mesopatamia Flashcards
What were the gods believed to be in control of?
natural forces
Who were Inanna, Enlil, Enki, Utu, and Nanna?
godesses
Why did Mesopotamians honor their gods in certain ways?
People prayed to their gods for protection against these evil spirits.
According to the Mesopotamians, what happened if they failed to honor the gods appropriately
floods, droughts, disease, and attacks from enemies
why were temples important to Mesopotamians?
Homes for prests, schools for scribes, workshops for craftspeople
Describe three things Mesopotamians used their rivers
for they used them for drinking water, for trade and irrigation
Were they atheistic, monotheistic, or polytheistic?
Polytheistic
What did they think the gods were like?
They thought they had human emotions and feelings
Describe what a Ziggurat was, and what it was used for
a stepped pyramid with a shrine on top
Describe what Sumerian writing was called, what material it was written on, and what tool they used to write
they used cuneiforms which were styluses
Identify the number that Sumerian math was based on
60
what were the social groups
king, priest, trader/merchant, farmer, slaves
Name the earliest form of Sumerian art
poetry
Name two inventions Mesopotamians created to make farming easier and more efficient
plows and irrigation
Describe how Phoenicians influenced language
they developed the first alphabet
Describe the basics of Hammurabi’s Code
it was an eye fr an eye if you hurt someone you will get hurt in the same way
Who was Hammurabi?
He was the king of Babylon and he ruled for 42 years
How did the Code treat different social classes?
The higher classes where treated better then the lower classes
Name the main economic activity of Mesopotamia
trading and farming
Name an invention Mesopotamians created to improve record-keeping with businesses
cuneiforms
Identify the first trading empire in Mesopotamia
Phoenicia
Be able to tell us which social group was the largest in size
slaves
Describe why priests were important
they helped the gods and predicted the days of the stars
