Fertile Crescent Vocabulary Study Guide barter to trade

Fertile Crescent: Vocabulary Study Guide

barter to trade without using money

city-state • a city that is an individual unit with its own government and traditions

cuneiform wedge-shaped writing used by the people of the Fertile Crescent stylus sample writing

Fertile Crescent • region with nutritious soil for growing crops from the Mediterranean Coast east to Mesopotamia to the Persian Gulf

irrigation • a system of transporting water to crops

Mesopotamia • wide, flat, fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

polytheism • the worship of many gods

ziggurat a brick, pyramid-shaped temple for worship in Mesopotamia

ally • an independent state that works with other states to achieve a shared military or political goal

empire a state containing several countries or territories

Hammurabi’s Code • 282 laws that governed life in the empire of Babylon were carved into a great stone column and displayed in the center of town

cavalry • soldiers who fight while riding horses

currency • money that is used to exchange for goods or services

colony • area ruled by a distant country Phoenician Colonies

export • good or service produced within a country and sold outside the country’s borders

import • good or service sold within a country that is produced in another country

navigation • art and skill of steering a ship from place to place

Judaism • one of the first monotheistic religions practiced by people of the Jewish faith

monotheism • belief there is only one God

Ten Commandments laws given to Moses by God; shaped the foundation of Judaism

rabbi • Jewish religion teacher

covenant a binding agreement

Sabbath • a weekly day of rest

synagogue • a Jewish place of worship