Chapter Three Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent

It’s a large arc of rich, or fertile farmland 1. Define the Fertile Crescent and where did it extend from? 2. Define silt It’s a large arc of rich, or fertile farmland It extended from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea It’s a mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks Made soil fertile and perfect for farming

A way of supplying water to an area of land 3. When did the first farm settlement form in Mesopotamia? What did they grow? 4. Define irrigation A way of supplying water to an area of land As early as 7000 B.C They grew: Wheat Barley Other grain Had livestock, birds and fish

They are human-made waterways Tigris River Euphrates River 5. Define canals 6. Which two rivers did the farmers build banks on to protect from flooding? They are human-made waterways Tigris River Euphrates River

7. Define surplus 8. Define division of labor More (food) than needed Types of arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task or job

Less farmers needed meant people were free to do other jobs Crafters 9. How did less people having to farm help other jobs develop? What were those jobs? Less farmers needed meant people were free to do other jobs Crafters Religious leaders Government workers Building irrigation systems needed specialized skills like managers

11. Who were the Sumerians? Between 4,000 and 3,000 B.C. 10. When did cities develop in Mesopotamia? 11. Who were the Sumerians? Between 4,000 and 3,000 B.C. They developed the first civilization in Mesopotamia, called it Sumer and it was a very advanced society

12. Define rural and urban 13. Define city-state Rural~ countryside Urban~ city This was a city and all the countryside around it

14. Who was Gilgamesh? 15. Who were the Akkadians? One of Uruk’s kings who became a legendary figure in Sumerian literature Lived peacefully north of Sumer until the 2300’s B.C. when Sargon wanted to expand

16. Who was Sargon? 17. Define empire Leader of the Akkadians, made his city a military power, his soldiers used bows and arrows and he gained their loyalty by eating with them everyday Land with different territories and peoples under a single rule

The worship of many gods 18. Describe the city-state of Ur 19. Define polytheism One of the earliest and largest cities in Mesopotamia, it was a trading center with India, 30,000 people, around 2000 B.C. The worship of many gods

Inanna, goddess of love and war 20. Describe the Sumerian religion 21. Define priests Polytheistic God Enlil, lord of air Enki, god of wisdom Inanna, goddess of love and war Utu and Nanna were the sun and moon gods Gods brought good harvests and floods People who perform religious ceremonies In Sumer they interpreted the wishes of the gods and made offerings to them in temples

22. Define social hierarchy Describe the Sumerian social order The division of society by rank or class 1. kings 2. priests 3. skilled craftspeople, merchants, and traders 4. farmers and laborers 5. slaves

Men~ political power and made laws 23. Describe men and women roles in Sumer 24. Define cuneiform Men~ political power and made laws Women~ took care of the home and children Education mostly for men or wealthy women This was the world’s first system of writing

25. Define pictograph 26. Define scribe Picture symbols Another word for writer

27. Explain Sumerian schools 28. Define epics For reading and writing Long poems that tell the stories of heroes The Epic of Gilgamesh

Two story homes, palaces, made of bricks, columns on temples 29. Describe technical, math, and science advances AND advances in architecture and the arts Wheel (the first, used for carts and wagons) Potters wheel Plow Sewers under the street Bronze weapons Math systems (360 degrees and area of rectangles) Named 1000’s of animals, plants and minerals Came up with treatments to medical conditions Two story homes, palaces, made of bricks, columns on temples Art~ sculptures, pottery, jewelry, cylinder seals music

A pyramid shaped temple tower 30. Define ziggurat 31. What was Babylon and who was Hammurabi A pyramid shaped temple tower Was a Sumerian town along the Euphrates River, then by 1800 B.C. it had a powerful government of its own

A ruler of a kingdom or empire 32. Define monarch 33. Describe Hammurabi’s code A ruler of a kingdom or empire This was a set of 282 laws that dealt with almost every part of daily life Laws on trade, loans, theft, marriage, injury and murder

A wheeled, horse-drawn cart used in battle 34. Who were the Hittites and Kassites? 35. Define chariot Hittites~ built an empire in today’s Turkey, mastered ironworking (stronger weapons), used chariots, captured Babylon Kassites~ Hittites king was killed by an assassin and they took over Babylon for almost 400 years A wheeled, horse-drawn cart used in battle

Astronomy and geometry advances 36. Who were the Assyrians? 37. Who were the Chaldeans? Took over Babylon in 1200’s B.C., only for a bit then came back 300 years later and conquered all of the Fertile Crescent and Asia Minor and some of Egypt Strong army (iron weapons and chariots) Before attacking they’d loot a village and burn crops Kings had local leaders to collect taxes After wars broke out in the Assyrian empire they were weak so the Chaldeans invaded and took over Famous ruler Nebuchadnezzar (rebuilt Babylon in to a beautiful city (famous Hanging Garden of Babylon) Astronomy and geometry advances

38. Who were the Phoenicians? Created a wealthy trading society on the Mediterranean Sea Traded all over Egypt, Greece, Italy, Sicily and Spain Had cedar trees (valuable) silverwork, ivory, slaves Expert traders One of the finest harbors Worlds first alphabet, made writing easier (ours is based on this)