lesson 1
where was Mesopotamia located?
between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Who built the worlds first empire?
Sargon
What technical achievement of the Hittites marks the beginning of the iron age?
The use of iron to make weapons and tools
What choices did the Phoenician leaders make for their economy based on the limited resources?
They began trading using the mediterranean sea
who were Cyrus the Great, Darius 1 and Xerxes 1?
Persian kings
What was the Sumerian writing system called?
Cuneiform
Why do you think several people banded together to fight the Assyrians?
What were two important developments of the Phoenicians?
purple dye and an alphabet
Why did Persia want to invade Greece?
Greek city states were rebelling against the Persian empire
annual flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates
how was early Sumerian society broken up in classes?
Kings and priests were upper class, middle class was craftspeople, merchants, and traders, working class was farmers and laborers, slaves were at the bottom.
Who was the ruler that developed a code of laws for Babylonian society?
Hammurabi
How did the sail help the Phoenicians to build their economy?
The sails let the boats travel more efficiently for their trade business.
How did the greeks use strategy to defeat a larger fighting force?
They led the Persians into narrow straits where they couldn't maneuver well.
How did division of labor contribute to Mesopotamian civilization?
they gained expertise outside of farming
What was the basic political unit of Sumer?
the City-state
What areas did the Assyrians control by 900 bc ?
all the fertile crescent, and parts of Egypt, and Asia Minor
What is one difference between the Phoenician alphabet and the English ?
the Phoenician alphabet had 22 letters and english alphabet has 26.
The Persians and Sumerians were similar because they both created works of art using what?
Metal
Farmers built what to irrigate their fields?
canals
What is the worship of many gods called?
polytheism
The royal library in Nineveh contained?
Tens of thousands of cuneiform tablets with various documents
Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre
When Cyrus conquered Babylon, what people did he free and where did they go?
The jews were freed and they went back to their homeland