Mesopotamia
What does Mesopotamia mean?
The land between two rivers
What is cuneiform is written on?
Clay tablets
Mesopotamian Temple
Ziggurat
slim triangular or wedge-shaped elements, as the characters pressed into clay tablet that were used in writing
Cuneiform
Exchange of goods and services without using money is called what?
What is Barter
an agricultural region extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf, where many of the first civilizations began.
fertile crescent
Why did people settle and begin communities in this area?
Excellent land for growing crops
What modern day country is located where Mesopotamia once was?
Iraq
First to build ziggurats to the chief god or goddess of the city; People turned to religion to explain destructive floods
Sumer
A person who kept written records for the city-state
scribe
System that brings water to crops
irrigation
Mesopotamia is known as the "Cradle of __________"
Civilization
What are the names of the two rivers Mesopotamia is between
Tigris and Euphrates
What type of people would be found in the highest level of a social pyramid?
Kings
used to sign documents
cylinder seal
The system of ranking people based on wealth and status
Hierarchy/Social Classes
What is Mesopotamian writing called?
Cuneiform
What type of people would be found in the lowest level of a social pyramid?
people in debt, slaves, and POWs
A person with a specific skill
artisan
Type of religion in Mesopotamia
Polytheistic
This empire's professional army took the Israelites captive and sent them into exile in Babylon
Assyrian Empire
Sargon the Great
First written set of laws that still influence laws today
Hammurabi's code
This empire was lead by King Nebuchadnezzar II
Chaldean/Babylonian Empire
A complex society with many different characteristics, such as a working government, laws, and social classes
What is a civilization