Unit 2 Study Guide
All of the following topics will be on your upcoming Unit 2 examination. This exam is worth
150 points. You will need to study your notes, text (including the pictures and captions), recall
class discussions, videos, and ask questions as we prepare for this examination. You will not be
able to use your notes, text, or study guide during the exam. Don’t procrastinate! Immediately
start answering the questions and preparing for the examination.
























What is ironic about the Sea of Galilee? What is ironic about the Dead Sea?
What is topography? What is vegetation?
Describe the topography of Egypt in your own words.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of living near deserts?
Why was the Jordan River valley not as lush as the Nile River valley?
Why was animal herding/shepherding a popular career in ancient Canaan? Give several
reasons.
What was the sacred text of the Egyptians that gave instructions for the afterlife?** What
was the sacred text of the Hebrews that gave instructions for life?
Define polytheism.** Define monotheism.
What is an exodus? What was The Exodus?
What important items did the Hebrews take to Jerusalem?
Why did the ancient Hebrew people separate into two different groups?
What happened when the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians?
Why did the northern tribes of Israel break away from the southern tribes of Judah?
What happened to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah when the Neo-Babylonians
invaded them?
Although the Jews dispersed after their lands were conquered by invaders, in our modern
times this place remains one of the most sacred to Jewish people throughout the world.
Abraham and his clan migrated from (where) to (where) ?
How is Hanukkah related to our study of history in chapter 12?
How did the Roman Empire affect Jerusalem and Jews who lived there?
Who was Yochanan be Zakkai and why was he important to the preservation of Judaism?
Where were the large Jewish communities in the Roman Empire around 200 CE? (map pg 116)
Though dispersed throughout the Roman Empire, the Jews preserved and strengthened their
communities and faith. How?
What are the central beliefs of Judaism according to your text?
Who had more freedoms, rights, and opportunities, Egyptian women or Babylonian women?
Explain your answer and summarize evidence from the text in your own words to support
your assertion.
Were women taught to read and write in ancient Egypt?
 What natural resources did Egypt get from Nubia? Of these resources,
which ONE was the most important?
 Who is the Nubian King Piye, what were his accomplishments, and
why was he important?


















When the Kushites broke away from Egypt and established their new capital far away in
Meroë, they gave up an Egyptianized lifestyle. What African traditions did they embrace
instead?
When the Assyrians conquered Egypt, the Nubians learned a valuable skill from them. What
was it?
How did the topography of Kush help them survive as an empire?
Who was Kandake Amanirenas and for what is she famous?
Who finally defeated the kingdom of Kush in 350 C.E.?
What important things did Pharaoh Khufu accomplish? Make a list of them.
What were the years between the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom as well as the
period between the Middle and New Kingdoms called and why?
What important things did Pharaoh Hatshepsut accomplish? What physical trait made this
particular trait special?
What did Pharaoh Khufu and Pharaoh Ramses II do that is comparable?
What were the accomplishments of Pharaoh Ramses II?
What was the fertile soil of ancient Egypt called?
What are two special features of the Nile? (*Hint: Directional flow & a superlative)
The ankh is the Egyptian symbol of immortality as well as ___. Know the parts of the ankh.*
Why was the discovery of Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb so important to us today?
What was one of the few careers in ancient Egypt that allowed men to rise above their
parents’ social class?
Of the four empires of Mesopotamia, which is the only one to have at one time conquered
parts of both Egypt and Kush?
Egypt’s economy was based on goods, so how did people pay their taxes?
How is the Code of Hammurabi comparable to the Ten Commandments? How do they
contrast?
Vocabulary
vegetation
topography
delta
silt
papyrus
nomad
reign
ankh
mastaba**
obelisk
natron
polytheism
Anubis**
Thoth**
Osiris**
Isis**
afterlife
scribe
priest
vizier
alliance
embalm
sarcophagus
canopic jars
hieroglyphics
Rosetta Stone**
census
famine
archer
dynasty
kandakes
treaty
Torah
monotheism
covenant
descendant
ancestor
sacrifice
plague
prophet
diaspora
rabbi
** = not in book;
will be discussed
in class during
lecture &/or
video