Geography
Where did Mesopotamians settle along, and what natural resource did it provide them?
Euphrates and Tigris Rivers
Provided a Freshwater Source
Was the religion of Mesopotamia monotheistic or polytheistic? And what does that mean?
Polytheistic - belief in more than one god
What is a scribe?
A person who copies or writes out documents, often a record keeper
Who was Hammurabi?
Hammurabi was the king of the Babylonian Empire who created the Hammurabi Code - a set of 282 laws that governed the empire.
What are the five social classes of Mesopotamia (in the correct order)?
Kings, Priests, Upper Class, Lower Class, Slaves
Why is the region called the "Fertile Crescent?"
For its fertile soil, which was important for farming
And the region was crescent shaped
Where did priests worship the Gods?
Ziggurats (Temples)
Flooding was unpredictable in Mesopotamia. Because of this, Sumerians had to develop an irrigation system? What was that?
Irrigation - a system that supplies dry land with water through ditches, pipes, or streams
Who were the first people of the Mesopotamian region?
The Sumerians
What kind of economy did Sumerians participate in?
Bartering - exchange of goods and services
What natural resource did Mesopotamia lack? And what natural resource did Mesopotamia have an abundance of?
Lack: Lumber, Metals, and Minerals
Abundance: Mud
Why did Mesopotamians spend a great deal of time trying to make (and keep) their gods happy?
Because they thought their gods were responsible for everything good and bad that happened to them in life.
Which technological advancement allowed Mesopotamians to better record and share information about agricultural practices?
Cuneiform
What was the first established Empire in world history, and who created it?
Sargon conquered all of Northern Mesopotamia and established the Akkadian Empire.
What good did Mesopotamians trade with?
Grain
Why can the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers be seen as a blessing?
Flooding provided fertile soil for farming
Rivers provided a source of freshwater
Rivers were used as a mode of transportation
Why did Kings believe they were demigods?
Demi-god means to be part-man and part-god. Because religion was at the core of their beliefs, if kings portrayed themselves as gods, they would seem more powerful.
What are three important achievements developed by the Sumerians?
Irrigation, Wheel, Cuneiform, Sailboat, Number System, Lunar Calendar
How did the size of Mesopotamian empires change over time?
Sumerian city-states stayed small, while later empires ruled large regions.
What was the role of the Priest?
Cared for the god of a given city.
Presided over sacred aspects of daily life in the ziggurat.
Served as healers/doctors.
Why can the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers be seen as a curse?
Flooding destroyed crops and homes
Flooding was unpredictable
The rivers were a frequent source of conflict among city-states
What was the purpose of Ziggurats?
Ziggurats are large step pyramids with flat tops and were built to connect heaven and Earth. They were meant to be houses for the gods.
Explain how scribes wrote using Cuneiform?
Cuneiform was written on small clay-size tablets using a stylus.
Hammurabi's Code was written on stone steles and placed in public areas. What does this reveal about Mesopotamian beliefs?
They wanted laws to be visible so everyone understood expectations and consequences
What did Darius I, the king of the Persian Empire, create for all of his territories?
He created a standard currency, which improved trading and the exchange of money