Term | Definition |
Fertile Crescent | - ________ is a region of fertile, well-watered land in the Middle East from the Persian Gulf, up the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, down the eastern shores of Mediterranean Sea to the Nile River
- World's oldest neolithic (farming) cities developed here |
Mesopotamia | - ____________was a good area for growing crops because the rivers flooded and deposited rich nutrient-rich soil called silt
- ____________means "land between the rivers"; a river valley in the Fertile Crescent, present day Iraq |
Drought | - _________ is a LONG period of dry weather that may cause crop failure and ultimately a famine |
Famine | - ________ is a widespread lack of food, causing people to starve to death |
Surplus | - An extra supply of something (a resource) like food (wheat & barley), cloth, tools, or seeds that can be used to trade/barter with is called a ______________ |
Barter | - A trade of one resource for another without the use of money |
Sumer | - _______ is a region on the plains between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, on the coast of the Persian Gulf, where the first farmers lived after moving out of the Zagros Mountains |
City-State | - A walled-city that has its own government (which were kings aka monarchs) and the farmland surrounding it is called a _________ |
Ziggurat | - A ______________ is a Mesopotamian temple that could be found in the center of each major city-state
- Each city's patron god or goddess was believed to sleep at the top each night
- Wealthy families lived nearer to it |
Cuneiform | - __________ is the world's first system of writing, created by the Sumerians
- Originally created to record business deals and evolved into a more complex system capable of writing poems & stories like, "Gilgamesh"
- Name means "wedge shaped" |
Babylon | - ___ is a city-state slightly north of Sumer, that was famous for its hanging gardens
- Was capital of two important empires.
- Home of Hammurabi |
Hammurabi | - ___ is the King of Babylonia, famous for his legal system which punished you for crimes committed based on your social class.
"Eye for an eye justice"
Also created a postal service AND a system of roads throughout his empire |
Code of Hammurabi | - ___ is one of the oldest written systems of law
- Punishments based on your social class. Poorer people received more severe punishments
- Designed to unite the king's new empire and control behavior of his people
- Influenced today's laws |
Judaism | - ____ is the world's first monotheistic religion
- developed by shepherds from Sumer, including Abraham
Abraham's teachings created Judaism, and eventually inspired Christianity & Islam |
Abraham | - ___ is the Hebrew leader (founder of the religion) who took his people from Sumer (Ur) to Canaan and created the world's first monotheistic religion, Judaism
- His teachings also inspire Christianity and Islam |
Canaan | - ___ is the region settled by the ancient Hebrews, where present day Israel is.
- Both Abraham and then Moses led the Jewish people here |
Moses | - ___ is the ancient Hebrew leader who led the Jews from slavery in Egypt to freedom in (Canaan) Jerusalem
- According to the Torah and Bible, he received the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai |
Polytheism | - ___ is a type of religion that believes there are many gods
- Everyone (Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans) were polytheistic until Abraham invented Judaism, the first monotheistic religion |
Monotheism | - ___ is a type of religion that believes there is only one God
- Judaism is the first, but then it inspired many others including Christianity and Islam |
Jerusalem | - __ is the modern capital city in Israel, and ancient capital from which early Hebrew kings ruled |
How did the resource of water and the need for irrigation affect the growth of civilization in the Fertile Crescent? | - fresh water & irrigation technologies allowed farming of crops, which led to a stable food supply (surplus of food)
- because irrigation systems needed constant maintenance, people started working together & formed larger and larger communities |
drought (context) | - To combat ___________________ , Sumerians created an irrigation system of canals, levees, reservoirs and dams to keep their crops watered. |
Famine (context) | - The Hebrews lived in Canaan until a drought caused a ____________ which forced them to move into Egypt where they were enslaved for hundreds of years |
Barter (context) | - Mesopotamians would trade or _____________with their surplus of wheat and barley for goods they could not produce in their own land such as stone, wood, metals and cloth. |
City-state (context) | - Abraham, the founder or creator of Judaism, was from the Sumerian city-state of Ur |
Ziggurat (context) | - Only the priest was allowed at the top of the city-state's _________ to worship the patron god and provide offerings. |
Cuneiform (context) | - Sumerians were the first to invent__________________ to keep written records, which was so awesome, it was adopted by every empire who came after them |
Code of Hammurabi (context) | - Hammurabi's purpose for writing down his ______________ was to help unite his empire and establish expectations of behavior for his people. He said that the laws were from the gods! |
Judaism (context) | - ____________________ is still practiced by approximately 15 million people around the world today and together with Christianity and Islam represent over 50% of the world population. |
Sargon | -_____ was king who founded Akkadian Empire
-Famous for battle formation (phalanx) shield holders in front & spears thrust from behind
- knocked down city walls
- replaced conquered leaders w/ loyal friends
- Sons inherited power after death |
Hammurabi | - ___ was King of the city-state of Babylon, who is famous for his set of laws known as Hammurabi's Code
- Also famous for creating a postal service and a system of roads |
Nebuchadrezzar II | - ___ was King of the Neo-Babylonian Empire who expanded the empire by driving the Egyptians out of Syria, and conquering Canaan.
- Defended capital w/ double walls, archer towers, moats & drawbridge!
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his wife |
Mesopotamian Social Structure | 1. king
2. priests/gov't officials/warriors
3. skilled craftsmen, merchants, traders, & scribes
4. farmers and unskilled laborers (peasants)
5. slaves
- placed into class based on your job in society
- scribes only group with "social mobility" |
The Akkadian Empire | - World's 1st empire
- Famous for Steles (3D sculptures) like Victory Stele & Hammurabi's
- Ruled by King Sargon, with his powerful army & smart political strategies |
The Babylonian Empire | - Hammurabi wrote his Code of Laws which brought order & unified the empire.
- Great place to be a woman or a slave because they had more rights than in other places
- Built roads & created a postal service. |
The Assyrian Empire | - Ashurbanipal
- Horses with war chariots, iron weapons, bow/arrow, battering ram & siege towers to lay siege to a city (camp outside & attack over and over until the city falls).
- Empire was the largest of all 4, became too large to protect borders |
The Neo Babylonian | - Nebuchadrezzar II fortified capital with inner & outer walls, created towers for archers, draw bridges & dug moat
- Created the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his Persian wife
- Advancements in math & astronomy (sundial)
-Conquered by Persia |
Surplus (context) | - With their _____________ of wheat and barley, Mesopotamians were able to get luxury goods like gold, silver and gems for their beautiful jewelry. |