| A | B |
|---|
| plateau | high, flat area of land |
| alluvial plain | low, flat land formed from fine soils deposited by rivers |
| urban | city |
| tributaries | branches from a river |
| silt | a rich mixture of bits of rock and soil |
| droughts | long period of time with little or no rain |
| irrigation | is the use of connected ditches, canals, dams, and dikes to move water to dry areas |
| civilization | is a centralized society with developed forms of religion, ways of governing, and learning |
| technology | the skills and knowledge to make products or meet goals |
| ziggurat | huge mud-brick temple |
| government | is an organized system that groups use to make laws and decisions |
| city-state | a city and the farmlands around it |
| monarchy | a new government in which one person had complete authority |
| authority | the right to rule |
| surplus | extra supply of something |
| merchants | people who buy and sell goods to make a living |
| social classes | groups with different levels of importance |
| scribe | a person who wrote things for others |
| innovations | new ways of doing things |
| conquer | to take over, the land of others |
| empire | is a conquered land of many peoples and places governed by one ruler |
| emperor | the ruler of the empire |
| taxation | people are required to pay taxes to support the government |
| Code of Hammurabi | a collection of 282 laws compiled by the Babylonian leader, dealing with every aspect of life |
| equal justice | fair treatment under the law |
| monotheism | belief in one God |
| covenant | special agreement with God |
| Exodus | any large movement or migration of people |
| Ten Commandments | a set of laws for responsible behavior |
| Judaism | the religion of the Jewish people |
| Torah | the first five books of the Hebrew Bible |
| Sabbath | a day of rest after a week of work |
| exile | a person can not return to their homeland |
| Diaspora | the settling of Jews outside of Israel |
| synagogues | Jewish houses of worship |
| King Saul | Israel's first king |
| King David | responsible for building capital city of Jerusalem |
| King Solomon | known for his great wisdom |
| Assyrians | conquered the kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C. |
| Babylonians | conquered Judah in 586 B.C. |
| Persia | conquered the Babylonians in 539 B.C. |
| colony | is a settlement seperate from, but under the control of a home country |
| cultural diffusion | the spreading of new ideas to other places |
| How did the use of the Phoenician alphabet spread? | The alphabet spread because other cultures saw it being used for trade purposes |
| barter | the exchange of one good or service for another |
| money economy | an economic system based on the use of money |
| How did the use of coined money change trade? | coined money allowed traders to set prices for various goods and services |
