Chapter 3 Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent - vocab Flashcards
fertile crescent
an area of rich farmland in Southwest Asia where the first civilizations began
silt
a mixture of fertile soil and tiny rocks that can make land ideal for farming
irrigation
a way of supplying water to an area of land
canals
human made waterways
surplus
more of something than is needed
division of labor
an arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task or job
rural
a countryside area
urban
a city area
city-state
a political unit consisting of a city and its surrounding countryside
Gilgamesh
King of Uruk, a city-state in Sumer. He became a legendary figure in Sumerian literature
Sargon
King of Akkad, a land north of Sumer. He built the world’s first empire after defeating Sumer and northern Mesopotamia
empire
land with different territories and peoples under a single rule
polytheism
the worship of many gods
priests
people who perform religious ceremonies
social hierarchy
the division of society by rank or class
cuneiform
the world’s first system of writing; developed in Sumer
pictographs
a picture symbol
scribe
a writer
epics
long poems that tell the stories of heroes
architecture
the science of building
ziggurat
a pyramid-shaped temple in Sumer
monarch
a ruler of a kingdom or empire
Hammurabi’s Code
a set of 282 laws governing daily life in Babylon; the earliest known collection of written laws
chariot
a wheeled, horse-drawn cart used in battle
Nebuchadnezzar
Chaldean king who rebuilt Babylon into a beautiful city, which featured the famed Hanging Gardens
alphabet
a set of letters that can be combined to form words
