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SS 6
Mesopotamia
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| when did Egyptian farm communities grow along the Nile River in Africa | 4000 B.C. |
| Fertile Crescent | region in Western Asia, crescent shaped, covers present day countries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Israel, much of the land was rocky mountains or dessert but parts of fertile crescent were lush and green |
| what made life in the fertile crescent possible | two rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, this affected the people living along the banks |
| why was living along the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates river similar to living along the Nile | the water gave them fertile soil and water, silt deposit, flooding |
| what is the region between the Tigris and the Euphrates called | Mesopotamia |
| what does Mesopotamia mean in greek | land between two rivers |
| what is Mesopotamia known as today | Iraq |
| where do both the Tigris and the Euphrates river begin | in the snow-capped Taurus Mountains what is today Turkey |
| the rivers rush down to where | the plateau of present-day northern Iraq |
| plateau | area of elevated flatland |
| where do the rivers flow in southern Iraq | to lower land and make their way to the Persian Gulf |
| what did early communities in Mesopotamia depend on | the river depositing silt |
| why did the communities want silt | to make the land good for farming |
| what challenges did early farmers meet | flooding |
| what was different about the flooding in Mesopotamia compared to Egypt | the floods in Mesopotamia did not come as regularly and usually at the wrong time |
| when did the Tigris and Euphrates river flood | not during planting season when dry fields needed to be softened and prepared for new growth, they burst through crops about to be harvested and where deadly and homes were lost |
| what did farmers have to do | protect their crops and keep crops watered in the hot dry climate |
| how much rain did Southern Mesopotamia get | rarely more than a few sprinkles |
| droughts | long periods of dry weather |
| what was a constant threat to farmers and their crops in Southern Mesopotamia | droughts |
| what was different about Northern Mesopotamia | it had enough rain to make some farming possible but had only pockets of fertile soil between rocky earth, the rivers did not leave as much silt |
| which Mesopotamia region had better fertile fields | southern |
| where does the Fertile Crescent extend from | from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea |
| is Mesopotamia larger or smaller than the Fertile Crescent | smaller |
| what mountain range lies east of the Fertile Crescent | Zagros Mountains |
| what did farmers need in the fall in Southern Mesopotamia | water to plant and raise new crops |
| what was the problem with the rivers in Southern Mesopotamia in the fall | the rivers were at their lowest |
| when was harvest time in ancient Mesopotamia | spring |
| what happened to the rivers in spring | they flooded their banks |
| why was flooding in the spring a problem for farmers | they got more water then they wanted |
| how did farmers solve the problem of flooding in the spring | they built water-control and irrigation systems |
| what did the water-control and irrigation systems consist of | canals and gates |
| what kind of crops and gardens did early Mesopotamia farmers grow | wheat, barley, beans, onions, lettuce, cucumbers and spice plants |
| what was the most important crops the farmers grew | wheat and barley |
| what kind of trees did the farmers grow | date, palm, apple,and pomegranate |
| where were the trees and crops planted | along canal banks |
| why were the trees and crops planted along the banks | because they needed the most water |
| who cared for the sheep and goats | shepherds |
| what did Shepherds do | care for sheep and goats and ward off attacks of other animals such as lions and jackals |
| what were Shepherds prized for | their milk and wool |
| what animal did Mesopotamians value | Cattle, they were good work-animals and used for milk, leather and meat |
| why is Mesopotamia important | because it wasn't an ideal place to live but it is one of the world's earliest civilizations |
| what help to make the civilization possible | water and soil brought by the Tigris and Euphrates River, the farmers |
| why were the farmers important in the civilization of Mesopotamia | they used two rivers to make the land more fertile, they produce surplus crops which allowed for specialization and the growth of town and cities |
| describe the Mesopotamia region | region between the Tigris and Euphrates river, it is divided into a rugged plateau to the north and Fertile plains to the south |
| what happens every year similar to the region of Egypt | the Tigris and Euphrates river flood each year bringing water and silt to Mesopotamia |
| what was different about the flooding in Mesopotamia compared to the Egypt | in Mesopotamia floods were often destructive and badly timed for farmers |
| what did farmers do in Mesopotamia to control dangerous flooding | they used canal systems and this made the land productive |
| what was important about Southern Mesopotamias large surpluses | this allowed people to live as skilled workers in cities |
| describe the region called Sumer | around 3000 B.C. , a dozen small cities dotted southern Mesopotamia |
| what did the people of Sumer value | their independence |
| what did the people of Sumer fight against and why | they fought against being ruled by other cities so they could remain independent |
| what did all Sumerians share | a rich cultural heritage |
| what did the Sumerian work hard to control | the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to produce food crops |
| what did the Sumerians worship | similar gods |
| what did the Sumerian invent | some of the worlds first wheeled vehicles and sailboats |
| what machines did the Sumerians invent | pottery wheels |
| what did the Sumerians explore | new ideas in Math and Science |
| what did the Sumerians invent to bring the ancient cities together | the invention of writing Cuneiform |
| what was widely shared because of the system of writing Cuneiform | laws, letters, records, stories, instructions, riddles, proverbs |
| what do historians first believe Cuneiform was invented | to record crop surpluses |
| how did Ancient Sumerians record the surpluses | they used sharp reeds to scratch the records into wet clay tablets, the dried tablets became permanent records |
| when was the time of the oldest tablet found | 3500 B.C. |
| what did the early Cuneiform symbols look like | the things they described |
| what happened to the writing over time | it was faster |
| how did they make writing faster | by simplifying their figures to write more quickly |
| what was symbols combined to form | complex words |
| how is cuneiform signs similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs | they both formed signs to represent sound and ideas as well as objects |
| what was similar about the people that could right in Egypt and Mesopotamia | few people could write |
| who did the writing | it was honor to go to school and become a scribe, mostly boys and rarely girls learned to write |
| what did the kids learn in scribe school first | how to make clay tablets and reed pens |
| how did the kids learn to write | the students practiced over and over how to write the basic signs of cuneiform |
| what else besides cuneiform did the student learn | mathematics so they would be able to keep accurate records |
| what did scribes write | anything, even love letters and sealed them in envelopes, recorded stories, songs and laws |
| how do historians know what the scribes wrote | because the sturdy tablets have survived thousands of years |
| why were scribes important | they were record keepers since most people could not write, even Kings |
| the region of Mesopotamia was home to what two Empires | Sumer and Babylonia |
| which empire was larger Sumer or Babylonia | Babylonian |
| what is the Northern most city in Sumer | Nippur |
| why did the Babylonian empire stretch along the rivers | to use the water for crops |
| what is a city-state | self-governing city that also governs surrounding villages |
| what are 3 city-states in sumer | Ur, Uruk, Eridu |
| who was an early Sumerian mythical hero | Gilgamesh |
| why was Gilgamesh considered a hero | he knew everything, seen and done everything,built the walls of the city, Uruk, made of copper and burnt brick and wide enough to walk upon, he was part god, part man, and strong as an ox, best fighter |
| why did city-states go to war | to gain control over precious water |
| what was built to protect against attack | strong walls |
| why did they build gateways | allow people and goods to get in and out of the city |
| what happened at city gates | people gathered to buy fresh vegetables and other goods brought to the city by farmers and traders |
| describe the King's palace | could be seen from anywhere in the city, where city-states planning and decision making took place |
| kings served as | generals, judges, canal overseers |
| what was different about the King's of Egypt and Sumer | the Sumerian kings were not considered gods |
| ziggurat | a towering mud-bricked building with a temple at its peak |
| why did historians believe religion was important in sumerian cities | because the ziggurats where in the center of the city |
| what was similar to egypt about sumerian religion | polytheism |
| polytheism | belief in many gods and goddesses |
| what did each cit-state have | a special god or goddess |
| where was the city-states special god or goddess worshiped in each city-state | at their zuggurat |
| what did people worship at home | other gods and goddesses |
| who was Ishtar | the goddess of love and war |
| who was Enki | the god of water |
| who were two famous gods | Ishtar and Enki |
| Sargon | king of city-state Kish, he became the ruler of all the united city-states |
| when did Sargon rise to power | around 2300 B.C. |
| where did Sargon expand his empire | the norther end of the Fertile Crescent in what is present day Syria |
| who did the Sumerians trade with and where | along the Mediterranean Sea they traded with the seafaring people call the Phoenicians. |
| who else did the Pheonicians trade with | the merchants from Egypt |
| what did the Pheonicians send to Sargon's city-states | wine and timber |
| what did the Pheonicians get in return when trading their wine and timber with Sargon's city-states | Mesopotamian farm products and other goods |
| what spread in the Fertile Crescent along with traded goods | Cuneiform writing, other cultures used cuneiform to write out their own languages |
| what could Sargon do since cuneiform was used throughout his empire | he could send instructions and govern over great distances |
| what dominated most Sumerian cities around 2000 B.C. | Ziggurats dominated |
| who led the worlds first empire | Sargon, king of Kish |
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