What is silt and why is it important to the Fertile Crescent?
A mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks. It is left behind from floods and helps make crops grow.
100
Was Sumer a collection of city-states or an empire?
A collection of city-states. What is a that??
City-state: a central city that governs itself and the countryside around it.
100
Sumerians developed the first system of writing. It was called ___________.
Cuneiform
100
Hammurabi led his city and took over much of Mesopotamia. What was his city called?
Babylon
200
What are the two major rivers tat make up the Fertile Crescent?
The Tigris and Euphrates
200
Sargon ruled the Akkadians. They took over all of Mesopotamia and began the world's first __________.
Empire: a land with different territories and peoples under a single rule.
200
These people were hired for their ability to write. They would keep records for the government, keep track of items for traders, and much more. They were called _________.
scribes
200
What was Hammurabi's Code
One of the earliest set of laws ever written down for everyone to see.
300
What does the word "Mesopotamia" mean?
"The Land Between Two Rivers"
300
Were Sumerians "polytheistic" (belief in many gods) or "monotheistic" (belief in one god)?
Polytheistic. The believed many gods controlled aspects of nature and could bring good things or natural disasters.
300
Gilgamesh is a famous ruler the Sumerians wrote about in a long poem known as an _________.
Epic
300
The Hittites had a powerful military because they could use iron to make weapons and armor. They also had chariots. What is a chariot and how is it used in war?
A type of two-wheeled pulled by horses. In war time a rider would use a bow and arrows or throw spears while the driver controlled the horses
400
How did irrigation lead to a food surplus?
Irrigation allowed farmers to grow more crops than they needed.
400
Name two things that priests did in ancient Sumer.
Performed/led religious ceremonies; interpreted wishes of the gods; made offerings to the gods
400
The Sumerians invented the plow pulled by oxen. How did having a plow increase the population?
It allowed farmers to plant much bigger fields, meaning there was more food for more people.
400
What did the Assyrians do to people who resisted or fought against them?
They were very violent. Often burned down villages and crops, looted and stole everything they had.
500
What is Division of Labor?
A type of arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task or job.
When food surpluses meant that not everyone had to farm, people were free to develop new technologies and inventions.
500
Put the following groups of people in the right order of Sumerian social hierarchy, from highest to lowest:
Traders & Merchants, Kings, Farmers, Priests, Slaves
Kings
Priests
Traders & Merchants
Farmers
Slaves
500
Every city in Sumer had a large, step-shaped pyramid topped with a temple. These were called _____.
Ziggurats
500
Nebuchadnezzar was the most famous king of what people that took over the Fertile Crescent?