Mesopotamia: The Land Between Two Rivers

Civilization

A culture marked by developments in arts, sciences, government, and social structure.

Deity

A god or goddess.

Dam

A large permanent wall built to hold back or redirect a water supply.

Hammurabi's Code

A list of laws for all of the people in the Babylonian Empire; laws could be carried out differently depending on social class; the laws explained the consequences for specific actions.

Drought

A long period without rain.

Canal

A man-made waterway for moving or redirecting water.

Irrigation System

A means of supplying land with water.

Artisans

People who are skilled at making things by hand.

Ziggurat

An ancient Mesopotamian temple tower; a huge pyramid-shaped temple; it means "mountaintop"; Sumerians believed the deity lived on top of it.

Rituals

Formal series of acts always performed in the same way; everyone paid a temple tax that was offered to the gods in fancy versions of this.

Polytheism

A belief in many gods; Sumerians worshiped 100's of gods who they believed could control nature.

Empire

A group of different lands and people governed by one ruler; Sargon's was the first of these in the world after he conquered Sumer and all of Mesopotamia.

Tribute

A protection tax; Sargon forced people to pay him this in the lands he conquered and it allowed them to keep their local rulers and customs.

City-state

A self-governing unit made up of a city and its surrounding lands and settlements a city that controls the surrounding villages and towns; each had their own laws and government; often went to war against each other over fertile land, limited natural resources, and profitable trade routes.

Levee

A wall of earth built to prevent a river from flooding its banks.

Sumer

An area in the southern part of Mesopotamia, where cities first appeared; not controlled by a single government but instead had 12 city-states.

Silt

An especially fine and fertile soil that was excellent for agriculture; it was brought about from destructive floodwaters of the rivers.

Social classes

An order based on power and wealth; a system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority.

Flood

An overflowing of water in a normally dry area.

Sumerians

Ancient people who lived in the geographic region of Sumer.

The Epic of Creation

Babylonian creation story by an unknown author; explains how the world was formed when Marduk (the chief god) creates the stars and a 12 month calendar.

Prehistoric

Before written history.

Tigris River

Eastern River in Ancient Mesopotamia. Flows south from present day Turkey through Iraq; called the "swift river" because of how quickly it flowed.

Mesopotamia

In ancient times, the geographic area located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Priest/Priestess

People who performed religious ceremonies; they performed them at the ziggurat; they also performed purification (or cleansing).

King Hammurabi

Ruler in Babylonian Empire in the 1700s BCE who created a code of strict, specific laws.

Scribe

Specialized workers who recorded business transactions, important events, customs, traditions, and laws.

Irrigation

The process of supplying water to areas of land to make them suitable for growing crops; watering fields using human made systems.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The world's oldest known recorded story; the author is unknown; the characters set off on a fantastic adventure and encounter a monster.

Cuneiform

Wedge shaped writing developed by people living in Mesopotamia; the earliest form of writing; detailed pictographs.

Euphrates River

Western River in Ancient Mesopotamia, flows south from present day Turkey through Syria and Iraq; flows through the southern part of the Fertile Crescent.; flowed slowly.

Famine

Widespread hunger.