World History

• The Sumerians were the first people to develop a system of writing known as cuneiform.
• Cuneiform was written on clay tablets using a stylus, which left wedge-shaped marks that could be read by pressing them into wet clay.
• Mesopotamia is located between two rivers - Tigris and Euphrates.
• The torah is the first 5 books of the bible. It is the foundation of jewish beliefs
• Archeologists found evidence of urban planning in the city of Ur, which was built on a hill. (Indus valley)
• Bantu language speakers would be most likely found in the north east of South Africa
• The olmec created large monuments and sculptures, including the largest stone head in the world.
• The Olmecs created urban planning, architecture, and monumental sculpture.
• Mesopotamians used the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to irrigate their crops.
• Ancient Mesopotamia had the first empire, the first written language, the first calendar, and the first system of mathematics.
• Abraham was the father of the Hebrews and the founder of Judaism.
• Jewish diaspora is the cause of the spread of monotheism and the development of the Hebrew language
• Egyptian civilization developed along the Nile River valley with its annual flooding that deposited rich soil on both sides of the river.
• The Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for pharaohs and believed in an afterlife where they would be judged by Osiris.
• Priests were higher in the hierarchies because they knew how to appease the gods
• Bantu created iron tools and weapons, and they also created a system of writing.
• Egypt has a theocracy, which means that the government is ruled by religious leaders.
• The Olmecs resided in today’s Southern Mexico
• The Olmecs were the first civilization in Mesoamerica.
• Mesopotamia‘s laws were based off of the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi.
• Mummification is the process of preserving a body by embalming and then wrapping it in a shroud. Egyptians used this process to preserve their dead.
• Ancient Chinese believed that they lived in a world controlled by spirits who needed to be appeased through offerings.
• In ancient China, women could own property but not inherit from their husbands.
• Legalism was an ideology that advocated strict obedience to law and punishment for disobeyers.
• Taoism was founded by Laozi (604-531 BCE) and emphasized living in harmony with nature and finding inner peace.
• Chinese dynasties are periods when one family rules over an empire.
• During the Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE), there were significant advancements in agriculture, trade, and technology.
• The Assyrian Empire included Mesopotamia, parts of the Plateau of Iran, sections of Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt down to Thebes.
• The Assyrian Empire was ruled by kings whose power was seen as absolute.
• Babylonia 's economy relied on farming and trading goods like textiles, leather, and metals.
• The Babylonian Empire emerged from the collapse of the Assyrians and lasted until it fell to Persians in 539 BCE.
• Assyria had a powerful army and used terror tactics such as mass executions and deportations to maintain control.
• The Code of Hammurabi is considered one of the earliest written legal codes in history.
• Pyramids were built using large blocks of

  sandstone.
• Egypt's economy depended heavily on agriculture, with crops like wheat, barley, flax, and papyrus being grown along the Nile River.
• The Great Pyramids are the three pyramids at Giza which are guarded by the sphinx.
• In the first civilizations, governments usually were led by monarchs. Monarchs kings or queens who rule a kingdom or a country.
• Rulers and an upper class of priests, government officials, and warriors dominated society. Below this class was a large group of free people — farmers, artisans, and craftspeople. At the bottom was a slave class.
• Mesoamericans were inhabitants of present-day Mexico and Central America. They grew beans, squash, and maize.
• Mesopotamian civilization refers to the achievements of people from three general areas: Assyria, Akkad, and Sumer. The Sumerians were the creators of the first Mesopotamian civilization.