History Midterm (Mesopotamia) Flashcards
what does Mesopotamia mean?
“The land between the rivers” Tigris and Euphrates.
what river did Egypt develop on?
The Nile river
what do both of these places have in common when it comes to resources?
Both have lots of useful plants and animals, and large navigable rivers to use as resources.
who was the first to bring together the “package” of civilization and how? (the location and the people)
Mesopotamia because they had writing, cities, organized religion, state, social inequality. It was the Summarians.
why did they invent cities in Mesopotamia?
Because creating irrigation in Mesopotamia was worth it (lots of food produced!) but required massive amounts of people working together.
they invented the first writing system called what?
Cuneiform script
who were the people who knew how to write and read cuneiform script?
Scribes
What is considered a document?
administrative records, business transactions, laws, mythical stories, etc…
Summarian society was divided in three main tears. What are they?
- Nobles - Small minority - an elite
- Commoner - most people - regular people → mostly peasants
- Slaves - unfree people, forced by violence/threat of violence to work for others.
what was the role of religious specialists?
they cared for the gods - making sure that they were satisfied so they would allow good harvests/health/victory in war.
what category of religion did they follow?
polytheistic (religion with many gods)
why were they Polytheists?
It was their attempt to make sense of the natural world and humans’ place in it.
How were Concepts of “fertility” or “justice” or “power” expressed?
by personalizing these forces and telling these stories to dramatize their interactions.
who were the Summarians conquered by
The Akkadian people
why was there constant war in this region?
due to its flat geography and its wealth
