Geography & Farming
What does the name "Mesopotamia" mean, and which two rivers does it refer to?
"Mesopotamia" means "between the rivers"; Tigris and Euphrates.
What is a city-state? Give one example from Sumer.
City-state = city plus surrounding countryside; examples: Ur, Uruk.
What writing system did the Sumerians invent?
Cuneiform.
Which Babylonian king is famous for creating an early written code of laws?
Hammurabi.
On what body of water were Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos located?
Mediterranean Sea.
What is silt and why was it important to agriculture in Mesopotamia?
Silt = fertile mix of soil and small rocks; it replenished farmland after floods.
Name two roles or groups that belonged to the Sumerian upper classes.
Kings, priests/nobles (upper classes).
What tool did Sumerian scribes use to write on clay tablets?
Stylus (sharp reed).
Name two military technologies or tactics used by the Hittites or Assyrians that helped them win battles.
Iron weapons (Hittites), chariots, swift battle carts.
Name one valuable export of the Phoenicians and explain why it was important.
Cedar wood (timber) for shipbuilding and trade; purple dye from shellfish was luxury good.
Explain how irrigation and canals helped Mesopotamian farmers manage the rivers' changing water levels.
Irrigation/canals moved water from rivers and storage basins to fields and protected fields via raised banks.
Describe the social hierarchy of Sumer from highest to lowest.
Kings → Priests/Nobles → Skilled craftspeople/merchants/traders → Farmers/laborers → Slaves.
Give two technological or practical inventions from Sumer and how each improved daily life.
Wheel (carts/wagons), plow (improved farm production), potter’s wheel, sewers, bronze tools; e.g., plow made farming more efficient.
Briefly describe how the Assyrians governed their large empire from their capital.
Used local leaders to govern provinces, collect taxes, enforce laws, and raise troops; built roads to connect empire.
What is the Phoenician achievement that had a lasting effect on writing across the ancient world?
Development of an alphabet that made writing easier and influenced later alphabets.
Define "surplus" and explain one major social effect a food surplus had on Mesopotamian settlements.
Surplus = more food than needed; allowed specialization/division of labor and growth of cities.
Why did priests have high status in Sumerian society? Give one example of a priestly role.
Priests interpreted wishes of gods and performed ceremonies; they helped secure favor of gods for good harvests.
Describe what cuneiform could do that earlier pictographs could not.
Cuneiform used symbols that could represent syllables and complex ideas; pictographs represented objects only.
Who rebuilt Babylon and is associated with the Hanging Gardens; what culture did his people admire and study?
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon; Chaldeans admired Sumerian culture.
How did geography (mountains and sea) shape Phoenician economic choices?
Mountains blocked overland trade so Phoenicians focused on maritime trade using ports/harbors.
Describe two problems caused by the rivers' floods and one engineering or farming response used to reduce damage.
Floods could destroy crops, livestock, homes; responses included storage basins, canals, raised riverbanks and irrigation.
Explain how division of labor contributed to Sumerian cities becoming political and cultural centers.
Division of labor allowed specialists (craftspeople, scribes, priests) to create art, government, trade, and complex projects centralized in cities.
Explain one mathematical or scientific contribution from Sumer and its significance (use examples from the packet).
Number system base 60 allowed calculation of areas and dividing the year into 12 months; advances in medicine and cataloging.
Sequence these groups in rough historical order of control over Mesopotamia up to the Chaldeans: Assyrians, Akkadians (Sargon), Chaldeans, Hittites, Kassites, Babylonians (Hammurabi).
Rough order: Akkadians (Sargon) → (later) Babylon/Hammurabi → Hittites (capture 1595 BC) → Kassites → Assyrians → Chaldeans (Nebuchadnezzar).
Explain how Phoenician trade helped them influence or found other cities.
By trading and sailing, Phoenicians founded or influenced colonies like Carthage along trade routes.