Name the land features that gave Mesopotamia its name.
Name means "between the rivers" - Tigris and Euphrates
100
What is polytheism?
Worship of many gods
100
Who served as a link between Sumerians and their gods?
priests
100
Which king became a legendary figure in Sumerian literature?
Gilgamesh
100
What is the location of Babylon?
Near present-day Baghdad, Iraq
200
Why did the Mesopotamians build canals?
They needed a way to control the river's flow.
200
Which city-state rose to power after the death of Sargon?
Ur
200
What role did Sumerian women play in society?
They could be priestesses/religious leaders. They helped shape Sumerian culture.
200
What dominated the city centers?
Temples
200
Name an important resource for the Phoenicians.
Cedar wood
300
What is the Fertile Crescent?
A large arc of fertile farmland.
300
What is an empire?
Land with different territories and peoples under a single rule
300
What is an epic?
A long poem to tell the story of a hero
300
What was a stylus?
An instrument used to make symbols of clay tablets
300
How did the development of an alphabet benefit the Phoenicians?
It made writing easier.
400
Define irrigation.
Irrigation is a way of supplying water to an area of land.
400
Why did city-states fight each other?
To gain more farmland - military strength determined the amount of land each city-state controlled.
400
What are pictographs?
Picture symbols used for written communication
400
What is the most likely reason that ziggurats are tall?
To honor the gods
400
What two men built up Babylon?
Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar
500
Why was Mesopotamia an ideal place for a civilization to develop?
It was an area of rich farmland with a surplus of food so the population grew. People built cities and developed governments and cultures.
500
Describe the social hierarchy of ancient Sumer.
King at top, followed by priests and nobles, craftspeople and merchants were the middle class, farmers were the working class, and slaves were at the bottom
500
What were Sargon's main accomplishments?
He established the world's first empire and his army defeated all the city-states of Sumer and conquered northern Mesopotamia.
500
Name at least three Sumerian technical advances.
Wheel, plow, clock, sewers
500
What were Hammurabi's major accomplishments?
He worked to improve Babylon - oversaw many building and irrigation projects and developed a written code of laws.