Geography
Religion
Achievements
Politics/Government
Economy/Society
100

Identify two geographical features that most likely provided fertile land that gave rise to multiple city-states in the Mesopotamia region? 

  • A. Euphrates River and Tigris River
  • B. Persian Gulf and Arabian Desert
  • C. Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea
  • D. Zagros Mountains and Caspian Sea
  • A. Euphrates River and Tigris River
100

Which term describes the Mesopotamians’ religious beliefs in many gods and goddesses? 

  • A. Monotheistic
  • B. Polytheistic
  • C. Atheistic
  • D. Christian
  • B. Polytheistic
100

In order to meet their practical needs, historians believe Sumerians invented all of the following EXCEPT:

A. Wheel

B. Sail

C. Paper

D. Plow


C. Paper

100

Sargon conquered and controlled Sumerian city-states, gradually creating the first _________________. 

  • A. Stele
  • B. Written laws
  • C. Empire
  • D. Irrigation system
  • C. Empire
100

Which statement describes an EFFECT of the plow ? 

  • A. Religious beliefs increased the production of farmers.
  • B. Greater food production allowed for the growth of cities.
  • C. Farmers rose to the highest level of society.
  • D. Chariots were used to be more successful in battle.
  • B. Greater food production allowed for the growth of cities.
200

What resources made Mesopotamia a good place for farming to develop? (6.06)

  • A. Iron deposits
  • B. Wild-growing crops
  • C. Fertile soil from the rivers
  • D. Trade routes
  • C. Fertile soil from the rivers
200

Why were ziggurats important to the Sumerians? 

  • A. They offered protection from invaders.
  • B. They were built as tombs for the kings.
  • C. They were built as temples to honor the gods and goddesses.
  • D. They stored scrolls that documented Mesopotamian history.


  • C. They were built as temples to honor the gods and goddesses.
200

What is cuneiform? (6.11)

  • A. Clay tablets
  • B. Counting system based on the number 60
  • C. A type of writing

D. A wedge used in building

  • C. A type of writing
200

Which Mesopotamian civilization is the oldest? 

  • A. Assyria
  • B. Babylon
  • C. Sumer
  • D. Sargon
  • C. Sumer
200

Which of the following describes the primary responsibility of scribes in Sumer? 

A. Record keeping and tax collection

B. Writing letters to family members in other city-states

C. Composing poetry

D. Creating mosaics and sculptures

A. Record keeping and tax collection

300

The area around Mesopotamia is called the “Fertile Crescent” because: 

  • A. The soil was fertile and it was shaped like a crescent.
  • B. The soil was poor and shaped like a crescent.
  • C. Fertile Crescent was first empire’s name in that location.
  • D. It is located near two rivers.
  • A. The soil was fertile and it was shaped like a crescent.
300

One purpose of Sumerian religious beliefs were to ____________. 

  • A. Explain natural disasters and the seasons.
  • B. Unite the Egyptians and Sumerians.
  • C. Support military leaders.
  • D. Give women more power.
  • A. Explain natural disasters and the seasons.
300

Which statement describes the Epic of Gilgamesh? (6.11)

A. It was an early legal code.

B. It was an early Mesopotamian school book.

C. It was the first work of Mesopotamian literature.

D. It was a description of agricultural advances.


C. It was the first work of Mesopotamian literature.

300

The basic political unit of Sumer included a city and all the countryside around it. What is this called?

  • A. City
  • B. City-state
  • C. Empire
  • D. Nation
  • B. City-state
300

The two most important parts of Sumer’s economy were farming and ______________. 

  • A. Trade
  • B. Fishing
  • C. Woodworking
  • D. Metalworking
  • A. Trade
400

Which Middle East geographic features are a part of the area that surrounds Mesopotamia? 

  • A. The Red Sea
  • B. The Suez Canal
  • C. The Mediterranean Sea
  • D. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
  • D. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
400

How many main gods do they worship? 

7: gods of sun, moon, sky, earth, freshwater, saltwater, and wind. 

400

The code of Hammurabi was a major contribution to the development of civilization because it ______________. 

  • A. Treated citizens and slaves equally
  • B. Ended all physical punishment
  • C. Recorded existing laws for all to see
  • D. Explained the Babylonians’ religious beliefs
  • C. Recorded existing laws for all to see
400

What did Hammurabi do with the code of laws to make sure everyone knew them? 

  • A. He placed them in the temple.
  • B. He posted the code around the empire.
  • C. He only told them to judges.
  • D. Hammurabi didn’t make any laws.


  • B. He posted the code around the empire.
400

How did they increase their wealth/goods?

By trading their surplus to other civilizations and city-states. 

500

What is the land located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers called?

  • A. Fertile Crescent
  • B. Sumer
  • C. Zagros Mountains
  • D. Mesopotamia
  • D. Mesopotamia
500

Why were ziggurats important to the Sumerians? (6.11)

  • A. They offered protection from invaders.
  • B. They were built as tombs for the kings.
  • C. They were built as temples to honor the gods and goddesses.
  • D. They stored scrolls that documented Mesopotamian history.


  • C. They were built as temples to honor the gods and goddesses.
500

The Sumerians built pyramid-shaped temples in each city-state dedicated to the gods and goddesses that were known as _________________. 

  • A. Pyramids
  • B. Palaces
  • C. Towers
  • D. Ziggurats
  • D. Ziggurats
500

How was an empire different from a city-state? 

  • A. A city-state had a military, but an empire did not.  
  • B. Each city-state had a separate ruler, but an empire had one who ruled over all.
  • C. A city-state and an empire were the same thing.

D. A city-state was much larger than an empire.

  • B. Each city-state had a separate ruler, but an empire had one who ruled over all.
500

What are the names of the three social classes? 

upper, middle, lower class