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Name ________________________________
Mesopotamia Study Guide
I.
Mesopotamia means _________________________
A. The __________________ River is to the west, and the _____________ River is to the east. It
is therefore located in the river ____________ which is an area of land less than 500 feet
above sea level. This flatland is also called a _________________. Both of these rivers empty
in the _______________ Gulf. Today, the country of ___________ is located here.
B. Mesopotamia is located within the ____________ ______________ which is an area of rich
farmland which stretches from the _________________ Sea to the ____________ Gulf. The
soil here was full of nutrients because when the rivers ___________they left behind fertile
___________.
C. The location of Mesopotamia has had very important effects on the lives of the people who
have lived there.
a. The rivers provided ________ ___________ which was especially important since
this region is quite ________ or hot and dry.
b. They also provided __________ in the form of ________ and wild _______ which
came to the river to drink.
c. They also provided ________________ and _________ routes because the area had
few roads.
d. They also provided rich soil called silt for ______________.
e. Mesopotamians used ______ from the rivers to mix with straw to make
___________ to build houses and erect __________ around their city-states.
f. The mud was also used to make ________________ to store water and transport
things.
The proximity to rivers had its negatives though because the area was highly desired by many groups
following its first inhabitants which were the ________________.
II. The Four Ingredients to Sumerian Civilization
A.
________________ of ___________ - different people do different jobs
1.
_______________
a.
Grains – wheat and barley
b.
____________ - used for MANY different purposes
2.
______________
a.
Wheel was invented in Mesopotamia around 3500 B.C.
b.
Their products add greatly to our understanding of their culture
3.
______________
a.
Had the ability to read and write the world’s first _______________ writing
system. Later this picture-writing evolved into ________________ which
means __________-shaped
b.
This job was for _______ only. They were thought to be chosen by the _____.
c.
People with this difficult job were highly _______________.
4.
_______________
a.
Constructed mud-brick walls around the city-states for __________________.
b.
Built large temples called ________________ to worship their gods and
function as a kind of city ________ because citizens paid ________ here to the
____________ who were the only people allowed to enter.
c.
Built ___________ which controlled flood waters and helped _____________
the dry farmlands.
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Name ________________________________
Mesopotamia Study Guide
B.
C.
D.
A System of Writing
1.
Many people needed a writing system
a.
Governmental leaders
i.
For ________________
ii.
For ________________ service
b.
_________________ to keep track of their trading activities
c.
_________________ owners to keep track of their land holdings
d.
_________________ to write down religious traditions
2.
Tools needed for writing _________________
a.
A ___________ made out of _________ which acted like a pen
b.
A _______-tablet
i.
_______-dried
ii.
__________ in an oven
iii.
Those found tell us about Sumerian ______________, ___________,
wars, and _____________ projects.
iv.
Thousands were discovered in the libraries of the Assyrian capital of
____________.
Government with an Organized Set of Laws
1.
Divided into about _____ separate states called _______-_________ which are cities
and their surrounding ______land.
a.
Each city-state BELONGED to a different _____ or ____________ who
owned the land and controlled the yearly ___________.
b.
Each city-state had its own ________________.
2.
Sumerians believed that gods controlled ______________ that happened so ________
had great power.
a.
Maintained the __________ system.
b.
Collected and stored the _________ grain.
c.
Owned large herds of __________ and ____________.
3.
___________ became more important military leaders as disagreements among citystates increased.
a.
___________ citizens to fight to protect the city-state.
b.
Decided how much military equipment was made.
c.
Kingship was soon passed down through hereditary lines to the eldest ______.
A Population to Support a Culture over a Long Period of Time
IV. Sumerian society was well-ordered and therefore lasted for about _______ years.
V. As food production increased so did the _______________. This caused
________________ to move inside the city walls for protection. This led to larger cities
which meant more trade and the need for more laws which further helped to unify the
____________ of the Sumerians.
III. Important Sumerian Contributions to History
A. The ____________ around 3500 B.C.
B. The _________ around 6000 B.C.
C. The ______ boat
D. The ____-month _____________ E. A number system based on ____
F. The _______
G. Probably the most important was cuneiform decoded by Henry
__________________, an Englishman who found the writing on the side of a cliff in present-day _____.
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Name ________________________________
Mesopotamia Study Guide
IV. Six Different Cultures that Dominated Mesopotamia in Chronological Order
A. 3500 B.C. – 2300 B.C. ----Sumerian Civilization
B. 2334 B.C. - 2279 B.C. ----Sargon of Akkad (Akkadian Empire)
1. Swept _________ conquering the warring Sumerian city-states one by one.
2. United Sumer and __________.
3. Created the world’s first ____________ which is a group of different people under one leader.
4. Allowed the people to still worship ______________ gods.
5. Adopted ______________ the language of the Sumerian people.
6. Ruled for over ____ years.
7. When he died his empire was basically over so the ___________ city-states arose again.
C. 2000 B.C. – 1700 B.C. ----Babylonian Empire
1. The ______________ entered the valley and made _______________ their capital.
2. Rather than destroying Sumerian culture they _______________ much of it.
3. Babylonian society was ______-organized
a. Highest Level
i. ______________
ii. ______________
iii. ______________
b. Middle Level
i. ______________
ii. ______________
iii. ______________
c. Lowest Level
i. ______________
ii. ______________
iii. ______________
4. The most famous Babylonia king was _________________
a. He carried out many ______________ which are positive changes. They promoted
_______________ and applied to ______ people. He believed that all citizens deserved to
know the laws and _________________ for breaking them.
b. He improved the ____________________ system for better farming.
c. He raised the god of ____________, ___________, above all others. This helped the people
become more _____________.
d. He made the ______ system fairer.
e. He began a _____________ system.
f. He is most famous for his system of laws called the __________ of ________________. This
is a complete system of 282 laws which he borrowed from all parts of his empire.
i. Covered almost all areas of daily life.
ii. _______ for an _______, __________ for a ___________
iii. The defendant was _______________ until proven ______________
iv. Punishments ranged from fines to ____________ (No _____________ terms)
v. The __________ class was punished more severely.
D. From 1700 B.C. – 900 B.C No one group dominated Mesopotamia
E. 900 B.C. – 630 B.C. ----The Assyrian Empire
1. Swept through Mesopotamia from the _________.
2. Why were the Assyrians able to conquer the Babylonians still in Mesopotamia?
a. They didn’t have to worry about ______________ in their homeland because they had plenty
of rain.
b. They had a major ____________ center which brought them great wealth.
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Name ________________________________
Mesopotamia Study Guide
c. Their land was rich in __________ which meant that they quickly developed the art of metalcrafting or ______________.
i. Used _______________ pulled by horses.
ii. Used ___________, swords, and arrows made from ________.
iii. Used _____________ and _______ __________ as protection.
iv. Used _____________ as a weapon.
3. The Assyrians made their capital the walled-city of ______________ which was in the
_______________ part of Mesopotamia. _________________ was their most famous leader. He
ruled for over 40 years.
a. The city had a large _____________ with stone carvings of their religious ___________ and
_________________.
b. The city had a large _____________ which held over ______________ clay tablets written in
_______________ which preserved much information about the ________________ and
____________________.
4. Their empire didn’t last long because their leaders treated the people badly which led to a
______________ or internal uprising.
F. 612 B.C. – 550 B.C. The Medes controlled the northern lands. The _____________ ruled
Mesopotamia.
The Chaldean King ___________________ rebuilt the capital city of ________________.
1. Some think that he may have built the biblical ziggurat, The __________ of _________.
2. He also ruled for over ____ years.
3. He took over 50,000 Jews from Jerusalem and forced them into ___________ in Babylon.
4. He built one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, The _____________ _____________ of
Babylon for his ____________wife who was homesick.
G. 550 B.C. – 330 B.C. ----The Persian Empire
1. Nomads who first settled in modern-day _______ which is _________ of Mesopotamia.
2. __________ the Great conquered the Medes in ______ B.C. and the Chaldeans (_____________)
in _____ B.C. Altogether he ruled the largest empire known at that time for about ____ years. It
stretched from __________ to ____________.
3. Cyrus the Great had a policy of _________________. This meant that conquered people basically
just had to pay _______________ or taxes to him. Other than that they could continue to follow
their own ______________ and beliefs. In fact, he was mentioned 23 times in the Bible and was
responsible for freeing the ________ from Babylon where they had been held captive for around
_____ years.
4. _____________ was the next important emperor for the Persians. He split the huge empire into
20 _____________ or satrapies. Each satrapy was ruled by a governor or _____________.
5. Like Cyrus, Darius practiced great ___________________. He allowed people in his empire to
have their own _____________, ________________, and ______________.
6. Darius had the _________ _______ built. It connected the people of the empire.
7. He also had ___________ minted.
8. He had a large inscription of his military conquests carved into the cliffs at _______________.
The awesome war machine ____________________ the Great ended Persian rule around 330 B.C.
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