Vocabulary
What was the largest, tallest building in every Sumerian city-state?
Ziggurat
What is a plain that forms from fine soil left behind by streams or rivers?
Alluvial Plain
What is the name of the ancient Sumerian writing system?
Cuneiform
What jobs/positions did Sumerians have to study for in order to fill?
Priests, government officials, doctors, and scribes
Who conquered the Assyrian Empire and founded the New Babylonian Empire?
Nebuchadnezzar
Sumerians worshipped gods, or _______, that they believed could control nature.
Deities
What are the two rivers on the east and west borders of Mesopotamia?
Tigris and Euphrates
What did the Sumerians create to help them keep accurate records of how much land farmers owned
standard measurement system (measurement of land)
Who were the most important Sumerian gods?
The air god, Enlil, and the water god, Enki
What man conquered and united the Sumerian city-states?
Sargon
What is a river that flows into larger rivers?
Tributary
What is the nickname of the land Mesopotamia was developed in?
Fertile Crescent
Who was the first civilization to develop the wheel?
The Sumerians
What kinds of people occupied the Sumerian upper class?
Nobles, priests, and military officials
What nation learned iron making from the Hittites and invented the lance and the battering ram?
The Assyrians
What is a walled city with land around it that functions autonomously?
City-state
What is the name of the first civilization that formed in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers?
Sumer
What wonder of the ancient world did Nebuchadnezzar built?
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
What were some rights of Sumerian women?
Own property, run businesses, get divorced, or become priestesses or scribes.
What were some of the guiding principles of the Code of Hammurabi?
"An eye for an eye" and "The strong should not harm the weak"
What is a method of supplying of water to land or crops to help growth, typically by means of channels?
Irrigation
What body of water is located to the west of Mesopotamia?
Mediterranean Sea
What group of Sumerians kept records, wrote letters, and wrote down stories and songs?
Scribes
What were the responsibilities of Sumerian officials?
Controlled surpluses of food, collected taxes, settled disputes, and took part in lawmaking
What group invaded Mesopotamia and looted Babylon in 1600 BC?
The Hittites