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14 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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geography of Mesopotamia
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- "land between the rivers" (between the Tigris and Euphrates)
- part of the Fertile Crescent - because the land was so rich, people became farmers |
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Fertile Crescent
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W: Mediterranean Sea
SE: Persian Gulf NE: Zagros Mountains S: Syrian Desert |
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organization of ancient Sumerian society
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- many independent city-states, each with its own leaders and government
- kings were believed to be chosen by gods (e.g. Gilgamesh) - developed many laws to facilitate the creation of irrigation systems, ziggurats, public buildings, etc |
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Gilgamesh
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- ruled Uruk, in Sumer, between 2700 B.C. and 2500 B.C.
- wanted to learn the meaning of life, traveled widely to find out - stories and legends were built up around his travels (The Epic of Gilgamesh) |
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Assyrian Empire
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- Assyrian empire first conquered northern Mesopotamia all the way to the Mediterranean Sea (1000 B.C., King Adad-Nirari)
- then Assyrian empire conquered Babylonia (745 B.C., King Tiglath-Pileser) - but their rule was unpopular, Chaldeans of Babylonia sacked the king (627 B.C.) |
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Babylonian Empire
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- Chaldeans of Babylonia sacked the Assyrian king and established Babylonian empire (627 B.C.)
- Nebuchadnezzar expanded Babylonian empire into Syria and Phoenicia (605 B.C. to 562 B.C.) - Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, invaded and conquered Babylonia (550 B.C.) |
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Nebuchadnezzar
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- king of Babylonian Empire 605 to 562 B.C.
- expanded empire into Syria and Phoenicia - best known for the hanging gardens of Babylon - attacked and burned Jerusalem sending thousands of Jews to Babylonia as slaves |
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ziggurat
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- largest building constructed by ancient Sumerians
- huge, pyramid-shaped, mud-brick temple - at the top was a shrine to the city's special god |
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Enlil
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- main god of ancient Sumerians
- controlled the wind, storms, and rain |
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Ea
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- second most important god of ancient Sumerians
- controlled the waters - god of wisdom |
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inventions of ancient Sumerians
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- writing (cuneiform - wedge shaped symbols written onto wet clay tablets)
- irrigation - wheel - sailboats - measurement: iku (land unit corresponding to our acre), quart, hour and minute - concept of place value |
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class in Sumer
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- upper: king, priests, other important people
- middle (largest): artisans and merchants - low: slaves b/c of war or as a form of punishment |
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Code of Hammurabi
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- laws created by Hammurabi that covered all areas of conduct
- Hammurabi united lower Mesopotamia into Babylonia in 1760 B.C., ruled Mesopotamia as one large empire - part of Babylonian empire |
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Sargon of Akkad
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- said to be the son of sheepherders who spoke Akkadian
- founded the city of Akkad and conquered northern Mesopotamia and other lands - said to have created the world's first empire (around 2500 B.C.) |
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