more than 3,000 artifacts discovered in his tomb
30Ramses 2Ramses the Great reigned 67 years; fathered over 100 children; defeated the Hittites, the other superpower of ancient times; he declared himself a living god
31PapyrusReed like plant that grows on the Nile River Ancient Egyptians used to write on
32Cultural DiffusionThe spreading of ideas from one culture to another