21 terms

Terms	Definitions
ziggurat	a massive stepped tower on which was built a temple dedicated to the chief god or goddess of a Sumerian city
society	group of people forming a community
polytheism	belief in many gods
monotheism	belief in one God
scribe	before the invention of printing, a person who wrote books by hand; a writer
cuneiform	a system of writing with wedge-shaped symbols, invented by the Sumerians around 3000 B.C.
conquer	to overcome; to defeat; to take control of
empire	a group of states or territories controlled by one ruler
dynasty	a powerful family or group of rulers that maintains its position or power for some time
Sumer	A group of ancient city-states in southern Mesopotamia; the earliest civilization in Mesopotamia.
Akkadian	area in Mesopotamia with loyalty to king rather than city-state
Wheel	Sumerian invention that allowed a better way to transport goods
Plow	to turn over dirt, often in long rows, so that seeds can be planted
class system	"social status" ranking classes (rank of people in social class)
Hammurabi	King of the Babylonian empire; creator of the Code of Hammurabi, one of the world's oldest codes of law.
Babylon	The largest and most important city in Mesopotamia. It achieved particular eminence as the capital of the Amorite king Hammurabi in the eighteenth century B.C.E. and the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century B.C.E. (p. 29)
Assyrians	known as a warrior people who ruthlessly conquered neighboring countries; their empire stretched from east to north of the Tigris River all the way to centeral Egypt; used ladders, weapons like iron-tipped spears, daggers and swords, tunnels, and fearful military tactics to gain strength in their empire
Ashurbanipal	An Assyrian king who told people to bring back writings and collected about 20,000 cuniform tablets were now found form him. Made a huge library in Nineveh
Nebuchadnezzar	The most famous Chaldean king who rebuilt Babylon into a beautiful city whose palace featured the famous Hanging Gardens which were trees and flowers that grew on its terraces and roofs that, from the ground, seemed to hang in the air.
Nineveh	the capital of the Assyrian Empire and the site of a great library under King Ashurbanipal
Code of Hammurabi	A collection of 282 laws which were enforced under Hammurabi's Rule. One of the first examples of written law in the ancient civilizations.

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