Vocab
tha land between the two rivers
Mesopotamia
Name of the Pyramid that has the head of a human and the body of a lion
Great Sphinx
Name of strict set of laws that emphasized "an eye for an eye"
Hammurabi's Code
What are the 3 main things that they are fighting over?
land, security, self-rule
What does monotheistic mean? polytheistic?
belief in one god, belief in multiple gods
shift from gathering food to growing/farming food
agricultural revolution
Name 2 wonders of the Ancient World
Hanging Gardens of Babylon (disappeared)
Pyramids at Giza (only one to still exist)
What was the original purpose of cuneiform?
To keep records
Keep track of goods (farming crops, trade)
Which two groups are in conflict and what is each group’s religious beliefs?
Israel: Jewish
Palestine: Arab & Muslim
What is the place of worship for each of the monotheistic religions?
Islam: mosque
Judaism: synagogue
Christianity: church
means “Great House” they are leaders, protectors of the people and liaisons between people and the gods.
Pharaoh
How were rulers prepared for the afterlife? Why?
Buried in tombs inside pyramids
Mummified, embalmed, wrapped in linen,
placed inside the tomb with everything they will need for the afterlife.
Pharaohs would become gods in the afterlife
How did the agricultural revolution develop the first civilizations?
Rather than hunting & gathering, people stayed in one place to farm food. They no longer went into the woods to gather food for each meal or followed animals’ migration patterns.
Communities were established→ villages grew into cities → city-states→ empires
Other jobs were created than just farming
What happened in the region after WWII?
More Jewish migration to region b/c Holocaust
1947: UN decided to divide region into 2 separate states: Israel (Jews), Palestine (Arabs), Jerusalem (international)
this leads to Arab-Israeli War, Six Day War
What is the holy book for each of the 3 religions?
Christianity: Bible (Old & New Testament)
Judaism: Torah (Old Testament)
Islam: Quran
center of civilization from which ideas and technology spread to other cultures
cultural hearth
Name 4 contributions of Egypt
New form of measurement = cubit, used to design the Great Pyramid
created the 24 hour day, solar calendar, 365 days in a year
Oldest written language = hieroglyphics
Methods to measure and survey land around the Nile River→ this led to formation of dams, canals, irrigation systems later on
Name 4 contributions of Mesopotamia
Astrology → turned into zodiac signs later
Cuneiform
Architecture (ziggurats)
60-based system (360 degrees for a circle, 60 mins per hour, 60 secs per min)
Calendar (7 day week)
What has prevented peace in this region? Where does the conflict stand today?
Extremist groups
Israel and Palestine are still fighting over the land
Israel: independence recognized, allies with U.S., member of UN
Palestine: “non-member observer state” in UN, 71% of countries recognize its independence, not U.S.
Recent violence on both sides (as recent as April 2023)
Name 3 similarities between the 3 religions
All 3 are monotheistic
All 3 believe in the prophets of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus
Share the holy site of Jerusalem
All have different denominations (or sects) with slightly different beliefs
All developed in the Middle East region
Palestinian extremist group
Hamas
How did the Nile River affect how Ancient Egypt was organized AND which spot is where on a map?
Most people live along the Nile River
Before it was an empire, it was a series of small independent city-states along the Nile
Divided into 2 regions and named based on the flow of the Nile
Upper Egypt : upstream in the South
Lower Egypt: downstream in the North
Describe how a civilization developed in Sumer.
Silt from rivers created fertilizer & sun & water = fertile soil
Built irrigation systems (canals, dams)
Surplus (extra) food allowed other jobs instead of just farming
Created cities, traded with neighboring societies
What was the larger Arab-Israeli conflict and what happened as a result?
neighboring Arab states join Palestine in rejecting the UN deal against Israel
Result of Wars: Israel gains more land than the original UN plan
End of larger Arab-Israeli conflict -- other countries are at peace with Israel
Now conflict is between Israelis & Palestinians
Explain the history of each religion
Christianity: Jesus preached God’s teachings, Roman leaders who resented his popularity & did not believe him sentenced him to death
Islam: Muhammad received revelations from Allah
Judaism: God told Abraham to move his people to Canaan, over hundreds of years they developed Judaism