2.Ancient Mesopotamia Flashcards
What does Mesopotamia mean?
The land between two rivers.
What are the names of the two rivers?
The Tigris and Euphrates.
Why were the rivers so important?
Farming and training
What language did the people of Sumer speak?
Sumerian
What language did the people speak during the Akkad rule?
Akkadian
What was the Sumerian writing system called and what does the term mean?
Cuneiform, means wedged shape.
What did the Sumerians write on?
Clay tablets.
What was the Sumerian place of worship?
Ziggurat
Name 5 things the Sumerians invented?
Writing Wheel Lunar calendar Irrigation Time based on 60
List in order civilizations and ruling empires of Ancient Mesopotamia
Ubaid Sumerians Akkadians Old Babylonians Hittites Assyrians New Babylonians Persians
Who created the first written laws?
Hammurabi, the king of Babylon.
Who build the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?
Nebuchadnezzar II
Drought
A long period of dry weather.
Famine
A wide spread lack of food resulting in hunger and starvation.
Fertile Crescent
A crescent shaped region with fertile soil, in the Middle East.
City state
A self governing city.
Ziggurat
A large temple built by the Sumerians to honor their gods and goddesses.
Irrigation
The process of making sure crops have the water they need to grow.
Scribe
A person trained to be able to write, worked to record important information.
Empire
Different groups of people living in one large area of land under one ruler.
Monotheism
Believing in only one god.
Polytheism
Believing in more than one god.
Bronze
A strong metal made from copper and tin that was used for making tools.
Gilgamesh
A Sumerian king of the city state of Uruk. He later became known in mythology as a demigod with superhuman strength.
Social class
Groups of people with different levels of importance.
