Unit 3

Ideas & Armies

• Complete Chapter 6 vocabulary

Section 1: The Phoenicians

1. The Phoenicians lived in the northern part of Canaan.

2. Two groups formed the Phoenician people: Canaanites & Philistines.

3. The Phoenicians had three major accomplishments:

a. Expert shipbuilders, sailors & traders

b. Developed a purple dye (snails) & cedar trees

c. Developed the world’s 1st alphabet

4. The most powerful Phoenician city was Carthage, located in northern Africa.

Section 2: The Hebrews

1. The Hebrew people began in the ancient middle eastern region, along the Euphrates River.

2. The story of the Hebrew people and their god is written in their holy book. This book is known as the Torah or Old testament.

3. It states that Hebrews believe in one god. This god is called Yahweh.

4. This was the first monotheistic religion of the world.

5. It is believed that the prophet Abraham started the Jewish religion (Judaism) when he made a covenant with Yahweh.

6. As part of this covenant, the Hebrews were promised that they could always live in Canaan (the Holy Land).

7. When Canaan experienced a severe drought, most Hebrews moved to the nearby land of Egypt.

8. As the Hebrew numbers grew, the Egyptian pharaoh feared them and their god, so he enslaved them.

9. For 600 years, the Hebrews remained in captivity until Yahweh appeared to a man named Moses.

10. Moses was told he was to lead God’s people back to Canaan.

11. After God released the 10 plagues upon Egypt, the pharaoh let the Hebrews go.

12. The Hebrews roamed through the desert for 40 days before returning to Canaan (Exodus). Yahweh gave Moses the 10 Commandments which would serve as the guidelines for how the Hebrew people should live.

Chapter 7: Military Empires

Section 1: The Assyrians

1. The Assyrian people emerged from the Babylonian empire.

2. The Assyrians built a powerful army, armed with chariots & cavalry, archers, and armed soldiers.

3. The Assyrians were ruthless conquerors. Anyone who resisted were severely punished and those conquered had to pay heavy taxes.

4. The Assyrians built a powerful capital at Nineveh.

5. After about 500years in power, the Assyrians were conquered by a groups of people called the Chaldeans.

Section 2: The Chaldeans

1. The Chaldeans were led by King Nebuchadrezzar.

2. He called his people Babylonians since he was a descendant of King Hammurabi.

3. The Chaldeans rebuilt the city of Babylon and made it the wealthiest city in the world.

4. Babylon was so big and so grand that large numbers of people, traveling in caravans, came to the city every day.

5. In the center of the city stood a huge statue in honor of the god Marduk.

6. The Chaldeans greatest contribution to the modern world was in the field of astronomy, people who study the stars.

7. After about 100 years of rule, the Chaldeans were conquered by the Persians in 539 BCE.

Section 3: The Persians

1. The Persians were originally part of a people known as Aryans.

2. The Persians settled into a region of the world known as Iran today.

3. The Persian empire was created under the rule of King Cyrus.

4. Under Cyrus, the Persian army grew strong, including an elite group of soldiers known as the immortals.

5. W/in a short time, the Persians ruled an empire stretching from Egypt to India.

6. One of the greatest Persian kings was a man named Darius.

7. Darius looked to expand the empire into Greece.

8. Some major contributions included:

a. The Zoroastrian religion (monotheistic)

b. Coined money

c. The Royal Road

Chapter 8: Africa & the AmericasSection 1: Kush & Aksum

1. The first kingdom of Africa was Kush.

2. After the Assyrians drove the Kushites from Egypt, they gained knowledge of how to make iron weapons. As a result, Kush became a great trade nation.

3. They made iron knives and spears and traded them for cotton textiles with India, Arabia, and China.

4. The great trade city of Kush was called Meroe.

5. Around 320 CE, Meroe was conquered by emperor Ezana of Aksum.

6. The citizens of Meroe were converted to Christianity.

7. The Aksumites achieved many things including:

a. Farmed on terraces

b. Developed a writing system

c. Minted coins

Section 2: The Middle Kingdoms

1. Several large trading kingdoms emerged in Africa around 400 CE. These kingdoms were:

a. Ghana—made iron weapons

b. Mali—Established the gold for salt trade with the Arabs.

c. Songhai—Most organized of all the middle kingdoms. They organized provinces, governors, weights & measures, and common law.

Section 3: East Africa

1. One of the greatest trading kingdoms of ancient Africa was Zimbabwe.

2. The people of Zimbabwe spoke a language called Bantu.

3. They built a strong city based on trade. This trade includedgold, copper, and ivory.

Section 4: The Americans

1. Most people that came to America were Asian. The came across an area of land known as Beringia.

2. In order to survive, people migrated south across the Americas into a region called Mesoamerica.

3. These groups of people were called the Olmecs, Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas.

Olmecs—Lived around modern day Mexico. They were expert architects who built temples, sacred pools, planned cities, and were considered the “mother culture” of Native American civilizations.

Mayan—Lived on the Yucatan Peninsula. These people were great traders, built excellent roads, created marketplaces, developed mathematics, and a calendar.

Aztecs—Lived in modern day Mexico City and called their city Tenochtitlan. They believed in the sun god, built huge pyramids, organized trade, and were very strong militarily.

Incas—Lived along the Andes region of Peru. They created an organized government, developed taxes, and they were the wealthiest civilization in the Americas. They built a very wealthy city at Manchu Picchu.