The First Empires
He created the world's first empire and ruled for 55 years.
This is the extra supplies stored in case of drought or other disasters or to trade it.
What is surplus?
This type of religious practice was very common in Mesopotamia as it is the belief in more than one god.
What is polytheism?
This means "land between two rivers."
What is Mesopotamia?
The Sumerians invented this to cultivate the dry, hard ground.
What is the plow?
This ruler of Babylon came to power after the fall of the Assyrian empire.
These are rivers that flow into larger rivers.
What are tributaries?
Sumerians worshiped gods, or ___________, that they believed could control nature.
What are deities?
These two rivers supply Mesopotamia with water for crops.
What are the Tigris and Euphrates rivers?
Sumerians developed this system to control flooding and carry water safely to crops. It included dikes, dams, and canals.
What is irrigation?
They used iron weapons and war chariots.
Who were the Hittites?
These formed because early Mesopotamians needed a single leader to make decisions and settle disputes.
What are monarchies (kings)?
This was the form of writing developed by the Sumerians.
What is cuneiform?
Northern Mesopotamia sat on the high, flat land of a ______________________.
What is a plateau?
As people specialization in jobs, they _________ for goods and resources they needed from other communities.
What is traded?
They conquered Babylon and adopted its culture after the Hittites destroyed Babylon.
Who are the Kassites?
This temple was built in every Sumerian city-state.
What is a ziggurat?
Disputes over this often lead to fights between city-states. As a result, city-states built walls around themselves for protection.
What is water?
Southern Mesopotamia lay on this low, flat land. This area was formed from fine soil left behind by streams and rivers.
What is the alluvial plain?
The Sumerian traded these surplus items (3) to get resources they wanted.
What are wheat, barley, and metal tools?
This king of Babylon who was chosen by the gods created 282 laws.
Who was Hammurabi?
This is a self-governing unit made up of a city and its surrounding villages and farmland.
What is a city-state?
This class of people included merchants, farmers, crafts workers, and scribes.
What is the middle class?
The Assyrian Empire gained control of the trade routes in this region by mastering new weapons like the battering ram, lance, iron weapons, and war chariots.
What is southwestern Asia?
This civilization made boats out of different materials for different purposes.
Who were the Sumerians?