Chapter 1 - Section #2 Mesopotamian Civilization

Mesopotamian Civilizationp17-20

What do you call a complex society that has an organized government, art, religion, class divisions and a writing system?

A civilization

#1

Why did most early civilizations start in river valleys?

There was rich soil near the rivers

#2

Name 3 ways that rivers helped the people who lived near them.

- Provided them with fish and fresh water- Helpful for trade- There was rich soil near the rivers- Rivers were used for travel

#3

What was the main purpose of governments in Mesopotamia?

The government:- made laws to keep order- formed armies for defense- made decisions for the people

#4

What is it called when people have different places in society based on their wealth/power?

A class system

#5

What is the name of the earliest-known civilization?

Mesopotamia

#6

What 2 rivers bordered Mesopotamia?

The Tigris and Euphrates

#7

What is the English translation of “Mesopotamia?”

Land between two rivers

#8

How did farmers learn to control the seasonal floods in Mesopotamia?

They developed an irrigation system

#9

What was the climate like in Mesopotamia?

It was hot and dry.

#10

How did the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers help create rich farmland.

The river flooded over the land and when the water receded it left

behind rich soil.

#11

What is a city-state?

A Sumerian city and the land around it

#12

Why did Sumerians build ziggurats?

To honor the chief god of the city-state

#13

What power did the Sumerians believe that the gods had?

Sumerians believed that the gods controlled natural forces

and human activities

#14

Why did city-states fight against each other?

They fought to control more territory

#15

What materials did the Sumerians use to build their houses?

Mud bricks made out with mud and crushed reeds from the rivers

#16

What do you call skilled workers who made metal products, cloth or pottery?

artisans

#17

What types of items did Sumerians trade with other people from other cities?

Tools, wheat and barley

#18

What were the 3 classes in Sumer?

The upper class, the middle class and the lower class

#19

What group(s) of people made up the upper class?

Kings, priests and government officials

#20

What group(s) made up the middle class in Sumer?

Artisans, merchants, farmers and fishermen

#21

What group(s) of people made up the lower class in Sumer?

Enslaved people who worked on farms or in temples

#22

True or False?

In Sumer women were in charge of the households.

False – men were in charge of households

#23

True or False?

Sumerian women had certain rights.

True

#24

True or False?

Only Sumerian males were allowed to go to school.

True

#25

True or False?

Sumerian women were allowed to buy and sell property.

True

#26

A Skilled Peoplep20-21

Why is Mesopotamia often referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization?”

Their ideas and inventions were copied and improved upon by

other peoples.

#1

Historians refer to this Sumerian invention as the greatest invention of the time.

writing

#2

What is the Sumerian system of writing called?

cuneiform

#3

What term was used to describe the Sumerians who learned to write and became record keepers?

scribes

#4

Name 3 Sumerian legacies.- literature- irrigation systems- wagon wheel- plow- a number system based on 60- sailboat- geometry- plow- a 12 month calendar

#5

What types of people became scribes?

Boys from wealthy families

#6

Which class in Sumer contained the most people?

The middle class

#7

Sargon and Hammurabip22-23

Why did Sumer city-states become vulnerable to attacks from outsiders?

The city-states were weakened from fighting with each other.

#1

What do you call a group of many different lands under one ruler?

Empire

#2

Who was the Akkadian king who conquered all of Mesopotamia?

Sargon

#3

What was the name of the Babylonian king who created the Babylonian Empire?

Hammurabi

#4

What was “Hammurabi’s Code?”

A collection of Sumerian laws.

#5

Why was Hammurabi’s Code an important legacy of the Babylonian Empire?

It was the first set of laws that were written down so they forced

everyone in Babylon to follow the same laws.

#6