Name means "land between the rivers"; where the 1st civilizations began; present day Iraq and Syria

The region in the Middle East which curves, like a quarter-moon shape; Known as the Cradle of Civilization

Belief in many gods; Ancient Sumerians believed in over 3,000 gods

The massive platform that the Sumerians built their religious temples on

Means "rule by god"; describes a government where the ruler is thought to be a God; ex: Ancient Egypt

1st writing system developed by the Sumerians; "wedge shape writing"

1st written laws; given to people of Ancient Babylon by King Hammurabi; very strict laws based on principle of an for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

Describes a society dominated by men

The longest river in the world; Egypt is often called "the gift of the Nile River"; Egyptians depended on the Nile for eveything

The annual flooding of the Nile River; The flood river leave behind rich fertile mud

Rich black mud left behind from the flooding of the Nile River

King who united Lower and Upper Egypt around 3100 BC

Means "great house of"; A family of rulers

Name for Egyptian King

The Ba was the part of the soul embarked on a journey to follow the gods; the symbol of the Ba is often shown as a bird with a human head and wings

It was very important to ancient Egyptian religious beliefs that the human body was preserved. The process lasted up to 70 days

Ancient Egyptians thought that when someone died the for the life force they left the physical body; The Ka could drink and eat, but was stuck in the tomb in the body of the mummy or the small statues that were left in the tomb

Containers used to hold the internal organs (lungs, stomach, intestines, liver) of the deceased that was going to be mummified; the jars had lids shaped as the head of the 4 sons of Horus

Formed the outer layer of protection for a royal mummy. with several layers of coffins nested within, and was often carved out of alabaster

Earned everlasting fame for being the pharaoh responsible for the Great Pyramid at Giza which he built to serve as his tomb

Largest of the 3 pyramids at Giza; Built by King Khufu; the only monument of the 7 wonders of the Ancient World to survive

Discovered in 1952 buried under the Great Pyramid; It would be needed to ferry King Khufu's spirit across the sky to be with Ra, the sun god

One of the largest and oldest statues in the world; Archeologists believe that it was carved around 2500 BC and that the head is meant to be the likeness of the Pharaoh Khafra

Egyptian picture writing

A stone with writing on it in two languages (Egyptian and Greek), using three scripts (hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek)

Invaded Egypt; Ruled for 200 years; Introduced the horse drawn chariot

First great woman ruler in history; She ruled Egypt as king not as queen; Sculptures and masks show her with a false beard

Rejected the traditional religion in favor of worshiping the Aten, or sun disc, after whom he renamed himself; He closed all the temples to the old gods and obliterated their names from monuments

17 year old boy pharaoh whose tomb survived untouched by grave robbers; more than 3,000 artifacts were discovered in his tomb

Ramses the Great reigned 67 years; Fathered over 100 children; Defeated the Hittites, the other superpower of ancient times; He declared himself a living god

Reed like plant that grows on the Nile River Ancient Egyptians used to write on

The spreading of ideas from one culture to another culture