6. Middle East Flashcards
What did pastoral nomads do?
Domesticated animals for food and clothing, followed regular migratory routes, carried technology from place to place, attacked those places if they needed to
T or F: Indo-Europeans were a significant nomadic people group
True, they went all over the place
T or F - Hittites were just the native peoples and they made their kingdom with no indo europeans
False (i mean that is the sussest wording I have ever seen)
T or F: Hittites threatened Egyptian power
True
What is the ONE THING you need to know about the Hittites?
The were the first people to use (and smelt) iron!!!!!
Who got rid of the hittites?
Sea Peoples
Who did the Phoenicians come after?
Egyptians and Hittites
How did the phoenicians get money?
Trade!!! (this is like how everyone got money tbh)
What stuff did the phonecians trade?
Oh boy
Cedar timbers, pottery, purple dye, jewelry, glass, religious objects, fallace (d**), wool, olive oil for fires, wine, perfume
this is the best card (not)
Big phoenician cities
Byblos (capital), Tyre, Sidon
T or F The phoenicians didn’t do sea trade
False - they set up a bunch of new routes and were culture missionaries
How did phoenicians contribute to language?
They created a PHOnetic alphabet (for trade writing bc cuneiform sucks) with 22 characters that became greek that became roman
T or F: Father abraham’s many sons are israelites
T
What did King Solomon do for the Israelites?
Built a big temple in Jerusalem, expanded government and encouraged trade, helped Israel reach height of power
T or F: Jews are monotheistic
True.
What is the Judaism religious text called?
Torah
3 aspects of Jewish religious tradition
Covenant, law, and prophets
Most famous laws in the Torah
10 commandments
What was the age of prophecy?
Ppl were conquered by powerful neighbors, prophets declared that faithlessness to God would bring catastrophy, but turning from evil would bring God’s mercy - prophets preached about God and peace
T or F: Prophets didn’t care about social injustice
False- they openly condemned it - their words became a source of ideals of social justice for Jews and others
Biggest difference between Judaism and other religions
Monotheism (also the will of God was written down so no mandate of heaven monkey business)
Downsides of Judaism and monotheism
Prevented complete integration with surrounding communities - no accepting gods = separation and hostility (but it was helpful for maintaining their identity)
What do we say about the minoans?
L + ratio imagine not getting learned about
(delete this when we have to learn about the minoans)
Where was assyria?
Upper tigris river levanty area northern mesopotamia (around there)
What was the capital of Assyria?
Ashur
T or F the assyrians conquered parts of Iran, Syria, Israel, and Egypt down to Thebes
True
T or F Assyrians had an efficient communication system that could get messages to the king and all around
True
What military equipment and other helpful things did the Assyrians have?
big troops, good organization, infantrymen, cavalrymen, horse-drawn war chariots and arrows, big armies with iron weapons, good tactics, battering rams, siege warfare, siege towers and engines
How did they get around walls?
Put up a cover so they couldn’t get hot liquid poured on them and dig under it and weaken it
T or F The assyrians were not nice to civilians
True. Very, very true.
Why did the Assyrian empire fall apart?
They committed too many atrocities and did too much assimilation and the people revolted (and also some other ppl came and invaded while they were weak (chaldeans and medes))
What language did assyrians speak?
Semetic language
Who did the babylonian/chaldeans come after?
Assyrians
What civilization did the ishtar gate and hanging gardens belong to?
Babylonians/chaldeans
T or F Babylonians/chaldeans were not good at military stuff
False
T or F: The babylonians/chaldeans learned from the assyrians not to be cruel to their subjects
True
Who conquered the Babylonians/chaldeans?
Persian king Cyrus
Who unified the persian Empire?
Cyrus
T or F The persians were indo-europeans
T (who wasn’t)
T or F: Persian empire never got to india
F - it went from Anatolia to India
What made Cyrus a good ruler?
- Restraint
- Religious tolerance
- Let Jews in Babylonian captivity go home, ending their slavery
- Wise and compassionate
- Gave native people government positions in their states
- Didn’t burn stuff down
- Merciful
- Got accepted as the ruler of the Medes, Babylonians, and Jews
- Respected other cultures (used their designs in his buildings)
T or F Cambices (wrong spelling but idc) was a kind ruler just like his father Cyrus
False, he chucked cats at the Egyptians and did not respect their religion
T or F Darius extended the persian empire
True
What were satrapies?
The 20 provinces that Darius divided the Persian empire into. He appointed satraps to protect them -they collected taxes, provided justice, and recruited soldiers
How did Darius make sure the satraps weren’t corrupt?
He sent out inspectors/eyes and ears
T or F Persian empire was well organized - roads were good, messengers got food and shelter, big administration
True
Who were the 10,000 immortals?
Core of the persian army - they were immediately replaced when one got killed or retired
What started leading to the fall of the persian empire?
Kings became isolated in their courts, upped taxes, squabbled with each other (and killed each other) - honestly this keeps happening
T or F The persian empire didn’t have a lot of trade
False - there was a big royal road from coast to coast (sardis to susa) for a lot of trade. Plus a lot of minerals.
How did the Ionians feel about the Persians?
They didn’t like it, Athens helped them out and Darius didn’t conquer that area
Who conquered Persia?
Alexander the Great
What is another name for the Persians?
Achaemenids
Name of Persian religion
Zoroastrianism
Who was the god in Zoroastrianism?
Ahuramazda (Zoroaster was a prophet)
Main idea of Zoroastrianism
Good and Evil are fighting in the world, good ppl follow Ahuramazda, eventually he’ll triumph and it will all end and the final separation of good and evil will occur and ppl will be judged
T or F Christianity was the first religion to have angels and devils
False - Zoroastrianism had them first
What was the one place Darius couldn’t conquer? What were some of the places he did?
He didn’t get Greece
He did get Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of India
T or F Cyrus made coined money a thing
False it was Darius
Extent of babylonian control
Mesopotamia, Syria, phoeniciea, Israel, Philistinia, Northern Arabia, and parts of Asia Minor
