Features
What does Mesopotamia mean?
Land between two rivers.
Who is in the lowest social class?
Enslaved people
What type of religion did the people of Mesopotamia have?
Polytheism
What was their system of writing?
Cuneiform
What is one of the earliest forms of writing invented by the Sumerians?
Cuneiform.
What are the two rivers in Mesopotamia?
Euphrates and Tigris
Who were in the middle class?
merchants, artisans, farmers, fishermen
Where did they worship?
Ziggurat
Who was Hammurabi?
One of the ancient Babylonian kings who made up a code of laws.
What was a person trained in writing cuneiform script called?
A scribe.
What is the area of land called where Mesopotamia was located?
The Fertile Crescent.
Who made up the high class?
Priests, then Kings, then government officials, then scribes
Where was the ziggurat located within the town?
Center
What is the main principle of Hammurabi's Code?
An eye for an eye, meaning an equal punishment for the crime
What were the large, multi-leveled temples in the center of Mesopotamian cities called?
Ziggurats.
What is the word for watering crops and livestock using man-made efforts such as canals and ditches?
Irrigation.
What is a scribe?
Someone who could read/write in cuneiform. The wrote important records and laws.
Why was the top floor so sacred?
Because the Gods were said to live there.
What are three important inventions from Mesopotamia?
The wheel, the plow, a writing system.
What are three civilizations of Mesopotamia?
Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria.
What modern day country is Mesopotamia now?
Iraq.
What is a large number of states or regions that are ruled by a single leader called an emperor or empress?
An empire.
What does "poly" mean in POLYtheism?
Many
What were ziggurats made of?
Sun-dried mud bricks.
Because rain was scarce.