Tigris-Euphrates River Valley Civilization (Mesopotamia)

Mesopotamia

"the land between the rivers"; an early civilization between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

city-state

A city with political and economic control over the surrounding countryside

Phoenicia

A civilization in the area of present day Lebanon near Mesopotamia, creators of the first alphabetic writing system

cuneiform

A form of writing that uses groups of wedges and lines. It originated in Mesopotamia.

Middle East

A geographic region that includes a majority of Western Asia & Egypt; Modern day Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Palestine, & Egypt.

monarchy

A government ruled by a king or queen

Sumer

A group of ancient city-states in southern Mesopotamia; the earliest civilization in Mesopotamia.

silt

A mixture of fertile soil and tiny rocks that can make land ideal for farming

scribe

A person who writes

irrigation

A way of supplying water to an area of land using canals, dams, and waterwheels.

Babylon

An ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth and luxury

Fertile Crescent

An area of land between the Tigris and the Euphrates River in the area of modern day Iraq (Mesopotamia) in the shape of an arc (crescent) that is good for agriculture.

Hammurabi's Code of Laws

Babylonian leader who created the first written code of 282 laws that dealt with almost every part of daily life

polytheism

Belief in more than one god

trade

Exchange of goods and services in a market.

Cradle of Civilization

Mesopotamia is called this because the earliest people and cultures were located here

surplus

More food than as needed by a person.

Tigris-Euphrates Rivers

Rivers that ran through Mesopotamia, between them, was an area known as the Fertile Crescent.

government

Someone or some people gain authority over others, laws are created.

social hierarchy

The division of the people in a society by rank or class.

pictograms

The earliest form of writing in which pictures represented word or ideas

ziggurats

temples built by Sumerians to honor the gods and goddesses they worshiped

architecture

the science of creating buildings and other human made structures

division (specialization) of labor

the type of arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task or job