Judson Knight
Stacy A. McConnell and
Lawrence W. Baker, Editors
Judson Knight
Staff
Stacy A. McConnell, Lawrence W. Baker, U•X•L Editors
Carol DeKane Nagel, U•X•L Managing Editor
Tom Romig, U•X•L Publisher
Rita Wimberley, Senior Buyer
Evi Seoud, Assistant Production Manager
Mary Beth Trimper, Composition Manager
Margaret A. Chamberlain, Permissions Specialist (pictures)
Martha Schiebold and Michelle DiMercurio, Senior Cover Art Directors
Pamela A.E. Galbreath, Senior Page Art Director Cynthia Baldwin, Product Design Manager Barbara J. Yarrow, Graphic Services Supervisor
Linda Mahoney, LM Design, Typesetting
Front cover: (top photo) The Parthenon. Reproduced by permission of Susan D. Rock. (bottom photo) Terra cotta statues from the tomb of Shih-huang-ti. Reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Knight, Judson
Ancient Civilizations: Almanac / Judson Knight; edited by Stacy A. McConnell and Lawrence W. Baker
p. cm.
Includes biographical references and index.
Summary: Provides historical information and interpretation on ancient civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, China, Africa, Israel, and elsewhere.
ISBN 0-7876-3982-6 (set), —- ISBN 0-7876-3983-4 (v. 1). —- ISBN
0-7876-3894-2 (v. 2);
Civilization, Ancient-Juvenile literature. 2. Civilization,
Ancient-Miscellanea-Juvenile literature. [1. Civilization, Ancient.] I. McConnell, Stacy A. II. Title
CB311 .K594 1999
930-dc21 99-046791 [B]-DC21 CIP
This publication is a creative work copyrighted by U•X•L and fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws. The authors and editors of this work have added value to the underlying factual material herein through one or more of the following: unique and original selection, coordination, expression, arrangement, and classification of the information. All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended.
Copyright © 2000 U•X•L, an imprint of the Gale Group
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
iv
To Tyler, from her ancient daddy;
and to Deidre, from her modern husband.
Contents
Advisory Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Reader’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Words to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Pronunciation Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
Research and Activity Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xliii
Volume 1
Chapter 1: Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 2: Mesopotamia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Chapter 3: Israel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 4: Phoenicia, Syria, and Arabia . . . . . . . . 117
Chapter 5: Asia Minor and the Black Sea Region . . . 137
Egyptian workers depicted on a frieze. (Archive Photos. Reproduced by permission.)
vii
Chapter 6: Persia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Chapter 7: India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Volume 2
Chapter 8: China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Chapter 9: The Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Chapter 10: Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Chapter 11: Greece. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Chapter 12: Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Where to Learn More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlix
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . liii
viii Ancient Civilizations: Almanac
Advisory Board
pecial thanks are due to U•X•L’s Ancient Civilizations Ref- erence Library advisors for their invaluable comments and
suggestions:
• Jonathan Betz-Zall, Children’s Librarian, Sno-Isle Regional
Library, Edmonds, Washington
• Nancy Guidry, Young Adult Librarian, Santa Monica Pub- lic Library, Santa Monica, California
• Karen Shugrue, Junior High Media Specialist, Agawam
Junior High School, Feeding Hills, Massachusetts.
ix
Reader’s Guide
Reader’s Guide
Civilization in its purest form is universal, something available to all people. The wisdom that went into the build- ing of the Egyptian pyramids, the creation of Greek democ- racy, or the construction of the Mesoamerican metropolis Teotihuacán does not belong to any race or nation: it is a part of the human legacy, something all people can appreciate regardless of their heritage. Ancient Civilizations: Almanac focuses on twelve civilizations and cultures, beginning with the ancient Egyptians and covering the Sumerians of Mesopotamia, the Shang of China, the Olmec of the Americas, and the Minoan of ancient Greece, among others, and con- cludes with the rise and fall in A.D. 476 of the Roman Empire. While concentrating on each culture’s unique history and cus- toms, Ancient Civilizations: Almanac also highlights the simi- larities between cultures that existed thousands of years—and sometimes thousands of miles—apart from each other.
Arranged into chapters by geographic region, Ancient Civilizations: Almanac features more than 110 black-and-white photographs that help bring the civilizations to life. Maps in
xi
each chapter place the civilization in a geographic context as well as highlight landmarks relating to that civilization. Numerous sidebar boxes provide lists of words to know or in- depth coverage of topics of high interest, such as the legacy of Saharan rock art. Cross references point the user to related information, while a “For More Information” section con- cludes each chapter. Ancient Civilizations: Almanac also features a glossary of terms used throughout the volumes, a timeline containing significant milestones from each civilization, and an index covering the people, places, and events discussed throughout Ancient Civilizations: Almanac.
Comments and Suggestions
We welcome your comments on Ancient Civilizations: Almanac, as well as your suggestions for persons to be featured in future editions. Please write, Editors, Ancient Civilizations: Almanac, U•X•L, 27500 Drake Rd., Farmington Hills, Michi- gan, 48331-3535; call toll-free: 1-800-877-4253; fax to 248-
414-5043; or send e-mail via http://www.galegroup.com.
xii Ancient Civilizations: Almanac
Words to Know
A
Acropolis: An elevated fortress in Greek cities.
Ancestor: An earlier person in one’s line of parentage, usually more distant in time than a grandparent.
Anoint: To pour oil over someone’s head as a symbol that God has chosen that person to fill a position of leadership.
Apostle: A religious figure who is sent out to teach, preach, and perform miracles.
Archaeology: The scientific study of past civilizations. Architect: Someone who designs a building or other structure. Aristocrat: A very wealthy and/or powerful person.
Assassination: Killing, usually of an important leader, for political reasons.
B
Baptism: To be lowered into water as a symbol of death and
rebirth.
xiii
Bureaucracy: A network of officials who run a government.
Bust: A sculpture of a human head, neck, and shoulders.
C
Caravan: A company of travelers, usually with pack animals, traveling through a desert or other forbidding region.
Caste system: A system of ranking people into very social groups, which prevailed in India from ancient times to the modern day.
Census: A count of the people living in any defined area.
Civil servant: Someone who works for the government.
Civil war: A military conflict that occurs when a group of cit- izens within a nation attempts to break away from the rule of the government.
Commoner: Someone who is not a member of a royal or noble class.
Concubine: A woman whose role toward a man is like that of a wife, but without the social and legal status of a wife.
Constitution: A set of written laws governing a nation.
Contemporary (n.): Someone who lives at the same time as another person.
Cremation: The burning, as opposed to burial, of a dead body.
Crucifixion: A Roman punishment in which the victim was nailed or tied up to a cross until he died.
Cult: A small religious group, most often with specialized beliefs.
D
Deify: To turn someone or something into a god.
Deity: A god.
Democracy: A form of government in which the people, usu- ally through elected representatives, rule.
Descendant: Someone who is related to an earlier person, or
ancestor.
Disciple: A close follower of a religious teacher.
xiv Ancient Civilizations: Almanac
E
Edict: A command.
Epic: A long poem that recounts the adventures of a legendary hero.
Epistle: A letter.
Eunuch: A man who has been castrated, thus making him incapable of sex or sexual desire.
F
Famine: A period when there is not enough food in a region to feed all its people.
Fasting: Deliberately going without food, often but not always for religious reasons.
G
Gentile: Someone who is not a Jew.
H
Hellenic: Greek.
Hellenistic: Influenced by Greece.
Heresy: Something that goes against established religious doc- trine.
Hoplite: A heavily armed foot soldier.
I
Islam: A faith that arose in Arabia in the A.D. 600s, led by the prophet Muhammad (A.D. 570?-632.)
L
Legacy: Something that is left to a later generation.
Legitimacy: The right of a ruler to hold power.
Words to Know xv
M
Martyr: Someone who dies for their faith.
Medieval: Relating to the Middle Ages.
Mercenary: A professional soldier who will fight for whoever pays him.
Middle Ages: The period from the fall of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the Renaissance, roughly A.D. 500 to 1500.
Middle Class: A group in between the rich and the poor, or the rich and the working class.
Millennium: A period of a thousand years.
Mint (v.): To produce currency.
Missionary: Someone who goes to other lands to convert oth- ers to their religion.
Moat: A trench, filled with water, which surrounds a castle or city.
Monarch: A king.
Monotheism: Belief in one god.
Muslim: A believer in Islam.
N
Noble: A ruler within a kingdom who has an inherited title and lands, but who is less powerful than the king or queen.
O
Obelisk: A tall, free-standing column of stone.
Oligarchy: A government ruled by a few people.
P
Pagan: Someone who worships many gods; also used as an adjective.
Papyrus: A type of reed from which the Egyptians made the first type of “paper.”
xvi Ancient Civilizations: Almanac
Peasant: A farmer who works a small plot of land.
Phalanx: A column of hoplites designed for offensive warfare.
Pharisee: A member of a group of Jewish religious scholars who demanded strict adherence to religious law.
Philosophy: A discipline which seeks to reach a general under- standing of values and of reality.
Plague: A disease or other disaster that spreads among a group of people.
Proportion: The size of one thing in relation to something else, and the proper representation of their relationship.
R
Rabbi: A Jewish teacher or priest.
Radical (adj.): Thorough or sweeping changes in society; used as an noun for a person who advocates such changes.
Regent: Someone who governs a country when the monarch is too young, too old, or too sick to lead.
Reincarnation: The idea that people are reborn on Earth, and live and die, again and again.
Relief: In sculpture, a carved picture, distinguished from regu- lar sculpture because it is two-dimensional.
Renaissance: A period of renewed interest in learning and the arts which began in Europe in the 1300s and contin- ued to the 1700s.
Revolution: In politics, an armed uprising against the rulers of a nation or area.
S
Sack (v.): To destroy a city.
Satrap: A governor in the Persian Empire.
Scribes: A small and very powerful group in ancient society who knew how to read and write.
Siege: A sustained military attack against a city.
Words to Know xvii
Stele (or stela): A large stone pillar, usually inscribed with a message commemorating a specific event.
Stupa: A dome-shaped Buddhist temple.
T
Theorem: A statement of fact in logic or mathematics, derived from other formulas or propositions.
Totalitarianism: A political system in which the government exerts total, or near-total, control.
U
Usurp: To seize power.
Utopia: A perfect society.
V
Vassal: A ruler who is subject to another ruler.
Vineyard: A place where grapes are grown for making wine.
Vizier: A chief minister.
W
Western: The cultures and civilizations influenced by ancient
Greece and Rome.
Z
Ziggurat: A Mesopotamian temple tower.
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