Flashcards - Kings
(23 cards)
At the start of the Bronze Age, many cities begin to be taken control of by _____.
Kings
A civilization that has been taken over by a king is called that king’s ______ and the people who live in them are called that king’s _____.
A civilization that has been taken over by a king is called that king’s KINGDOM and the people who live in them are called that king’s SUBJECTS.
What is the first privilege that comes from being a king?
Kings could require their subjects to pay taxes and/or do work for them.
What did ancient kings do with the taxes people paid to them?
Used it to enrich themselves, their families, and their friends.
The rise of kings created an upper-class of people called the ____ who were wealthier than everyone else.
elite
What are four things you could do if you didn’t have enough resources to pay your taxes?
1.) Sell your things or sell yourself/your family
2.) Get a loan from a merchant
3.) Flee your home and became a permanent worker in the temple
4.) Flee the city and move to another city (or become a herder)
What did merchants add onto their loans that allowed them to become wealthy and part of the city’s elite?
Interest
What did kings often construct to prevent their people from fleeing the city?
Walls
What is the second privilege that comes from being king?
Make decisions, laws, and rules that your subjects have to follow
If all of the people of a community are involved in making decisions then your community is a ___________.
If only one person in your community is involved in making decisions then your community is a ___________.
If all of the people of a community are involved in making decisions then your community is a DEMOCRACY.
If only one person in your community is involved in making decisions then your community is a MONARCHY.
When kings died, their powers/title were almost always transferred to someone in their family. When you have a series of rulers from the same family, that is called a ______.
Dynasty
One way you can establish yourself as king is through the use of __________. But it often doesn’t work for long because doing so can usually lead to _____.
One way you can establish yourself as king is through the use of VIOLENCE/THREATS. But it often doesn’t work for long because doing so can usually lead to REVOLTS/REBELLIONS.
Why didn’t the people of Egypt revolt against the rise of kings?
They believed their kings were the human forms of gods
What two things did Egypt’s kings require their subjects to do for them?
1.) Pay a tax of bread and beer
2.) Provide them elaborate burials
Who did most of the work of running Egypt’s kingdoms?
Viziers
When Narmer takes control over all of the kingdoms of Egypt, he becomes the first _____ of Egypt.
Pharaoh
During the Old Kingdom period of Egypt, the pharaohs began to be buried in _______.
Pyramids
Who did Mesopotamian/the Levant’s lugals come to power defending their city’s people from?
Nomadic herders
The residents of Mesopotamia & the Levant’s cities didn’t rebel (like the people of Arslantepe) against the lugals’ takeovers of their cities because their lugals claimed they were …
Sent by / supported by the gods.
In order to prevent rebellions, kinds in Mesopotamia & the Levant regularly sent their city’s men to attack, raid, & conquer other cities. What are two reasons why that helped?
1.) Could take that city’s residents as slaves and force them to work at the palace instead of making their own city’s people work there
2.) Could conquer other cities, force those cities’ people to pay taxes, & eliminate/lower taxes on their city’s subjects
A kingdom that controls and rules over other communities (usually from “far-away” lands) is called a(n) ___________.
empire
How was the Shang Dynasty in China able to come to power without people rebelling against them?
They claimed that they had the power to use “oracle bones” ask questions to their gods/ancestors.
When the Zhou Dynasty took control of China away from the Shang Dynasty, how did they keep the people from rebelling?
They claimed that the Shang family had lost the support of the gods and that they now had the “Mandate of Heaven.”
