Vocabulary 1
A wanderer, someone who travels from place to place without a permanent residence.
Wedge-shaped writing on a clay tablet; writing system of Sumerians.
Cuneiform
This ancient writing form developed about 6000 years ago in Sumer. Known as the first alphabet.
Cuneiform
The river that made the northern border of Mesopotamia.
Strict ruler who enforced a set of 282 laws to govern his empire.
Hammurabi
The basic unit of Sumerian civilization.
City-state
A temple where Sumerians believed gods and goddesses ruled the city. They served as shrines and Sumerians devoted much of their wealth to these temples.
Ziggurat
This ancient instrument was used to write on clay tablets. Today, these instruments are still in use, though they have changed quite drastically from their original form.
Stylus.
The river that made the southern border of Mesopotamia.
Euphrates River
Priests, government officials, and royal families belonged to this social group in Sumer.
Nobles
A strict and harsh set of laws in Ancient Mesopotamia, created by the Babylonian king Hammurabi.
Code of Hammurabi
An area of fertile land in the Middle East, located around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. This is where Ancient civilizations flourished.
Fertile Crescent
The economy in Sumer was initially based on ____________.
Farming
This city-state developed in the southern part of Mesopotamia at about 4500 B.C.
Sumer
He was initially sent to fight Gilgamesh, but later befriends him.
Enkidu
Worshipping many gods or deities.
Polytheistic
Patriarchy/ Patriarchal
The most prominent buildings used for religious services in Sumer; some are still standing today.
Ziggurat(s)
The most complete copy of Hammurabi's Code was found on a 7.5 ft stone stele. This copy is now kept in the famous "Louvre" museum of this country.
France
About 90% of all people in Sumer were either farmers or __________.
Slaves
A government where priests rule in the name of a god/gods or goddess/goddesses.
Theocracy
A group of states (or city-states) under a single authority.
Empire
This ancient invention was first developed in Sumer to help with irrigation, milling, and pottery making. This invention is still in use with many applications today.
The wheel.
Mesopotamia can be translated to:
"The land between two rivers"
Sumerian king of the city-state Ugur. Believed to be part god, part man.
Gilgamesh