Mesopotamia Geography
The land of Ancient Mesopotamia is between what two rivers?
Tigris & Euphrates River
What was built in the center of each city in Mesopotamia to honor gods?
The Ziggurats
What are the manmade canals called that brought water to the crops?
irrigation canals
An early city that was like a small, independent country with its own laws and government is known as a what?
City-state
Why were Tigris and Euphrates rivers important for settlement (3 reasons)?
trade with other civilizations, irrigation, fertile soil
The way a civilization is organized?
Social System / Class system
What is this area of land called?
Fertile Crescent
What did the Ancient Mesopotamians believe in?
Polytheism
True or false: The Sumerian‘s achievements included the wheel, the plow, and the sailboat.
True
What was the first empire?
Akkadian Empire
What were the jobs in Ancient Mesopotamia?
Merchants, artisans, farmers
Who makes up the Upper Class of Ancient Mesopotamia?
who are kings and priests
What is the name of the modern day country?
Iraq
In Ancient Mesopotamia, what does Polytheism mean?
The belief in multiple gods
What was one of the world's oldest laws called?
Hammurabi's code
What word is used for “more that what is needed?”
surplus
Who makes up the Middle Class of Ancient Mesopotamia?
merchants, farmers
What large bodies of water are at the top and bottom of Mesopotamia?
Mediterranean sea and the Persian Gulf
This color was important for kings and priests and considered the color of royalty.
Purple
What inventions were the Assyrians known for that helped them to conquer land?
war tactics: chariots, battery rams, slings, bows and arrows, iron weapons
The name of a territory that contains several regions and groups under one ruler is an
empire
Why is Sargon considered an important leader in the history of Mesopotamia?
He was the first leader of the first empire
Who makes up the Lower Class of Ancient Mesopotamia?
enslaved people
True or False: the native people of the Fertile Crescent called their homeland Mesopotamia, thought of themselves as Mesopotamians, and were a unified group of people who thought the same thing
The Ziggurats were used for what 2 purposes?
housed the priests and were places for religious ceremonies.
What written language did Ancient Mesopotamians Create?
Cuneiform
The Hammurabi's code created order and had clear what?
rules and punishments
Which leader founded the greatest and largest empire in Mesopotamia?
King Cyrus the Great
What made the Babylonian and Assyrian Empires rich?
trade and conquest
What does Mesopotamia mean?
land between two/the rivers
Hammurabi believed that the laws were given to him by whom?
the gods
Cuneiform was written on what?
What empire is known for the royal road and the postal service?
Persian empire
The Phoenicians
Name 2 inventions by the Mesopotamians
wheel, plow, sailboat calendar based on the moon