WH ch. 2
Order by
79 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 fertile crescent | an arc of rich farmland in southwest asia between the persian gulf and the mediterranean sea |
| mesopotamia | the land between the tigris and euphrates rivers |
| city-state | political unit much like an independent country |
| dynasty | series of rulers from a single family |
| cultural diffusion | new ideas spreading from one culture to another |
| polytheism | belief in many gods |
| empire | peoples, nations, or independent states under control of one ruler |
| hammurabi | babylonian ruler famous for his code of laws |
| solutions for the problems the sumerians faced | they dug irrigation ditches, built walls, traded food for stone, wood and metal from other islands |
| governed the city states | people slowly rose to power then formed dynasties |
| how sumerian society organized | the top was priests and kings, then wealthy merchants, workers in fields and last slaves |
| why hammurabi's code was important | it punished people for their wrong doings and showed that the gov. was responsible for their people |
| delta | marshy areas at the mouth of a river |
| Narmer | King of upper egypt who united upper and lower egypt |
| pharaoh | egyptian ruler though of as a god |
| theocracy | government in which the ruler is considered to be a divine figure |
| pyramid | resting place for egyptian kings after death |
| mummification | process by which a body is preserved after death |
| hieroglyphics | egyptian writing system |
| papyrus | plant used to make a paper-like material |
| how the nile created boundaries | upper egypt extended north from the nile's 1st area of rapids to the delta and from there continuing north to the mediterranean is lower egypt |
| why pharaohs built pyramids | they believed they would rule the land after death |
| how egyptian society was organized | the pharaoh and his family were at the top, then wealthy people, priests, government & army members, merchants, craft workers, and last peasants and slaves |
| subcontinent | land mass that is a distinct part of a continent |
| monsoon | seasonal wind |
| harappan civilization | ancient settlements in the indus river valley |
| the challenges that people along the indus river faced | their river flooded and changed course. the wintertime blew dry air, and the spring brought monsoons |
| two conclusions that have been drawn about harappan civilizations | farming by 3200 B.C., by 2500 B.C. they began building cities |
| two reasons why the indus valley civilization may have ended | inability to grow crops, overworking the land |
| loess | fertile soil |
| oracle bone | animal bone used by ancient chinese priests to communicate with the gods |
| mandate of heaven | divine approval of the ruler |
| dynastic cycle | pattern of rise, fall and replacement of dynasties |
| feudalism | political system in which nobles or lords are granted the use of lands that belong to the king |
| why china developed apart from other cultures | bc of its geography, loess, the huang he and yangtze |
| 3 features of shang culture | shang dynasty left the first written records, built wooden buildings, though bronze was too good to farm with |
| 3 important values of shang culture | respecting family, symbols stood for ideas not sound, respect ancestors |
| 2 important changes brought about by the zhou | gave members of the royal family the rights to large areas of land, established feudalism |
| indo-european | group of asian peoples who migrated to many different places |
| steppes | dry grasslands |
| migration | movement of people from one place to another |
| hittites | group of indo-europeans |
| vedas | sacred literature of the aryans |
| brahmin | priest |
| caste | class |
| mahabharata | poem that tells the story of the great war |
| what happened to the indo europeans | starting in 1700 B.C they left their homeland and migrated to the settled areas and took over |
| how the hittites reacted to the culture they found in mesopotamia | they changed theirs to suit their owen ideas, i.e. their laws were less harsh |
| the caste system | people were born into their caste for life and there were 3 classes, priests, warriors, and peasants or traders |
| reincarnation | belief that the soul is reborn |
| karma | good or bad deeds |
| jainism | religion that teaches every living creature has a soul and no living creature can be harmed |
| siddhartha gautama | founder of buddhism |
| enlightment | wisdom |
| nirvana | buddha's word for release from selfishness and pain |
| 3 hindu beliefs | reincarnation, each person has a soul, brought together by brahman |
| 4 basic beliefs of buddhism | follow the eightfold path, reincarnation of the soul, nirvana comes from the 8 fold path, seek enlightment |
| minoans | group of powerful seafaring people |
| aegean sea | sea between modernday greece and turkey |
| knossos | minoan capital city |
| king minos | king of knossos |
| phoenicians | most powerful traders along the meditterranean |
| 3 important features of minoan culture | controlled trade in crete, sent their pottery swords, and metal goods for trade, style of architect-wall paintings |
| how the phoenicians spread their culture | they traded goods, and had ships sail from colonies to colonies, made purple dye, brought system of writing to greece |
| why trade networks were so important | they helped people exchange products and information, traders carried ideas, religious beliefs, art and culture |
| palestine | region on the eastern end of the mediterranean sea |
| canaan | ancient home of the hebrews |
| torah | first 5 books of the hebrew bible |
| abraham | father of the first of the hebrew people |
| monotheism | belief in a single god |
| covenant | mutual promise between god and the hebrews |
| moses | according to the Torah, the man that led the jews out of slavery |
| israel | region on the eastern end of the mediterranean sea |
| judah | hebrew kingdom in palestine |
| tribute | payment made by a weaker power to a stronger power |
| the role abraham played in early hebrew history | the first of the hebrews |
| the ten commandments | the laws that the hebrews were to follow, and god promised to protect them if they followed these laws |
| how israel was split | judah was in the south, and israel in the north |
| the babylonian captivity | when the southern kingdom fell into the assyrians, jews were forced into exile |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.