1. Mesopo-WHAT?!
Unit Vocabulary

2. What is the Fertile Crescent?
Shaped like a semi-circle, the Fertile Crescent is a region in the Middle East. From this swath of historically fertile land came the world’s earliest known culture, about 10,000 years ago.

4. What is Mesopotamia?
Mesopotamia is a small region of land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in what is modern day Iraq and much of Syria. The land in the northern part of Mesopotamia was very fertile, with seasonal rains, and so the early settlers farmed the land.
Mesopotamia is part of the Fertile Crescent (it occupies about 1/3 of the land)

5. The Tigris & The Euphrates
The great Tigris and Euphrates are rivers in southwestern Asia. Between these two rivers was the area known as Mesopotamia.

6. The Dead Sea
The Dead Sea, which lies between the borders of Israel and Jordan, is the lowest body of water in the world.

7. Polytheism Polytheism is the belief in many gods.
This belief is held by people of almost all religions except for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
These three religions are monotheistic, rather than polytheistic, because their followers believe in a single God.

8. Irrigation Irrigation is the artificial application of water to land.

9. Empire
An empire is a large group of territories and people who are ruled by a single sovereign leader or nation.

10. City-State
A city-state is an independent kingdom or state made up of a city and the surrounding lands it controls.
We’ll be learning about Mesopotamian city-states, like Ur and Babylon, which were independent and created their own governments and even calendars. Each city-state was the center of its society’s religion and culture.

11. Surplus
To have a surplus is to have more than what is needed, desired, or required.
What examples can you think of?

12. Geography: Locations to know
You’ll need to be able to recognize the following locations on a map:
Mesopotamia
The Fertile Crescent
The Tigris River
The Euphrates River
The Zargos Mountains
The Mediterranean Sea
The Persian Gulf
Check the map on your notes sheet and make sure you can find these important locations!