Download Vocabulary Unit 1 Term Definition ziggurat A tiered

Vocabulary Unit 1
Term
Definition
ziggurat
A tiered, pyramid-shaped structures that formed part of a Sumerian temple.
Fertile Crescent
An arc of rich farmland in Southwest Asia, between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea
Mesopotamia
The broad, flat, fertile, plain lying between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (the “land between the
rivers)
city-state
A city and its surrounding lands functioning as an independent political unit
dynasty
A series of rulers from a single family
empire
A political unit in which a number of peoples or countries are controlled by a single ruler
Hammurabi
King of the Babylonian Empire at its peak, Hammurabi’s most enduring legacy is his code of laws
delta
A marshy region formed by deposits of a silt at the mouth of a river
Narmer
The king who united upper and lower Egypt
pharaoh
A king of ancient Egypt, considered a god as well as a political and military leader
pyramid
A massive structure with a rectangular base and four triangular sides, like those that were built in
Egypt as burial places for Old Kingdom pharaohs
mummification
A process of embalming and drying corpses to prevent them from decaying
hieroglyphics
An ancient Egyptian writing system in which pictures were used to represent ideas and sounds
papyrus
A tall reed that grows in the Nile delta used by the ancient Egyptians to make a paper-like material
for writing on.
subcontinent
A large landmass that forms a distinct part of a continent.
monsoon
A wind that shifts in direction at certain times of each year
Harappan
civilization
Another name for the Indus Valley civilization that arose along the Indus River characterized by
sophisticated city planning
loess
A fertile deposit of windblown soil
oracle bones
Animal bones or tortoise shells used by ancient Chinese priests to communicate with the gods
Mandate of
Heaven
In Chinese history, the divine approval thought to be the basis or royal authority
dynastic cycle
Dynastic cycle the historical pattern of the rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties
feudalism
A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in
exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land