| A | B |
|---|
| Abraham | father of both Arabs and Jews |
| adopted culture | borrowing cultural knowledge from one people to another |
| adapted culture | changing ideas of previous cultures to be of more use to your culture |
| Amorites | also known as Babylonians; the people of Hammurabi |
| Aramaeans | gave common language to the Fertile Crescent |
| Assyrians | brutal conquerers; defeated Israel; took them into slavery |
| astrology | non-scientific study of the stars; used to predict the future |
| astronomy | scientific study of stars plus maintaining records of movements |
| Babylon | city on Euphrates River; site of Hanging Gardens |
| cedar | sweet-smelling, long-lasting wood export from Phoenicia |
| Chaldeans | people of Nebuchadnezzar; defeated Judah |
| city-state | political organization which includes the city and surrounding fields |
| colony | city founded in distant land in order to aid trade |
| confederation | a loose association of independent states; Phoenician confederation |
| cuneiform | writing, using stylus, of ancient Sumer |
| Cyrus | Persian emperor who conquered much land |
| Darius I | son of Cyrus; good administrator of large empire |
| David | child hero; killed Goliath; excellent ruler of Israel |
| Deborah | excellent Judge of the Hebrews; female leader |
| Diaspora | dispersal of the Jews throughout the world from 586 BC to the present |
| Ebla | ancient city; site of burned library |
| exodus | describes leaving of a large group of people |
| Fertile Crescent | describes fertile land which was a "Crossroads of Civilization" in the Middle East |
| Haggar | maid of Sarah; mother of Ishmael |
| Hammurabi | remembered for his written code of laws |
| Hammurabi's Code | first written code of laws |
| hereditary kingship | passing kingship from on generation to another within a family |
| Hittites | Fertile Crescent people; defeated Egyptians |
| Iron | metal stronger than bronze; used by Hittites |
| Isaac | son of Abraham; through him Jews are descended from Abraham |
| Ishmael | son of Abraham; through him Arabs are descended from Abraham |
| gifts of Jews to Christians | monotheism; Old Testament; forgiveness of sins; humans made in image of God; Jesus |
| Lydians | gave gift of coins to future generations |
| Mesopotamia | "land between the rivers" - Tigris and Euphrates, that is |
| monarchy | king/queen rules |
| monotheism | belief in one God, not many |
| Moses | led Hebrews from Egypt; parted Red (Reed) Sea |
| Nebuchadnezzar | Chaldean ruler; built Hanging Gardens of Babylon |
| Phoenicians | "carriers of civilization"; sea traders of the Mediterranean |
| prophet | person who warns (reminds) of God's will |
| purple cloth | export of Phoenicia; very expensive; used by rulers to represent their power (money) |
| Royal Road | Persian method of quick transportation to tie empire together for trade and defense |
| Sarah | wife of Abraham; mother of Isaac |
| Sargon I | Addakian ruler; 1st emperor of the world |
| Satraps | Persian government official; similar to a governor today |
| Saul | first King of Israelites; united the 12 tribes |
| Solomon | King of Israelites; massive building program destroyed economy of his country |
| stylus | writing tool used with cuneiform writing |
| Sumer | first civilization of world; location: where Tigris and Euphrates meet |
| theocracy | government in which political and religious leaders are the same people |
| 12 Tribes | of Israel; descended from 12 sons of Jacob |
| Yahweh | name given by Hebrews to God; means "I Am" |
| ziggurat | 6 or 7 step place of worship in ancient Middle East |
| Zoroastrianism | religion of Persia; idea of good winning over evil |
