Mesopotamia Terms

Terms in this set (36)

Fertile Crescent
a large arc of rich, or fertile, farmland that extends from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea
silt
a mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks
irrigation
a way of supplying water to an area of land
canals
human-made waterways that brought water to fields
surplus
more than they needed
division of labor
an arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task or job
rural
a countryside area
urban
a city area
Sumer
a Mesopotamian region that included several city-states like Ur and Babylon that had similar features of their society, including religion, art, and social classes
city-state
a political unit that consisted a city and all of the countryside around it
Ur
a major city-state of Sumer that ruled the region after the fall of the Akkadian empire
Gilgamesh
a powerful king of the Uruk city-state that became a legendary figure in Sumerian literature
Akkadians
a group of people from the city-state of Akkad (just north of Sumer) that created an empire under the leadership of Sargon
Sargon
king of the Akkadians who created the first permanent army, which led to the first empire in the world
empire
land with different territories and peoples under a single rule
polytheism
the worship of many gods
Nanna
the god of the moon; a giant temple was dedicated to this god in the city-state of Ur
priests
people who performed religious ceremonies by interpreting the wishes of the gods and making offerings to them; had great social status in Sumer
social hierarchy
the division of society by rank or class
cuneiform
the world's first system of writing developed by the Sumerians; developed from pictographs
stylus
sharp tools used to write cuneiform into clay tablets
pictographs
picture symbols where each image represented an object that earlier societies had used in written communication
scribe
a writer; a learned profession in Sumer who would often be hired to keep written records
epics
long poems that tell the stories of heroes (ex. The Epic of Gilgamesh)
architecture
the science of buildings
ziggurat
a pyramid-shaped temple tower that generally had outdoor staircases that led to a shrine at the top
monarch
a ruler of a kingdom or empire
Babylon
a Sumerian city-state that rose to become an empire under the rule of Hammurabi in 1700s BC
Hammurabi's Code
the first set of written laws that included 282 laws that dealt with almost every part of daily life (ex. trade, loans, theft, marriage, murder)
Hittites and Kassites
two groups of people who developed powerful societies in Mesopotamia after the fall of the Babylonian empire due to their military power (including use of iron and the chariot)
chariot
a wheeled horse-drawn cart used in battle
Assyrians
a group of people who created an empire in the Fertile Crescent around 900 BC; known for brutal military tactics and aggressive techniques to rule their empire
Chaldeans
a group of people who created an empire in the Fertile Crescent after the fall of the Assyrians led by Nebuchadnezzar in 652 BC
Nebuchadnezzar
the most famous Chaldean king who created an empire; known for his grand palace with the Hanging Gardens (one of the Wonders of the Ancient World)
Phoenicians
the last major power of the Fertile Crescent that was based on being a wealthy-trading society; created the first alphabet
alphabet
a set of letters that can be combined to form words
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