Midterm Review

CIVILIZATIONS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD HIS 246 WILSON SPRING 2011

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAM

The exam will cover up through the material for March 9 (the Hebrews).

The exam will consist of different kinds of questions:

u Identifications (5 or so) — you’ll be provided with a term and you’ll need to give (a) a description of what it refers to and (b) its significance or importance.

o All the identification terms will come from this sheet.

u Multiple choice (6 or so)

u Map

u Short answer (1 or 2) — like a quiz questions, a paragraph or two on a specific topic we’ve discussed

u Essay (1) — a longer discussion giving your interpretation and analysis of a major theme we’ve covered

Approach to Preparing

u Make a list of the five or six most important milestone events in the periods we’ve discussed.

o CAUSES — Make sure you can identify the most important factors that helped cause these events — including long-term factors (“the environment”) and short-term factors (“the spark”)

o LEGACIES — Make sure you can identify the legacies of the milestone event. How did it change the culture, society, etc.? What impact did it have on future milestones and events?

u For each of the questions below, see whether you have a strong idea how to answer, an okay idea how to answer, or a weak sense of how to answer. Review from the books and notes at least the “weak” ones.

u Take note of the terms and review ones you’re unfamiliar with.

topics

Introduction; Sources

u TERMS: Primary source – Western civilization

Peoples

For each people, you should be able to discuss the distinctive nature of their geography, social structure, religion, trade, gender roles, and other aspects of their society that we read about or discussed, as well as relations to each other

u Before the Bronze Age: Çatal Höyük – Sumerians – Akkadians – Egyptians (Old Kingdom)

u Bronze Age: Egyptians (New Kingdom) – Minoans – Babylon – Assyrians

o Indo-Europeans: Hittites – Mycenaeans – Dorians

u After the Bronze Age: Sea Peoples/Philistines – Aramaeans – Phoenicians – Israelites – Persians

Individuals

For each, you should have an idea of the period and culture they belong to and the effect they had on it.

u Mespotamia: Gilgamesh – Innana/Ishtar – Enlil – Sargon – Hammurabi – Ashurbanipal – Nebuchadnezzar

u Egypt: Osiris – Horus – Re – Akhenaten – Tutankhamen

u Israelites: Abraham – Moses – Saul – David – Solomon

u Persians: Cyrus – Zoroaster

Places

In addition to the locations of the peoples listed above, you should be familiar with key geographic terms and where they are in relation to each other, and how these places relate to the development of local cultures

u Southwest Asia: Mesopotamia – Tigris and Euphrates Rivers – Fertile Crescent – Canaan – Elam

u North Africa: Nile River – Upper Egypt, Lower Egypt – Thebes, Memphis – Libya

u Eastern Mediterranean: Anatolia – Aegean Sea – Crete – Peloponnese – Greek mainland

Civilizations

u What technological and social developments are necessary to create civilization?

u How does monumental building relate to the emergence of civilization?

u What were early neolithic cities like? How were they physically different from Bronze Age or later cities?

u What was the ideology of the pharaoh’s power? What were its realities?

u How does the arrival of Indo-European peoples affect the societies of the eastern Mediterranean? What innovations do they bring with them? How is their cultural background distinct from the peoples already living in these regions?

u TERMS: Civilization – Paleolithic age – Neolithic age – Bronze Age – Agricultural revolution – ziggurat – city-state – palace-state – pharaoh

Trade and Empire

u How did the Bronze Age civilizations differ from earlier civilizations? How does technological change better enable the Bronze Age cultures to create large empires?

u What effect does the arrival of the Bronze Age have on international relations? Why does the Bronze Age become more international and cosmopolitan?

u What might be some of the reasons why Egypt unifies under a single ruler, but Mesopotamia remains constantly divided and at war? How do these differences affect the cultures of each region?

u What differences separate the Egyptian New Kingdom from Egypt’s previous periods?

u How do the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures relate to each other?

u What was the Period of Calamities? What factors might have brought it about? What was the result for the Bronze age civilizations?

u What factors make the vast Persian empire so much more stable than the Iron Age Assyrian Empire?

u TERMS: Indo-Europeans – chariot – period of calamities – Babylonian captivity – satrap

Religion, Philosophy, Language

u What is the connection between a people’s understanding of their relationship with their gods and the emergence of the city?

u What kinds of ideas about mortality develop in ancient civilizations? How are they different any why?

u How does the role of women vary among ancient cultures? What reasons can you suggest for these differences?

u What was the archetypical myth of Egyptian religion? How does it relate to Egyptian political power?

u What’s the significance of the Aramaic language in southwest Asia?

u How does the history of the Hebrews (fall and exile) contribute to the Jewish religion — especially the importance of monotheism?

u TERMS: ma’at – Zoroastrianism – cuneiform – hieroglyphics – Linear B – Phoenician alphabet – Aramaic

Epic of Gilgamesh

u How do the events and characters reflect Sumerian ideas about gods, humans, and civilization? Be ready to discuss the actions of the major characters in terms of how they represent the ideas of Sumerian culture.

u Why is the cure for Gilgamesh’s tyranny the creation of Enkidu? Why does intercourse with the harlot transfer him from the wild to civilization, and why is his process of civilization significant? What themes are involved in Enkidu’s death and Gilgamesh’s search for immortality?

u How does the depiction of the gods in Gilgamesh compare/contrast with the gods in Egypt? What does the depiction of the gods in Gilgamesh suggest about Sumerians thought about the world?

u TERMS: Uruk – Enkidu – Humbaba – bull of heaven – door of cedar – House of Dust