Mesopotamia vocab

Question 1

Hammurabi’s Code

Answer 1

a set of 282 laws inscribed in stone by the Babylonian king Hammurabi

Question 2

Irrigation

Answer 2

the watering of land to make it ready for agriculture

Question 3

Silt

Answer 3

tiny particles left as sediment from water - fertile land for growing crops

Question 4

Fertile Crescent (location)

Answer 4

Western Asia and North Africa

Question 5

Cuneiform

Answer 5

“wedge-shaped” form of writing used in the Babylonian empire

Question 6

Dynasty

Answer 6

Rulers from the same family

Question 7

City-State

Answer 7

an independent city — and sometimes its surrounding land — which has its own government, completely separate from nearby countries

Question 8

Polytheism

Answer 8

belief in more than one God

Question 9

Cradle of civilization

Answer 9

a place where civilization emerged

Question 10

Calendar

Answer 10

a tool used to mark the passing of time

Question 11

Lamassu

Answer 11

a mythological hybrid, a protective deity known to “turn back an evil person,” that is composed of the head of a human, the body of a bull, and the wings of a bird.

Question 12

Ziggurat

Answer 12

a stepped temple tower in the shape of a pyramid, with each higher level smaller than the one below it.

Question 13

Akkadian Empire

Answer 13

the first empire in history, and it existed from about 2350 to 2000 BC

Question 14

Babylonian empire

Answer 14

a kingdom centered in Babylon, on the Euphrates River

Question 15

Empire

Answer 15

a group of territories ruled by one single ruler or state

Question 16

Sargon of Akkad

Answer 16

an ancient Mesopotamian ruler

Question 17

Enlil

Answer 17

Lord of the Winds

Question 18

Hammurabi

Answer 18

an ancient king of Babylon almost four thousand years ago

Question 19

Gilgamesh

Answer 19

a legendary Sumerian king and hero of the Gilgamesh Epic

Question 20

Enkidu

Answer 20

a legendary hero originally appearing in Sumerian literary compositions, which were incorporated, with alterations, in the Akkadian epic of Gilgamesh

Question 21

Tiamat

Answer 21

a primordial goddess in ancient Mesopotamian mythology. She was viewed as the mother of the many gods of the Mesopotamian pantheon. Tiamat was believed to symbolize saltwater, the oceans, and the seas

Question 22

Wheel

Answer 22

a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery

Question 23

Artisan

Answer 23

a worker who practices a trade or handicraft

Question 24

Monotheism

Answer 24

the belief in a single all-powerful god, as opposed to religions that believe in multiple gods

Question 25

Babylon

Answer 25

the chief city of ancient Mesopotamia and the capital of the ancient kingdom of Babylonia.