Unit 2 Mesopotamia Review

What were Mesopotamian monarchs responsible for doing?

enforcing laws, collecting taxes, building temples, maintaining irrigation, and leading the army

Why did Mesopotamian cities attack each other so often?

fought about water rights

What large body of water do the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flow into?

Persian Gulf

How did Mesopotamians solve the problem of having to constantly maintain their miles and miles of irrigation canals?

Villages began to work together and form larger communities of towns and villages

Who ruled Mesopotamian city-states?

kings

Who belonged to the middle class in Mesopotamia?

merchants, artisans, farmers, and fishermen

What kinds of offerings did Mesopotamians give their gods?

music and human sacrifices

What was Mesopotamia's third war-like empire that also built beautiful palaces with large statues of winged bulls and lions?

Assyria

Most of ancient Mesopotamia was located in which modern country?

Iraq

What caused the unpredictable flooding in southern Mesopotamia?

Melting snow and rain in the northern mountains

How did early Mesopotamian farmers solve the problem of food shortages?

Moved to the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

What was the world's first empire that was led by Sargon the Great?

Akkadia

What was Mesopotamia's second empire that was led by Hammurabi?

Babylonia

How did Mesopotamians solve the problem of frequent attacks by their neighbors?

Built walls and moats around their cities

Why do societies need government?

Direct people's behavior to keep life orderly

Who was the legendary Mesopotamian hero and king of Uruk?

Gilgamesh

Why did irrigation canals have to be constantly maintained?

Got clogged with silt

How did Mesopotamians maintain a stable food supply?

Invented irrigation and the plow

How did Mesopotamian farmers solve the problems of a dry climate and unpredictable flooding?

Invented irrigation systems to control their water supply

Why did early farming villages have food shortages?

Lacked flat farmland

What was the last Mesopotamian empire led by Nebuchadrezzar that built the Hanging Gardens and made advances in math and astronomy?

Neo-Babylonia

Why was it so easy for cities to attack each other?

No natural barriers for protection

Where were the first farming villages located in Mesopotamia?

Northern foothills of mountain ranges

What was the name of the region in southern Mesopotamia where civilization first developed?

Sumer

Which desert forms the south-western edge of Mesopotamia?

Syrian

Which mountain range forms the north western edge of Mesopotamia?

Taurus mountains

Which mountain range forms the north eastern edge of Mesopotamia?

Zagros mountains

What architectural invention added strength and beauty to Mesopotamian buildings?

arch

Where did Mesopotamians believe their gods lived?

at the top of the ziggurats

Metalworking, architecture, and music are all examples of ...

culture

What was the wedge-shaped writing of the Mesopotamians called?

cuneiform

Because they believed in thousands of different gods and goddesses, Mesopotamian religion is called...

polytheistic

Who belonged the most powerful social group in Mesopotamia?

priests, landowners, and government officials

What were devotional statues used for?

put in temples and shrines to fool the gods into thinking people were constantly worshiping them

What did Mesopotamians originally use writing for?

recording trade transactions

Who helped kings to do their jobs?

scribes and governors

Who had the least power in Mesopotamia?

slaves

Who did Mesopotamians believe chose their kings?

the gods

Why did Mesopotamians play music so often?

to bring joy to the gods

The invention of the wheel made what easier?

transporting trade goods

Pottery most likely led to the invention of the...

wheel

What was a Mesopotamian temple called?

ziggurat