Chapter 3 Vocab (Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent)

Question 1

The Fertile Crescent

Answer 1

a large arc of rich, or fertile farmland

Question 2

Silt

Answer 2

a mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks

Question 3

Irrigation

Answer 3

a way of supplying water to an area of land

Question 4

Canals

Answer 4

human-made waterways

Question 5

Surplus

Answer 5

more than needed

Question 6

Division of Labor

Answer 6

the type of arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task or job

Question 7

Rural

Answer 7

or countryside

Question 8

Urban

Answer 8

or city

Question 9

City-State

Answer 9

consisted of a city and all the countryside around it

Question 10

Gilgamesh

Answer 10

King of Uruk - was a legendary figure in Sumerian literature

Question 11

Sargon

Answer 11

First ruler to establish a permanent army. Established the world’s first empire

Question 12

Empire

Answer 12

land with different territories and peoples under a single rule

Question 13

Polytheism

Answer 13

the worship of many gods

Question 14

Priests

Answer 14

people who perform religious ceremonies

Question 15

Social Hierarchy

Answer 15

the division of society by rank or class

Question 16

Cuneiform

Answer 16

the world’s first system of writing

Question 17

Pictographs

Answer 17

picture symbols

Question 18

Scribe

Answer 18

or writer

Question 19

Epics

Answer 19

long poems that tell stories of heroes

Question 20

Architecture

Answer 20

the science of building

Question 21

Ziggurat

Answer 21

a pyramid-shaped temple tower

Question 22

Monarch

Answer 22

a ruler of a kingdom or empire

Question 23

Hammurabi’s Code

Answer 23

a set of 282 laws that dealt with almost every part of daily life

Question 24

Chariot

Answer 24

a wheeled, horse-drawn cart used in battle

Question 25

Nebuchadnezzar

Answer 25

most famous Chaldean King who rebuilt Babylon into a beautiful city (The Hanging Gardens)

Question 26

Alphabet

Answer 26

a set of letters that can be combined to form words