This is a briefing of some important facts on the River Valley Civilizations for a 9th grade global studies test. (Tuesday) It is based on the Prentice Hall World History Textbook.
Terms : Hide Images
| 231909553 | subcontinent | a large landmass that juts out from the continent | |
| 231909554 | monsoon | seasonal winds that regularly blow from a certain direction for part of the year | |
| 231909555 | Two Indus City Capitals | Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa | |
| 231909556 | Vedas | a collection of hymns, chants, rituals, and religious teachings that Aryan priests memorized and recited. these help us know about Indian civilization. | |
| 231909557 | acculturation | blending of two or more cultures | |
| 231909558 | Indra | the Aryan (Indian) god of war | |
| 231909559 | brahman | a single spiritual power existing beyond the many Vedas gods; a religious idea | |
| 231909560 | Two Indian Epics | the Mahabharata and the Ramayana | |
| 231909561 | What did Indus people work? | farming and trading | |
| 231909562 | What evidence shows that the Indus civilization had a well-organized government? | -laid out in organized patterns, with main streets, etc -houses were built with mud bricks -houses had complex plumbing systems -used a uniform system of weights and measures | |
| 231909563 | Aryans | nomads intermarried with local Indian people | |
| 231909564 | How did Aryans structure their society? | -highest was the Brahmins, or priests -next was the warriors -next was the herders, farmers, artisans, merchants -fourth was farmworkers, servants, and other laborers -fifth was people that did work that others didn't want to; considered outside the system | |
| 233492256 | Fertile Crescent | a region in the Middle East named for its rich soils and wheat became a place of early civilization | |
| 233492257 | Mesopotamia | the area of land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers | |
| 233492258 | Sumer | southeastern Mesopotamia the region of the world's first ever civilization | |
| 233492259 | The Epic of Gilgamesh | narrative poem, first told orally in Sumer tells of floods that destroyed the world | |
| 233492260 | hierarchy | system of ranking groups | |
| 233492261 | ziggurat | a large, steep platform thought to have been topped by a temple dedicated to the city's chief god or goddess | |
| 233492262 | cuneiform | earliest known writing pictographs, written on tablets | |
| 233492263 | Sumerian accomplishments | astronomy, mathematics number system, hours, time | |
| 233492264 | Sargon | the ruler of Akkad invaded and conquered Sumer, and built the first empire ever | |
| 233492265 | Hammurabi | king of Babylon brought much of Mesopotamia under the control of his empire | |
| 233492266 | codify | arrange and set down in writing | |
| 233492267 | civil law | deals with private rights and matters, like taxes, marriage, etc. | |
| 233492268 | criminal law | deals with offenses against others (robbery, assault, murder, etc.) "an eye for an eye" | |
| 233492269 | Nebuchadnezzar | Second king of Babylon reestablished the empire of Babylon | |
| 233492270 | barter and money economy | barter- trade economy money- tokens are used as payment | |
| 233492271 | Zoroaster | Persian thinker Helped to unite the empire | |
| 233492272 | Six Characteristics of Civilization in Sumer | Record-Keeping Advanced Cities Specialization Complex Institutions Advanced Technology | |
| 233492273 | Assyrian | a very warlike culture feared warriors | |
| 233492274 | Darius I | Unified Persian empire | |
| 233492275 | Akkad | Sumer conquered the Sumer and established the Akkadian empire | |
| 233492276 | Babylonian Empire | Second empire, after Sumer Hammurabi | |
| 233492277 | patrician | a wealthy landowner | |
| 233492278 | plebian | an ordinary commoner | |
| 234241592 | What steps had Sumerian civilization take shape? | Complex Government Unfolds Sumerians Structure their Society (hierarchy) Sumerians Practice Religion Sumerians Invent Writing | |
| 234241593 | Who built the first empire in Mesopotamia? | Sargon | |
| 234241594 | Who were the three main rulers in Mesopotamian civilization? | Sargon Hammurabi Nebuchadnezzar | |
| 234241595 | What technology did the Hittites try to keep secret in Mesopotamia? | iron-working | |
| 234241596 | Who were the Assyrians? | The Assyrians were great warriors with a fierce reputation. | |
| 234241597 | Order of Mesopotamian Rulers & What They Did | -Sargon -conquered the city-states of Sumer; died -Hammurabi -brought Sumer into his empire; created Hammurabi's Code -Assurbanipal -king of the Assyrians -Nabpolassar -king who reestablished Babylon -Nebuchadnezzar -ruthless second king of Babylon | |
| 234250813 | What caused Babylon to fall? | The Persian armies of Cyrus the great caused this to fall | |
| 234250814 | Who accomplished the real unification of the Persian empire? | Darius I | |
| 234258962 | Effects of the Nile on Egypt | People had to build irrigation systems, etc. The yearly flood provided water and rich silt | |
| 234258963 | The Old Kingdom | The first era of Egypt Ruled by pharaohs Built the Great Pyramids | |
| 234258964 | Bureaucracy | A system of government that includes different levels of authority | |
| 234258965 | Vizier | Chief minister; the pharaohs depended on them | |
| 234258966 | The Middle Kingdom | a more turbulent time period Hyksos came to take over | |
| 234258967 | New Kingdom | an era of powerful leaders | |
| 234258968 | Hatshepshut | Egypt's first female ruler | |
| 234258969 | Thutmose III | Stepson of Hatshepshut Stretched Egypt's borders | |
| 234258970 | Ramses II | Expanded Egypt's borders even further Lead Egypt in fierce battles against the Hittites of Asia Minor | |
| 234258971 | Amon-Re | Egyptian God | |
| 234258972 | Osiris, Isis | Egyptian gods of death | |
| 234258973 | Akhenaton | A pharaoh who tried to challenge the priests of Amon-Re | |
| 234340262 | monotheistic | believing there was only one God (Israelites believed this) | |
| 234340263 | loess | fine windblown yellow soil | |
| 234340264 | What barriers set China apart? | Tian Mountains & Himalayas to the west Thick rainforests to the south North was the Gobi desert East was the Pacific Ocean | |
| 234340265 | What was the River of Sorrows? | Also known as the Huang River, this river needed to be dammed and repaired constantly. If the dikes broke, floodwaters could destroy crops and cause mass starvation | |
| 234340266 | Shang Dynasty | first Chinese dynasty | |
| 234340267 | the Mandate of Heaven | the divine right to rule; the dynastic cycle | |
| 234340268 | Feudalism | local lords governed their own lands but owed military service to the ruler | |
| 234340269 | Oracle bones | Shang priests wrote questions addressed to the gods or spirits | |
| 234340270 | Characters | written symbols | |
| 234340271 | Calligraphy | elegant Chinese writing form | |
| 234340272 | Important Terms of Sumer | -Fertile Crescent, in Mesopotamia -World's first major civilization -Epic of Gilgamesh -Hierarchy, ziggurat, cuneiform -built with clay bricks | |
| 234340273 | Mesopotamian Rulers | -Sargon -conquered the city-states of Sumer; died -Hammurabi -brought Sumer into his empire; created Hammurabi's Code -Assurbanipal -king of the Assyrians -Nabpolassar -king who reestablished Babylon -Nebuchadnezzar -ruthless second king of Babylon | |
| 234340274 | Persian Timeline | -Babylon fell to the armies of Cyrus the Great -Darius I unified it -thinker thinker Zoroaster helped unite the empire; invented one God | |
| 234340275 | Describe the Indus | - subcontinent -plateaus, monsoons -Well-planned cities arose, and people lived by farming & trading -Religious beliefs developed (polytheism) -finally the civilization declined |
