Download Fertile Crescent Anticipation Guide

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ANTICIPATION GUIDE-Fertile Crescent
Decide whether or not you agree with each statement. In the ME section write an A if you
agree with the statement or a D if you disagree. Do this before reading. While reading,
complete the PAGE NUMBER and TEXT sections.
ME
STATEMENT
Early peoples settled where crops would grow. Crops
usually grew well near rivers where water was available
and regular floods made the soil rich.
The Huang He and Chang Jiang rivers are the most
important physical features of the region sometimes
known as Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamia is part of a larger area called the Fertile
Crescent, a large arc of rich, or fertile, farmland.
In southern Mesopotamia, a people known as the Hittites
developed the world’s first civilization.
The basic political unit of Sumer was called a city-state.
A city-state consisted of a city and all the countryside
around it.
Gilgamesh became a legendary figure in Sumerian
literature.
Gilgamesh, the king of Akkad, a land north of Sumer,
built the world’s first empire after defeating Sumer and
northern Mesopotamia.
TEXT PAGE
The Sumerians practiced monotheism, the worship of
many gods.
The Sumerians invented the world’s first system of
writing called cuneiform.
One of the Sumerians most important developments was
the wheel.
Their temples called pyramids, pyramid-shaped temple
towers, dominated city centers.
Hammurabi was Babylon’s greatest monarch, a ruler of a
kingdom or empire.
Hammurabi’s Code was a set of 282 laws that dealt with
almost every part of daily life.
Nebuchadnezzar, the most famous Chaldean king, rebuilt
Babylon into a beautiful city, which features the famous
Hanging Gardens.
The Phoenicians created a wealthy agricultural society.