Geography
What is the literal translation of Mesopotamia?
The land between two rivers
Sumerians were polytheistic. What does this term mean and what aspect of culture is it related to?
Polytheistic: belief in or worship of more than one god
Aspect of culture: Belief systems
What kind of climate did Mesopotamia have?
Semiarid
What is the definition of city-state?
A self-governing area made up of a city and its surrounding farmlands
What two natural disasters were most dangerous for Mesopotamians?
Floods and droughts
Name the two rivers along which the first civilization was founded.
How did Hammurabi create order throughout his empire? Name one aspect of culture it would be related to and explain how.
Legal reform: code of laws.
- Government
Name one form of advanced technology that the Mesopotamians developed.
Ex.
Wheel; plow; mathematics; cuneiform
Babylonian
Name one of the two far-away places that Babylonians traded with (using modern-day country names).
China or India
Name two modern-day countries that the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow through.
What is cuneiform? Name one aspect of culture it relates to AND two traits of civilization.
Ex. Language; record-keeping and specialized work.
What is a ziggurat? Give two functions that it had in Sumer
Religious temple
- Place of worship
- Place to store grain
What was probably one of the first specialized jobs in Mesopotamia?
Canal digging and maintenance
Why were city-states in Mesopotomia so vulnerable to invasion? How did they try to protect themselves?
The land was flat with no natural barriers to protect them (Ex. desert or mountains)
They built mud walls around the city; chose kings to defend them during war/invasions
Name the two mountain ranges found to the north and the east of Mesopotamia
Taurus Mountains and Zagros Mountain
Name three city-states from the region of Mesopotamia. They can be from ancient Mesopotamia or the later Mesopotamian empires.
Ur, Uruk, Babylon, Akkad, Nippur
Name two ways in which Mesopotamians adapted to their lack of resources.
Using alternative materials: ex. mud instead of stone or wood
Trading for materials they needed
Besides his code of laws, name two other reforms Hammurabi made to this empire.
Improved irrigation and built and repaired canals
Created government housing
Put the god of Babylon above the other gods of the Sumerian/Akkadian religion
What geographical feature would have made Mesopotamia a common target for invasion? What advantages did it provide?
Rivers
- Agriculture: fertile soil for crops
- Trade: easy travel via water
What do you call the fine soil deposited by rivers which helps crops grow better?
Silt
Explain why a SURPLUS of crops is necessary for a civilization to develop.
Allows for people to do jobs other than farming/can support a greater population
Explain the system that Mesopotamians used to ensure their crops were watered. What is this system called?
Canals were built to divert water from the river to the fields where the crops were growing. Dams were also built to make sure that the crops would not get flooded.
Irrigation.
What was the name of the first-known empire and who was its leader?
Akkadian Empire; its ruler was Sargon I
How did irrigation affect trade?
Irrigation allowed for a larger yield of crops, which created a surplus. This meant there were extra crops (more than was needed to feed the people living there). This surplus could then be traded for other things.