"old stone age"

last division of paleolithic era

before agricultural revolution

appearance of cultures

use of tools, weaponry, fire, cave drawings

"cave man"

Hairy, hunched, enlarged skulls

overlapped with homo sapiens

extinct by 30,000 B.C.

"thinking man"

"wise person"

normal humans

developed first civilizations

caves in france 

paleolithic drawings

16,000 yr. old

"high view"

spanish caves with paleolithic drawings

25,000 years old

Mesolithic culture in Medittearanean

sedentary before agricultural revolution

unique

fertile cresant between tigris and euphrates

"land between the rivers"

location of first civilizations

civilization in lower mesopotamia

united and created by hammurabi

modern day iraq

border of Mesopotamia

silt from renews soil

author:

History Begins at Sumer

author:

They Wrote on Clay

master of cuneiform language

sumerian priest/ruler

sumerian temples

largest structures in cities

life revolved around

tower of babel was one

numerical system

base of 60

used by sumerians

earliest known writing system

developed by sumerians

written on clay

left wedge-shaped impressions

epic poem

story of sumerian king searching for immortality 

finds: is water plant

plant eaten by snake

one of the oldest literary works

"first conquerer"

akkadian king

conquers sumerians

politically unifies the valley

marches to meditteranean

spreads sumerian ideas

revival of sumerian culture and power

last great era

most important sumerian city-state

once a port city

last great sumerian king

built great ziggurat at Ur

law code (oldest)

West Mesopotamia

Infiltrate Sumer, adding to downfall of sumerians

take control 

king of amorites

reunified valley

kingdom- Babylon

warrior, builder, administrator

famous for law code

Lex Talionis

"law of the claw"

eye for an eye philosophy

"father of history"

wrote history of Persian wars

2nd civilization in fertile cresant

located along nile river valley

many time periods

egypt would have been impossible without

primary resource

used for transportation, food, water, papyrus

flooded once a year and renewed soil

"the great"

persian king

liberated jews 

british

excavated palace at knossos

developed concept of minoan civilization

from asia minor

destroyed mycenean fortresses

brought Greece into dark ages

small settlements in pre-dynastic egypt.

ruled my nomarchs

fought each other to enlarge territory

King of Upper Egypt.

conquers Lower Egypt and unifies the two

1st Dynasty

Founded Memphis at Capital

killed by hippo

menes is narmer

oldest hieroglyphics depicting unification of egypt

pharoh called king, considered a god

capital: memphis 

solar calendar

Religion- cult of amen-ra

golden age of old kingdom

pyramids built during this time

pharohs hold most power

egypt at peace

zoser's architect

engineered step pyramid at sakkara

time of choas and anarchy

7th-10th Dynasty

Pharohs came and went quickly

"dark period"

powerful time

11th-14th dynasties

most powerful of middle kingdom

emphasis on literature and art

egypt falls again

invasion of hyksos

from asia

invaded egypt characterized 2nd intermediate period

ruled lower egypt by 15th dynasty

completely expelled by 18th dynasty

sold into slavery by brothers

 becomes Pharohs right hand man during 2nd intermediate

jews are free at the time

founder of 18th dynasty

expells hyksos for good

laid foundations for new kingdom

reinstates thebes as capital

18th- 20th dynasties

egypt's  most prosperous time

egypt becomes empire as pharohs expand territory

led expedition to widen egypt

1st buried in valley of the kings

son of thutmose I

strongly influenced by wife, Hapshepsut

did little of importance during reign

first female "king" of egypt

takes throne from thutmose III

not murdered by thutmose III as once thought

"Napoleon" of Egypt

16-17 military expeditions to syria

makes egypt superpower

wins major victory at MEGIDDO (in syria)

religious visionary

turns from cult of amen-ra to the aton

moves capital to akhetaton

neglects everything for religion

egypt delcines

queen, co-regent with akhenaton

eventually divorce

governors of satrapies

provinces of persian empire

father of archeology

found 9 troys

great business halls

inspired parthanon

in egypt

contains many tombs of kings from New Kingdom

63 tombs including king tuts

considered most powerful pharoh

pharoh of exodus

defeated hittites at kadesh

egypt v. hittites

ramses II

largest chariot battle

built by ramses II

2 temples carved out of mountains as a monument to ramses and nefertari and to commemorate the victory at kadesh.

origin is mystery

raiders, caused political unrest

attempted to invade and takeover egypt

during reign of Ramses III

indo-europeans from anatolia region

skilled with chariots and iron

battle of kadesh

alphabet, 22 characters

ancestor of ours today

sea traders

famous for purple dye

never large empire

worked to impose language on other cultures

succeeded in babylon

cities of hittite empire

in modern day syria

upper mesopotamians

largest empire to date

Tigleth-Pileser III

assryian king

brutal, specialized in seige warfare

last great assryian king

scholar built great library

capital city

destroyed in 612 b.c. 

small, very wealthy empire in turkey

vast trade due to location 

first to coin money

wealthy lydian king

great fall from power

sent runner to oracle a delphi

"if cross river, an empire will fall"

he crosses and his empire falls

dominant neo-babylonian tribe

known astronomers

chaldean king

brought babylonian glory days back

built ishtar gate and hanging gardens

kingdom declines after his death

"Beehive" tombs

Mycenaeans 

disk of the sun

only god under akhenaton