Mesopotamia

Study Guide

ReviewSTUDY GUIDES ARE DUE ON

THE DAY OF THE TEST!

1. How did the Mesopotamians use

AND control the Tigris and

Euphrates Rivers? Flood Control

Built levees and storage basin to store excess flood water and to protect fields and homes.

Irrigation

Built irrigation canals to bring water to the fields.

2. Why did people settle in Mesopotamia?

Fertile Crescent:

Silt from Tigris & Euphrates Rivers made the land good for farming.

The location of the rivers allowed for

irrigation.

There was enough room for

growing a surplus of crops.

Rivers provided transportation and trade routes

Rivers provided fish for food

3. What were the major inventions and

advancements of the Sumerians?

Wheel

Irrigation

Plow

Cuneiform

Hammurabi’s

Code

(Babylonian)

Epic

Poems(hero)

Potter’s Wheel

Math- Base 60

(circles)

Astronomy

12 Month

Calendar

Ziggurat

Lyre

Chariot

(Hittites)

Ironworking

(Hittites)

Alphabet

(Phonecians)

4. What does Mesopotamia mean?

What part of the word

“Mesopotamia” means “middle”?Land

between the rivers.

Meso

means

middle

5. Who was Hammurabi? What was

the name of his empire? What did

he create? Hammurabi was a king from Babylonia.

He developed the first set of written laws called,

Hammurabi’s Code.

6. What is a Ziggurat? What

did they look like?

Ziggurats were temples for the gods

of Sumer.

7. What is division of labor? Why

was it important? Division of labor: when each worker specializes in

a particular task or job.

Because of the plow and irrigation, not everyone

had to be farmers, so people could have other

jobs and specialize in particular tasks.

8. What are the GRAPES of Civilization? Look at your

GRAPES Graphic

Organizer

1. Geography

2. Religion

3. Achievements

4. Politics

5. Economics

6. Social Structure

9. How does Sumer meet these?

1. Geography= Fertile Crescent,

stable food supply

2. Religion= polytheism,

ziggurat

3. Achievements= cuneiform,

irrigation, wheel, etc.

4. Politics= King, empire

5. Economics= Trade, barter

6. Social Structure= social

classes reflect power

10. What is cuneiform? Why was it

first used? What does it look like?

Cuneiform was the world’s first system of writing.

It was first used to keep business records.

It looks like

11. What type of religion did the

Sumerians have? The Sumerians were polytheistic, they believed in

many gods.

12. What did Sargon & the Akkadians

“build?” King Sargon built the world’s first empire, or land

with different territories and people under a single

rule.

The Akkadians were the first people to create an

empire.

13. What advances in military

strategies allowed other empires to

conquer Mesopotamia? Akkadian: Soldiers

fought in tight

formations with

spears/shields,

destroyed the walls

of the city-states.

Assyrians: Siege Warfare,

iron weapons, horses in

battle, battering rams, siege

towers.

14. What was the Social Structure in

Sumer? Social Structure=Social Hierarchy

The division of society by rank or class.

King

Priests and Government

Officials

Merchants, Traders, and

Scribes

Farmers and Laborers

Slaves

15. Did Hammurabi’s Code provide

due process & equality before the

law?

Equality before the Law:

This means regardless of race, gender, age,

social class, etc. that all people are to be treated

equally under our federal, state, and local laws.

Due Process:

Everyone is innocent until PROVEN guilty. You are

allowed to have a lawyer and witnesses to

defend you. You must be given a trial.

Did Hammurabi’s Code protect these rights?

Not Exactly…

Equality before the Law: If you

were of low social class or a

slave your punishments would

be more harsh than if you

were a government official.

This means people were NOT

equal before the law.

Due Process: Accused persons

were guilty until proven

innocent and did not have

rights like trial by jury, no cruel

or unusual punishments, or a

Bill of Rights protecting them.

Eye for an eye remember?

Exit Share two important points about Ancient

Mesopotamia with a buddy nearby.

You cannot use the same point as your partner.