Ancient Mesopotamia

Question 1

The Bronze Age-

Answer 1

early civilizations, the time when bronze was used for tools, the first form of writing was created

Question 2

Characteristics of Civilizations-

Answer 2

civis
Organized agriculture
Close cities
Written records
A formal set of laws
Monumental architecture

Question 3

River valleys-

Answer 3

a valley formed by flowing water.

Question 4

Mesopotamia-

Answer 4

a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Mesopotamia means the land between two rivers

Question 5

Sumerian city-states-

Answer 5

Eridu, Ur, Nippur, Lagash and Kish, but one of the oldest and most sprawling was Uruk

Question 6

cuneiform writing-

Answer 6

Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-shaped impressions which form its signs. Was deciphered in the 19th century by Henry Rawlston.

Question 7

Ziggurat-

Answer 7

The ziggurat itself is the base on which the White Temple is set. Its purpose is to get the temple closer to the heavens, and provide access from the ground to it via steps. The Mesopotamians believed that these pyramid temples connected heaven and earth.

Question 8

Epic of Gilgamesh (flood narrative)-

Answer 8

The flood story was included because in it, the flood hero Utnapishtim is granted immortality by the gods and that fits the immortality theme of the epic.

Question 9

The Akkadian Empire-

Answer 9

The Akkadian Empire was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. It was centered in the city of Akkad and its surrounding region. The empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rule.

Question 10

Sargon-

Answer 10

Sargon of Akkad, also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC. He is sometimes identified as the first person in recorded history to rule over an empire.

Question 11

Old Babylonians/Amorites-

Answer 11

-spoke a Semitic language
-infiltrated the area around Babylon
gradually gained power by curing the final dissolution of the Sumerian Epoch.

Question 12

Hammurabi-

Answer 12

• Hammurabi was the sixth king of the First Babylonian dynasty
• established the first written set of laws
• he conquered Elam and the city-states of Larsa, Eshnunna, and Mari.
• preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit,

Question 13

Hammurabi’s law code-

Answer 13

a collection of 282 rules, established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. Hammurabi’s Code was carved onto a massive, finger-shaped black stone stele (pillar) that was looted by invaders and finally rediscovered in 1901.