Mesopotamia 1
How did floods sometimes help farmers?
Rich silt, which helped crops grow, was left behind by floodwaters
Define: Province
a territory governed as a political district of a country or empire
Sargon conquered all of the peoples of Mesopotamia, creating the world’s first empire that lasted more than 200 years.
TRUE
Define: silt
small particles of soil
Many Sumerians were skilled metalworkers because of the abundance of metal in Sumer.
FALSE
Define: epic
a long poem that tells the story of a hero
Sumerian city-states went to war with one another to increase trade.
FALSE
Define: polytheism
a belief in more than one god
Why do you think the Sumerians built cities with walls around them?
They built walled cities for defense.
Define: city-state
an independent nation made up of a city and the land around it
Which mountain people captured Babylon in 539 B.C.?
the Persians
Define: irrigation
a way to supply dry land with water through ditches, pipes, or streams
Which group rebelled against the Assyrians?
the Chaldeans
Define: tribute
a payment made to a ruler or state as a sign of surrender
A Sumerian temple to honor their chief god was called a
ziggurat
Define: empire
a group of many different lands under one ruler
The few Sumerians who learned how to write often held high positions in society as what?
scribes
Why did the Sumerians invent a writing system?
They invented a writing system to record business dealings and other important information.
Mesopotamia means
“the land between two rivers”
Define: caravan
a group of merchants traveling together for safety, usually with a large number of camels
What is Mesopotamia referred to as and why?
Mesopotamia is referred to as the “cradle of civilization” because it is where people first abandoned their nomadic way of life to build permanent homes.
The Fertile Crescent includes parts of the modern countries of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.
TRUE
Define: cuneiform
a Sumerian writing system that used wedge-shaped marks made in soft clay
Secret BONUS question for the test:
What was the first band Ms. Bayer saw LIVE in concert?
The Who
Why was Hammurabi’s Code important?
Hammurabi’s Code created a new set of stricter, standard punishments for crimes in his empire. It thus affected all his people. It also influenced the law codes of later societies.