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18 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What does Mesopotamia mean?
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"The land between the rivers."
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What is the oldest civilization that was found in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers? What was that area called?
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Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent
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What is a fertile crescent?
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A fertile arc of land from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, through Mesopotamia, to the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf).
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What are two cities that were in Ancient Mesopotamia?
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Ur and Uruk
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What is a Ziggurat?
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The Ziggurat is a massive stepped tower with a temple in the top of it.
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What was the purpose of the Mesopotamia ziggurats?
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The Mesopotamia ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be homes for the gods. Through the ziggerat the gods could be close to the people and each city had its own pattron god.
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Who were the only people alloed in the ziggurat? What were they responsible for?
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Only priests were permitted on the ziggerat, it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs.
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What were the sumerians view of life?
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They believed it was their duty to serve the gods. If the gods were not happy then they would be punished by a flood or natural disaster. The flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers was unpredictable and so the Sumerians lived in constant fear.
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what did the sumerians believe in? what is theocracy?
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The Sumerians believed that the gods ruled their cities. Ruled by religious authority.
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What is divine rulers?
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The Sumerians believed that their kings got their powers to rule from the gods and that they had god-like powers themselves.
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What was the economy based on?
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The economy of ancient Sumer was based on Agriculture and trade.
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What were the three social divisions and what kind of people were included?
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Commoners: farmers, merchants, fishers, and craftspeople.
Nobles and slaves (Slaves workered for the nobles). |
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What was the Mesopotamia view of the afterlife?
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The mesopotamians believed that they were put on the earth to do the work that the gods did not want to do themselves.
They felt helpless in the face of nature. Their view of the afterlife was gloomy as well, they believed that the afterlife was very similar to their life on earth. |
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What were the three gods and what was their purpose?
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Anu: God of the sky. He judged those who committed crimes, and created the stars as soldiers to destroy the wicked.
Enlil: Was the god of wind, or the sky between earth and heaven. Enki: The deity of crafts, water, intelligence, and creation. |
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What was one of the important writings written by the Sumerians?
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The Epic of Gilgamesh
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What was the first written language? what does it mean?
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Cuneiform: Wedge shaped writing.
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What are scribes?
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Scribes were people who were trained to write.
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What did the sumerians invent?
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They were the first to take the wheel and use it for carts to transport goods. They invented the potter's wheel for making pottery. They were the first to make Bronze. They invented a number system based on 60.
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