Download Chapter 2 The Fertile Crescent

Chapter 2
The Fertile Crescent
Objectives
- Find out how geography made the rise of civilization in the Fertile Crescent possible
- Learn about Sumer’s first cities
- Examine the characteristics of Sumerian religion
- Learn about the two most important empires of Mesopotamia
- Find out what characterized the Babylonian and Assyrian empires
- Understand how Babylonia was able to rise again after defeat
- Learn the importance of Hammurabi’s Code
- Find out how the art of writing developed in Mesopotamia
- Learn how the sea power of the Phoenicians spread civilization
- Learn about the major events in the history of the Israelites
- Learn about the basic beliefs of Judaism
- Find out about the impact that Judaism has had on other religions
Name: ________________________________
Homeroom: ___________
Using the map on page 33, answer the following questions.
1. Where was the Fertile
Crescent located?
2. What kinds of geographic
features do you notice in the
Fertile Crescent?
3. Which areas of the Fertile
Crescent might attract invaders?
Explain why.
Complete the boxes below after reading each section of your textbook!
Section 1: Land Between Two Rivers (pages 34-39)
1. Where were the first
schools set up 4,000 years
ago? (page 34)
2. What is a scribe? Why
were they important?
(page 34)
3. How long did it take
students to learn to be a
scribe? (p. 34)
The Geographic Setting
What were the special attractions Mesopotamia had to draw people there? (p. 35)
What does the word Mesopotamia mean?
The Location of
Mesopotamia (page 35)
What two rivers does Mesopotamia lie between?
Fertile Crescent -
The Location of
Mesopotamia (page 36)
How did the Fertile Crescent get its name?
How were the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers a source of both life
and death?
Rivers of Life and Death
(page 36)
Life –
Death -
The First Cities
Some of the earliest known cities came about in the southern region of Sumer by
_____________________. (p. 37)
City-state Independent Cities Form
(page 37)
Provide at least three characteristics of a typical Sumerian city.
A Brief Tour of a Sumerian
City (page 37)
1.
2.
3.
Sumerian Religion
The site of the temple to the main god or goddess of a city is a _____________________. (p.
38)
Sumerian Temples
(page 38)
Ziggurats were __________________ made of terraces stacked
on top of another with ________________ and
_____________. At the top a _______________ was found.
Polythesim -
Ancient Religious Beliefs
(page 38)
myths -
Honoring the Gods
(page 39)
The gods were honored in _______________________ that
included _________________ the statues of the gods and
____________________ a meal.
The Fall of Sumer (page
39)
________________ became the downfall of the city-states.
The people fought over __________ and the use of
_____________.
Eventually Sumer fell to a rival,
__________________________,
In the 1700s BC.
Section 2: Babylonia and Assyria (pages 42-46)
The Two Empires of Mesopotamia
empire –
Babylon –
How were the Babylonians
and the Assyrians alike?
1.
2.
The Babylonian Empire
What Babylonian king created the Babylonian empire? (p. 44)
How did he do so? (p. 44)
What accomplishment helped to improve trade?
A Crossroads of Trade
(p. 44)
Caravan –
Bazaars –
What made Babylon rich?
When was the Babylonian empire destroyed?
Wealth Through Conquest
p. 44
The Empire of the Assyrians
The Assyrians best method of defense was to ________________.
Battering ram Assyrian Contributions
(page 45)
Assyria Overthrown
(page 45)
What is Assyrian’s capital, Ninevah, known for?
What two groups of people were able to overthrow the
Assyrians in 612 BC?
Babylonia Rises Again
Nebuchadnezzar, King of
Babylon (page 46)
Once Nebuchadnezzar II became king of Babylon, he put up
_______________________ walls around the city to protect it
and built a _________________ decorated with ___________.
His palace was built on __________________ and a
__________
was added for his wife.
Under the rule of the Chaldeans, Babylon became a center for
_____________ and ________________ especially the field of
____________________________.
Advances in Learning
(page 46)
The New Babylonian Empire fell in _______________ to the
____________________.
Section 3: The Legacy of Mesopotamia (pages 47-51)
Hammurabi’s Code
(page 48)
Code –
Hammurabi –
What did Hammurabi’s Code do for the people?
An Eye for an Eye
(page 48)
Laws for Everyone
(page 49)
How was the law applied to various people based on class?
What was special about Hammurabi’s Code?
The Art of Writing
(page 49)
When was writing first developed? Where?
Ancient Scribes
(page 49)
A Record in Clay
(page 50)
Where were the records kept by the scribes of Sumer written?
Why were the records recorded in clay with sharp objects
permanent?
Cuneiform –
How Writing Was Invented
(pages 50-51)
Section 4: Mediterranean Civilizations (pages 52-57)
How did the people from the city of Tyre become rich? Explain. p. 52
Phoenician Sea Power
(page 53)
What was another resource the Phoenicians used to trade?
Masters of Trade
(page 53)
How did the Phoenicians keep others from trying to compete
for trade in the Atlantic?
Why were the marketplaces of the Phoenicians able to have
such a variety of foods and animals?
Exotic Marketplaces
(page 54)
The Phoenician Alphabet
(page 54)
Alphabet –
How many symbols did the Phoenician alphabet have?
How did the simplicity of the alphabet help?
The Rise of the Israelites
(page 55)
Where did the Israelites first settle?
What were they originally called?
How do we know about the Israelites?
Monotheism –
Abraham the Leader
(p. 55)
Who was the leader of the Israelites?
According to the Torah, god had told Abraham to take the
Israelites to where?
From Canaan to Egypt
(p. 56)
What happened once they got there which caused them to do
what?
Famine –
Who led the Israelites out of Egypt once they were forced into
labor?
What was this departure called?
In the Desert
(p. 56)
While wandering through the desert of the Sinai Peninsula,
god gave what to the Israelites?
Finally, the Israelites settled where?
Settlement in Canaan
(p. 57)
Who were the two kings of the Israelites?
What city was established?
A Divided Kingdom
(p. 57)
After King David’s son Soloman died, the country did what?
Eventually the Israelites were conquered by who?
Sent into Exile
(p. 57)
exile –
Who sent the Israelites into exile?
Where did Nebuchadnezzar exile the people of Judah to?
Section 5: Judaism (pages 60-64)
What book records events and laws important to the Israelites?
The Beliefs of Judaism (p. 61)
Where did the beliefs of the Judaism religion come from?
covenant –
A Promise to the Israelites
(p. 61)
Moses –
Ten Commandments
(p. 62)
Judaism and Women
(p. 62)
What two purposes were there for the Ten Commandments?
In many religions including Judaism, women were considered
to be of lower social status. Provide an example of this.
Prophets –
Justice and Morality
(p. 63)
What was something the prophets did?
The Effects of Judaism (p. 63)
What group of people caused the Jews to scatter to different parts of the world?
diaspora –
New Settlements (p. 64)
What is one tradition the Jews held to that allowed them to
stay united?
Effects on Later Religions
(p. 64)
What other religions did Judaism play an important role in?