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18 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Tigris and Euphrates River
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Rivers at the end of the Mesopotamia
Overflowed yearly and deposited silt onto the soil which made Mesopotamia's land great for framing People didn't know when flood would come Could get water, transportation, waste removal from it |
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Mesopotamia
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Composed of Assyria, Akkad, and Sumer
Means land "between the rivers" Irrigation created here Fertile Crescent at eastern end Little rain, but rich soil |
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Fertile Crescent
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Arc of land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. Land had rich soil and abundant crops which meant it was able to sustain early civilizations.
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Sumerians
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The creators of the first Mesopotamian civilizations
Origins is a mystery, but by 3000 BC, they had developed many independent cities in Southern Mesopotamia (Eridu, Ur, and Uruk) As cities expanded, they came to have political and economic control over the surrounding countryside. |
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Uruk
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a city in southern Mesopotamia
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city-states
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basic units of Sumerian civilization
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Ziggurat
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Temple built atop a massive stepped tower in the center of Sumerian cities
People devoted much time and wealth to these temples Most prominent building in city and dedicated to a god or goddess |
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theocracy
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government based on divine authority
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Akkadians
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Semetic people who got their name from their language, Semetic
North of Sumerian city-state |
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Sargon
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Leader of the Akkadians
Came about around 2340 BC and over ran the Sumerian city-states to set up the first empire |
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empire
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a large political unit of state, usually under a single ruler
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Babylon
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City-state south of Akkad
Place where new empire leader (after Sargon) came - around 1792 BC |
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Hammarubi
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Leader of the empire that gained control of Sumer and Akkad to create a Mesopotamian kingdom
Came to control much of Mesopotamia After his death, empire fell quickly because of a series of weak leaders |
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Code of Hammarubi
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Based on a strict system of justice
Penalties were very severe (Even more severe if injustice was done to a noble by someone from the lower class) Based on retaliation - an eye for an eye. |
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patriarchal
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society dominated by men
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polytheistic
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belief in many gods
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cuneiform
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"Wedge-shaped" system of writing
Used reed stylus to make a wedge-shaped impression in clay tablets |
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The Epic of Gilgamesh
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The first written novel ever
A Mesopotamian epic poem |
