Download Section 1 Review:

Section 1 Review:
1. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are the two physical features gave Mesopotamia
its name.
2. Mesopotamia means “land between two rivers” in Greek.
3. Mesopotamia is part of the Fertile Crescent, an area of rich farmland.
4. Crops grew well in Mesopotamia because farmland was fertile and the two rivers
were good sources of water.
5. A super-short history of civilization in Mesopotamia: People settled where crops
would grow, the population grew, villages and cities formed, and governments
developed.
6. Rivers are natural physical features; canals are made by people.
7. Mesopotamians built canals mainly because they needed to control the river’s
flow and protect against flooding.
8. Canals made farms in Mesopotamia more productive.
9. If people have a steady food supply, they can develop a complex society.
10. Some surplus food was traded for other kinds of goods not available in
Mesopotamia.
Section 2 Review:
1. It was very common for city-states, kingdoms, and empires to fight with other
surrounding city-states.
2. To protect the city and its inhabitants from attack, city-states had walls built
around them.
3. Sargon (Sargon I, Sargon the Great) was among the first leaders to have a
permanent army.
4. The growth of Sargon’s empire was limited by the mountains to the north and the
Syrian Desert to the south.
5. Religion was very important to Sumerian society.
6. Sumerians believed that their gods and goddesses needed to be worshipped and
pleased.
7. Priests served in the role as a medium between the Sumerians and their gods and
goddesses.
8. In Sumeria, women, like Enheduanna, could become important religious leaders.
9. Religious temples were in the middle of each city-state at the top of the ziggurat.
This suggests that religion was very important to the Sumerians.
Section 3 Review:
1. Ziggurats were tall so as to honor the gods.
2. Cuneiform, which means “wedge-shaped”, was developed in Sumeria. It is the
oldest form of written language.
3. Cuneiform was originally created to keep accurate records.
4. Sumerian scribes, who were the few who could read and write, were powerful in
the social hierarchy.
5. Becoming a scribe was one way to move up in social class.
6. The plow is considered the most important invention in human history. It is still
used today, although today it is part of the farm machine known as a tractor.
7. Sumerians also invented the wheel, another major contribution to civilization.
8. Sumerians made many advances in medicine and became effective at treating
different symptoms and parts of the body.
9. Cylinder seals were used to sign contracts and to mark personal property.
10. Most Sumerians lived in one-story homes with six or seven rooms arranged
around a small courtyard.
11. In addition to written language, Sumerians made many other technical advances,
which made the lives of people easier: the plow, wheel, working with bronze,
using things found in nature to heal, and writing down effective treatments.
Lesson 4
1. In 1792 BC, about 3800 years ago, Hammurabi became Babylon’s most powerful
monarch.
2. Hammurabi’s Code shows that not all people were treated equally in Babylon.
3. Hammurabi built a massive empire that developed one of the oldest written codes
of law, improved irrigation projects, completed many major building projects,
improved the tax collection system, and increased trade. Why would you say
Hammurabi was a good ruler? Pick one of the above and use as an example.
Explain.
4. The Assyrian Empire was successful due to its strong army.
5. Both Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar (about 1,000 years later) built up the citystate of Babylon, which is near the present-day city of Baghdad, Iraq.
6. Both the Hittites and Assyrians used iron weapons and chariots in battle very
successfully.
7. Cedar wood was the natural resource for which Phoenicia was well known.
8. Phoenicia became powerful due to trade rather than winning battles and wars.
9. The Phoenician alphabet-language spread to their trading partners all around the
Mediterranean Sea.