Early Civilizations of the Fertile Crescent and the Nile Valley
a large arc of fertile lands between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea; the world’s earliest civilizations began in the region
Fertile Crescent
the religion of the ancient Israelites (practiced by Jews today); the oldest monotheistic religion
Judaism
the world’s largest peninsula; located in Southwest Asia
Arabia or Arabian Peninsula
one of the world’s saltiest lakes and the lowest point on Earth; located on the border between Israel and Jordan and fed by the Jordan river
Dead Sea
a huge stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics, Greek, and a later form of Egyptian; used by scholars to learn how to read hieroglyphics
Rosetta Stone
the world's first system of writing
cuneiform
the most sacred text in Judaism
Torah
completely surrounded by land with no direct access to the ocean
landlocked
the largest city in Turkey; formerly known as Constantinople
Istanbul
the holy book of Islam
Qur'an
a pyramid-shaped temple
ziggurat
a major world religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
Christianity
an international organization whose members work to influence the price of oil on world markets by controlling the supply
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
the dispersal of the Jewish population outside of Israel
diaspora
a radical Muslim group that rose to power in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s
Taliban
specially treated bodies of the dead wrapped in cloth for preservation purposes
mummies
the holy book of Christianity
Bible
a Persian title that means “king”
shah
the capital of Israel; it contains holy sites of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Jerusalem
a term used to refer to the food allowed under Jewish dietary laws; it means “fit” in Hebrew
kosher
the ancient Egyptian writing system that uses picture symbols to communicate
hieroglyphics
a religion founded in Arabia by Muhammad based on submitting to God (Allah) and on messages Muslims believe God gave to Muhammad
Islam
people who move often from place to place
nomads
a nationalist movement that began in the late 1800s and called for Jews to reestablish a Jewish state in their original homeland
Zionism
Arabic-speaking nomads that live mostly in the deserts of Southwest Asia
bedouins