Unit III Vocab: Terms for Mesopotamia and Egypt (#1-16) 1.

Fertile Crescent: arc of rich farmland stretching between the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea; where several early civilizations (including the Sumerians and Babylonians) thrived 2. Mesopotamia: means land between the rivers, located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; fertile land for growing although the rivers could cause hardships; the cradle of civilization 3. city-state: a city which functions as an independent political unit (with some regional independence) even though it is part of a civilization; Sumer was organized into city states (such as Ur) 4. dynasty: a series of rulers from a single family; power is passed through a series of relatives; many ancient civilizations have had govts based on dynastic power, including ancient Egypt 5. cultural diffusion: spreading of products or ideas (such as language, religion, culture) from one culture to another; usually, this process happened along trade routes; for example, Sumerian culture was disseminated (or spread) along its trade routes with other places in the Fertile Crescent 6. polytheism: worship of many gods; almost all the major ancient civilizations were polytheistic (with the exception of the Hebrews) 7. empire: political unit in which a number of peoples or countries are controlled by a single ruler; an empire can unite people of different cultures, ethnicities, or races; early empires included Egypt, Assyria, and Persia) 8. Hammurabis Code: Hammurabi was the king of Babylon from 1792-1750 BCE when the civilization was at its height; he was responsible for Hammurabis Code, the first written code of laws, which took all the legal precedents already being used and codified them for the first time 9. delta: the triangle-shaped, marshy piece of land formed by silt deposits at the mouth of a river 10. Narmer: king of Egypt believed to have been the first to unite Upper and Lower Egypt; he founded the first Egyptian dynasty 11. pharaoh: an Egyptian god-king; considered a god as well as a political and military leader; his eternal life force (ka) continued to rule after his death, so his body was preserved by mummification for the afterlife 12. theocracy: govtal power is based on religious authority; in early Sumer, priests controlled the govt, and in Egypt, the pharaoh had the status of a god but was also the supreme political leader 13. pyramid: Egyptian structures built during the Old Kingdom to be the final resting places for kings; because these were so easy to find, they were often looted; the pyramids reflect the Old Kingdoms economic strength and technology, as well as the govtal organization, necessary to support massive public works projects 14. mummification: embalming and drying a corpse to keep it from decaying (rotting); this tedious, careful process was reserved for the wealthy in Egypt; Egyptian mummies are so well preserved today that some have been found still with hair, skin, and teeth 15. hieroglyphics: Egyptian pictographs; these were first translated in 1822 thanks to the Rosetta Stone, and cracking the hieroglyphics code has let modern people learn a great deal about Egyptian life and culture 16. papyrus: these reedy plants grow in the Nile delta; Egyptians split the reeds, laid them into crosswise strips, dampened, and pressed them into paperlike sheets; the development of papyrus freed the Egyptians from using stone or clay for their writing