Land Between Two Rivers
Professional writers who were important because they kept records for the kings and priests
Scribes
______________ or groups of travelers stopped in Babylon on their way between Sumer to the south and Assyria to the North
Caravans
What is cuneiform?
groups of wedges and lines used to write several languages of the Fertile Crescent
What is a famine?
A time when there is so little food that many people starve
an Israelite leader whom the Torah credits with leading the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan
Moses
The word Mesopotamia comes from Greek words that mean ...
"Between the rivers"
Who was Hammurabi and what did he accomplish?
Hammurabi was a Babylonian king who created the Babylonian Empire by conquering the cities of Sumer and lands far to the North
What were some uses of writing in Sumer?
to keep records, create references, record personal messages
How did the Phoenicians gain their wealth and power?
At first they sold wood and dye, later they gained wealth and power through trade to and from lands around the Mediterranean Sea
Into what religion did the beliefs of the Israelites develop?
Judaism
What geographical features made life in the Fertile Crescent possible?
rich soil and life-giving rivers
In 612 B.C. the Medes and the Chaldeans joined forces to.....
destroy the Assyrian Empire
Hammurabi's Code was fair in some ways and unfair in other ways. Explain.
Fair - laws were made to help people settle conflicts
Unfair- laws were applied unequally depending on the victim's class
What are some features of the Phoenician alphabet?
The alphabet had 22 symbols that represented the sounds of the Phoenician language, each letter stood for one consonant sound
How did Judaism differ from beliefs of other nearby peoples?
It was monotheistic: the Israelites believed that God was present everywhere and had complete power
How did flooding rivers affect people who settled in Mesopotamia?
Flooding made farming and therefore life, possible in Mesopotamia
Floods also sometimes swept away people, animals, crops and homes
Hammurabi's Code was significant because...
For the first time, laws were written down
Why was the development of writing an important step in human history?
It allowed us to clearly state laws and keep records
What does exile mean?
To force people to live in another place or country
According to the Torah, what was the covenant renewed by Moses between God and the Israelites?
God would lead the Israelites to Canaan if they obeyed God faithfully
What weakened the cities of Sumer?
Fights between city-states over use of the land and river water led to frequent battles that weakened Sumer's rulers and armies
How did the Persians promote trade?
They built roads that enabled trade with neighboring civilizations
Describe the impact of Judaism on Christianity and Islam