Download Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt

Name:
Mesopotamia – “Between the Rivers”
Built along the ________________ and Euphrates Rivers in what is now Iraq and Syria.
Began its civilization in about __________ B.C.
Farming:
 Created ______________ Systems and Dikes to control flooding and to water their crops.
 Crops consisted of grain products such as wheat and barley.
 They created a ______-month calendar to predict when to plant and harvest and also to predict
flooding.
Government:
 Theocracy- Government in which the King is also the ___________ leader.
 The priest-kings had absolute power.
 City-state- made up of the city and lands around it.
Writing:
 Cuneiform
 Created by the ___________________.
 Written with a wooden triangular shaped stick in the form of hundreds of different
wedge shaped markings.
City-states:
 Sumer
 Located near the ________________ Gulf.
 The earliest city-state.
 Sumerians created cuneiform style of writing.
 Akkad
 Conquered several city-states and Sumer to create the first ___________.
 Babylon
o King was Hammurabi who wrote _______________ Code, to create justice
and fairness to the idea of law.
o Babylonians contributed to the field of mathematics by developing a number
system based on ______.
 60 minutes in an hour.
 60 second minute
 360 degree circle

Phoenicia
o Part of what is today _______________.
o They were _____________ who spread many ideas and their culture.
Name:
Ancient Egypt
Formed along the Nile River in what is still called Egypt today.
Began its civilization in about 3100 B.C.
Pharaohs and Gods:
 Pharaohs were rulers of Ancient Egypt.
o They were both kings and gods in the Egyptian polytheistic religion (belief in many
gods).
 Believed in Life after Death
o Embalmed or preserved immediately after death as a mummy.
 Pyramids- Very elaborate tombs for the rulers of Egypt.
o The largest pyramid the “Great Pyramid of Khufu” was built about 4,500 years ago. It
took about 20 years to complete. It stood about 482 feet and covered 13 acres. More
than 2 million pieces of limestone and granite blocks were used in its construction.
Writing:
 Hieroglyphics- form of Egyptian picture writing with about 800 signs.
o Rosetta Stone – Allowed scientist to finally translate hieroglyphics in 1821.
Trading
 Egypt was conquered in 1700B.C. by Asian invaders called the “Hyksos”, which controlled
Egypt for about 150 years until the Egyptian finally over through them.
 The Hyksos left behind new technology such as the horse chariot. Civilizations who had the
greatest technology were able to dominate and control other cultures.
 Traded for hard wood, incense, ivory and other products.
 Hatsheptsut was the first female pharaoh who sent out a trading expedition into the far
southern regions.