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
