SEMESTER ONE | People YOU SHOULD KNOW.

Chapter 2 Middle East/Egypt

1
Sargon
Akkadian soldier who created the first empire in recorded history
in Mesopotamia. Sargon is the Hebrew form of Sharru-kin, which
means “the king is legitimate” in Akkadian

2
Hammurabi
King of ancient Babylon who created a uniform code of laws. The
most complete version of his code, containing 250 laws, is carved
on an 8-foot stone pillar found in Iran in 1901.

3
Darius
Ruler of the Persian Empire after Cyrus. He organized the empire
into 20 satraps and launched an ill-fated attack on Athens.

4
Zoroaster
Persian founder of the Zoroastrian religion. He taught that the
world was a battleground between the good and the evil, and that
each individual had to freely choose which of these two spirits to
follow.

5
Moses
Hebrew prophet who led his people out of slavery in Egypt and
brought them the Ten Commandments. According to the book of
Exodus in the bible, he led the Hebrews through the desert for 40
years.

6
David
King of Israel who made the Hebrews supreme in Palestine. His
story is told in the Old Testament.

7
Solomon
Hebrew king of Israel renowned for his wisdom. His lavish
spending led to popular discontent. His story is in the books of
Kings and Chronicles in the Old Testament.

8
Amon-Re
The most important ancient Egyptian god, the sun god. The
pharaohs were believed to be the sons of him.

9
Osiris
Egyptian god of the Nile and of the underworld. Egyptians
believed that the dead would be judged by him.

10
Jean Champollion
French scholar who deciphered the Rosetta Stone in the early
1800s, cracking the code of Egyptian hieroglyphics.

11
Isis
Egyptian god whose yearly revival of her husband, Osiris, was
identified with the rise and fall of the Nile.
12
Menes
Ruler of Upper Egypt who conquered Lower Egypt about 3100
B.C. and established first dynasty. His Tomb was discovered in
1987.

13
Hatshepsut
Queen of Egypt during the New Kingdom. The first woman ruler
known to history. She administered an efficient government. Her
successor destroyed sculptures of her after her death.

14
Thutmose III
Egyptian pharaoh who expanded the Egyptian Empire to its largest
size. One of the monuments he built to celebrate his victories today
stands in New York City’s Central Park, where it is mistakenly
called Cleopatra’s Needle.

15
King Tutankhamon
Egyptian pharaoh, son-in-law of Akhenaton. who returned to
traditional religious practices. His tomb survived without being
robbed because it was buried under rubble thrown away by
workers building other tombs.

16
Rames II
Egyptian pharaoh from 1304 to 1237 B.C. The last great ruler of
the New Kingdom. He spent his long reign fighting the Hittites.
The treaty ending the war called for the man to marry a Hittite
princess.
17
Queen Nefertiti
Queen of Egypt who exerted great influence over her husband, the
pharaoh Amenothep IV. A bust of Nefertiti is among the most
famous sculptures of the ancient world.

18
Cleopatra
Queen of Egypt who tried to restore her country to greatness by
marrying Mark Anthony of Rome but was defeated by Octavian
and committed suicide.

Chapter 3 China/India

19
Laozi
Legendary founder of Daoism, a philosophy and religion of China.
According to popular belief, he was born in the Chinese province
of Henan (Ho-nan) around 570 BC and served as an official at the
royal court at Luoyang. His original name was Li Erh, and his
name means “Old Master.”

20
Confucius
Chinese philosopher and educator, one of the most important
individuals in Chinese history, and one of the most influential
figures in world history. His name in Chinese is Kongzi (also
spelled K’ung-tzu)
21
Shi Huangdi
He was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BCE to 221
BCE (officially still under the Zhou Dynasty), and then the first
emperor of a unified China from 221 BCE to 210 BCE, ruling
under the name the First Emperor

22
Wudi
Emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty who vastly increased its
authority and its influence abroad and made Confucianism China's
state religion. Under him, China's armies drove back the nomadic
Xiongnu tribes that plagued the northern border.

23
Siddhartha Gautama
He was a spiritual teacher from ancient India and the founder of
Buddhism. He is generally recognized by Buddhists as the
Supreme Buddha of our age.

24
Chandragupta Maurya
Ruler of northern India and first Indian emperor c. 325-296 BC,
founder of the Mauryan dynasty. He overthrew the Nanda dynasty
of Magadha in 325 BC and then conquered the Punjab in 322 BC.
He is credited with having united most of India.

25
Asoka
He was the third king of the Maurya dynasty, who ruled almost the
whole of the Indian subcontinent from about 269 to 232 BC. After
successfully concluding a major military campaign, he endorsed
nonviolence and peaceful persuasion.
Chapter 4 Greece

26
Homer
Ancient Greek poet whose Iliad and Odyssey tell about the Trojan
War. The Odyssey contains famous legendary figures such as the
one-eyed Cyclops and the sirens that lured sailors to their deaths.

27
Draco
Noble who wrote the first law code of Ancient Athens. His harsh
laws failed to bring order. Today ‘draconian refers to any specially
drastic or harsh measure

28
Solon
Athenian king whose reforms gave ordinary citizens more power.
In Herodotus’ Histories, Crocsus, king of Lydia, asks this person if
he has ever met a happier man, he replied: “I will not answer, until
I know that you have died happily.

29
Cleisthenes
Athenian leader who promoted democracy by allowing all the
citizens to take part in the assembly, expanding citizenship, and
introducing ostracism. Aristotle uses him as a model in the Politics.

30
Pericles
Greek leader of Athens during its golden age. He summarized
Greek values in his funeral oration. When war with Sparta loomed,
he counseled: “what we should lament is not the loss of houses or
of land, but the loss of men’s lives. Men come first.”

31
Zeus
Chief god of the ancient Greeks, who presided over the council of
gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus.

32
Thales
Greek philosopher who taught that the universe was controlled by
understandable natural laws. According to Herodotus, this man
predicted a solar eclipse during a war between the Lydians and
Medes, prompting them to reach a peace agreement.

33
Socrates
Greek philosopher who used questions and answers to pursue the
truth. In the Apology, this man said, “I go about testing and
examining every man who I think is wise and whenever I find that
he is not wise, I point out to him, on the gods’ behalf, that he is not
wise.”

Chapter 5 Rome

34
Hannibal
Carthaginian general who led an army from Spain to attack Rome.
His Italian campaign floundered, and he was defeated at the battle
of Zama in North Africa. Hannibal initiated the Second Punic War
by laying siege to the Spanish city of Saguntum.
35
Tiberius Gracchus
Ancient Roman leader who called for land distribution to help the
poor. The riot that led to his death broke when he announced that
he would break Roman law by running for reelection as tribune,

36
Gaius Gracchus
Roman leader who, with his brother Tiberius, championed the
poor. Both were murdered by mobs of nobles. His plan to settle the
poor in colonies in North Africa and Europe was eventually
followed, spreading Roman culture abroad.

37
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Roman general who was dictator from 82 to 79 B.C., following a
bloody civil war. He publicly posted a list of his enemies, many of
whom were then murdered.

38
Gnaeus Pompey
Roman general who, with Caesar and Crassus, formed the First
Triumvirate to rule Rome. After taking the Senates side against
Caesar he was defeated by Caesar in 48 B.C.

39
Julius Caesar
Roman general named dictator for life in 44 B.C. and murdered the
same year. His reforms strengthened Rome but ended the Senate’s
power. He once said,”I came, I saw, I conquered.”
40
Marcus Crassus
Roman general who was part of the First Triumvirate with Caesar
and Pompey. Rivalries split the Triumvirate and this man died
Fighting in the east. He got rich by buying confiscated estates at a
low cost.

41
Marcus Aurelius
Roman emperor and philosopher after whose death Rome plunged
into chaos and civil war.

42
Mark Anthony
One of the rulers of Rome under the Second Triumvirate - His
alliance with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, led to war with his co-
rulers and to the couple’s suicide.

43
Augustus
Name taken by Octavian, first emperor of Rome from 27 B.C. to
14 AD. His reforms included improving Rome’s army, civil
service, and architecture. He defeated Mark Anthony and Cleopatra
while taking control of Egypt.