| A | B |
|---|
| Oasis | Fertile desert area that has enough water to support plant and animal life |
| Ziggurat | Huge many-tiered temple; the center of life in Sumer |
| Scribe | Someone who writes copies of manuscripts and documents |
| Cuneiform | Term used to describe the wedge-shaped writing of the Sumerians |
| Satrap | Governor of a province in ancient Persia |
| Messiah | Expected savior chosen by God to deliver the Jews from foreign rule and restore the kingdom of Israel |
| Parable | Short story with a simple moral lesson |
| Martyr | Person who dies or suffers for his/her beliefs |
| Pope | Head of the Roman Catholic Church |
| Caliph | Secular and religious head of a Muslim state; successor to the prophet Muhammad |
| Hajj | Pilgrimage to Mecca which all Muslims who are able are expected to make in their lifetime |
| Hejira | Migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in AD 622 |
| The Crusades | Military expeditions undertaken by European Christians beginning in the 1000’s to recover Palestine from the Muslims |
| Shah | Muslim king |
| Millet | Non-Muslim community in the Ottoman Empire |
| Anti-Semitism | Hatred or fear of Jews |
| Mandate | Territory administrated but not owned by a member of the League of Nations |
| Refugee | Person who flees his or her homeland to seek safety elsewhere |
| Occupied Territory | Land seized by Israel during the 1967 was with Arab nations |
| Reprisal | Forceful act in response to injury (act of revenge) |
| Intifada | Mass uprising by Palestinians in territory held by Israel |
