Geography & Environment
Where was the ancient land known as Mesopotamia?
Between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
A city with political and economic control over the surrounding countryside is known as a?
City-state
What is polytheism?
The belief in many gods
What is the name of the system of writing developed by the Sumerians?
Ceneiform
Who was the Akkadian ruler who conquered many lands and established the first empire in history?
Sargon
What does Mesopotamia mean?
The land between rivers
People started to specialize in certain jobs, leading to the creation of strict social structures. What were these called?
Social classes
What was the primary function of a ziggurat?
A place to honor the gods
What were some major Sumerian inventions?
The plow, wheel, and sailboat
Which Babylonian leader created the first written code of 282 laws?
Hammurabi
What was one major problem for the people living near rivers?
Flooding
What was the name of the first civilization built in Mesopotamia?
Sumer
What was located at the highest point in the Sumerian city-state?
The ziggurat
The job of a scribe was to ...
Write
King Nebuchadnezzar II built what famous structure to cheer up his homesick wife?
The Hanging Gardens
What is the fertile crescent?
An arc-shaped region stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf
A land with different territories and peoples under a single ruler is called ...
Empire
Which warrior people were known as the cruelest group to live in Mesopotamia?
The Assyrians
The first Sumerian schools taught students to write on what material?
Clay tablets
The Epic of Gilgamesh is best described as?
A legend about a king traveling the world and defeating a monster
What process involves building dams, channels, canals, and ditches to bring water to crops?
Irrigation
The punishment for allowing one's dam to flood everyone's fields was ...
Being sold into slavery
The fertile crescent includes parts of modern-day Turkey, Syria, Iraq, LEbanon, Israel, and Jordan. True or false?
True
Even though very few people could read, Hammurabi oredered his laws to be displayed where all could see. Where were they written?
A huge black stone
Who was the legendary king of Uruk and a central figure in Sumerian literature?
Gilgamesh