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Ch 2. Early Civilizations
The Fertile Crescent
Where Civilizations Began
1. What do we call an organized society with its own customs, government, religion, and technology?
2. What sets your civilization apart from earlier civilizations?
3. How does the name Mesopotamia describe part of the Fertile Crescent?
4. When did one of the first civilizations begin to develop?
Climate and Rivers
1. What were the disadvantages to farming in Mesopotamia?
2. What benefits did the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers supply?
3. How did irrigation help the people of Mesopotamia grow crops?
4. What problem did people have to solve before they could start farming in southern Mesopotamia?
The People
1. How did the Mesopotamians solve the problem of scarce building materials?
2. How does this quote show a knowledge of farming techniques?
3. How do you think having surplus crops would affect people’s lives?
4. What kind of building materials did Mesopotamians use before they began using mud bricks?
Growth of City-States and Trade
1. As villages grew into city-states, how did they change?
2. What did the people of Mesopotamia have to trade with people of other regions who had copper, stone,
and timber?
3. After some villages grew into city-states, what new kinds of jobs developed?
Mesopotamia
Sumer and Akkad
1. Would Sumer or Akkad have probably won a war fought between them in 3000 B.C.? Why?
2. What are some things that make Sumer and Akkad different from your city?
3. Why were Mesopotamian ziggurats so tall?
4. Why were most city-states surrounded by a wall?
Religion and Government
1. How did the Sumerians’ religion reveal their belief that gods were responsible for peoples’ well-being and
the land’s fertility?
2. What does divine kingship mean?
3. What is polytheism?
Writing
1. How does having a system of writing make it easier to conduct business?
2. What did cuneiform imprints stand for?
3. How does the quote compare to advice parents might give today?
4. Which came first, picture writing or cuneiform?
Gilgamesh
1. What is an epic?
2. What does Gilgamesh want to find out?
The Rise and Fall of the Akkadian Empire
1. How did Sargon build an empire?
2. How did Sargon give power to his children?
3. What is a dynasty?
4. What is an empire?
Sumer’s Finals Days
1. What were some of the accomplishments of the last dynasty of Sumer?
2. What contributions did the Sumerians make to advance their civilization?
Sargon
1. How accurate is the biographical story of Sargon?
2. What difficulties did Sargon have to overcome to become king of Sumer?
Babylonia and Assyria
The Rise of Hammurabi and Babylonia
1. When did Hammurabi become kind of Babylon?
2. How was life in Babylonia similar to life in earlier times in Mesopotamia?
3. How do we know that Hammurabi was a shrewd leader?
4. What was one item taxes were often paid for?
Babylonian Civilization
1. Which people developed laws before Hammurabi?
2. How has the Code of Hammurabi influenced modern law?
3. Is it important that punishment fit a crime?
Hammurabi:
1. How did Hammurabi increase his power in Mesopotamia?
2. Do you think Hammurabi was a competent ruler?
3. Which words on Hammurabi’s monument reveal that Hammurabi wanted to be remembered as a just
ruler?
The Assyrians
1. What words in this quote show that people feared the Assyrians?
2. What made Ashurbanipal an unusual king?
Babylonia Grows
1. List some of the achievements of the Babylonian culture.
2. Why would being able to predict eclipses of the sun and moon be important?
3. When did Nebuchadnezzar II die?
Hebrews, Phoenicians, and Lydians
The Hebrews
1. How did Hebrews’ worship differ from that of other civilizations in the region?
2. In what two regions did the Hebrews live?
3. Which leader led the Hebrews out of slavery?
4. How do the Ten Commandments differ from the Code of Hammurabi?
The Hebrew Bible
1. What is the name for the first five books of the Hebrew Bible?
2. What does it provide for the Hebrew people?
Israel and Judah
1. What was the capital city of David’s Kingdom?
2. Why do you think the people of Judah continued to practice their beliefs even after being conquered by
Nebuchadnezzar II?
Judaism Today
1. What is Passover?
2. Based on the map, which seas border Israel?
3. Which two cities were in Israel?
Phoenicians and Lydians
1. What did the Phoenicians value more than building empires?
2. How did the Phoenicians get to the Red Sea?
3. What was immediately east of Phoenicia?
4. Why did coins make trading simpler and easier?