MESOPOTAMIA THE FERTILE CRESCENT SECTION 1 VOCABULARY SCRIBE

MESOPOTAMIA THE FERTILE CRESCENT

SECTION 1 - VOCABULARY § SCRIBE – A PERSON WHO WRITES & KEEPS RECORDS § CITY-STATE – A CITY THAT IS A SEPARATE, INDEPENDENT STATE WITH IT’S OWN GOVERNMENT § POLYTHEISM – THE BELIEF IN MORE THAN ONE GOD § MONOTHEISM – THE BELIEF IN ONLY ONE GOD § CUNEIFORM – GROUPS OF WEDGES & LINES -1 ST WRITING SYSTEM

I. MESOPOTAMIA – Greek word that means land between 2 rivers § A. called the Fertile Crescent § 1. located between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers § 2. rich soil because of the rivers § 3. area shaped like a crescent moon § 4. located in the present day country of Iraq § 5. site of some of the 1 st civilizations § 6. sufficient (enough) food to meet their needs

B. Tigris & Euphrates Rivers § JOY SORROW RICH FERTILE SOIL – LED TO A SURPLUS OF FOOD FLOODS CAME WITHOUT WARNING DESTRUCTION OF HOMES, CROPS, ANIMALS, & PEOPLE

C. Sumerian civilization § 1. Religion –huge part of their daily lives § a. no separation between government and religion § 1. religious leaders were also the political leaders § a. kept order in society § b. scribes kept records for officials § c. cuneiform – 1 st writing system

Sumerian Civilization § 2. Religion – § a. Sumerian temples were called ziggurats – site of the main god or goddess § b. ziggurats were built in a pedestal or stairway fashion for the gods/goddesses to descend to earth § c. they were polytheistic – more than one god

D. The Fall of Sumer § 1. city-states fought over land the use of river water § 2. During the civil wars, Sumer was conquered by Akkadia a. King Sargon – Addadia’s ruler – united the city-states and improved the government & the military b. Sumer lasted 100 yrs & fell to northern rival, Babylonia in the 1700 s

SECTION 2 VOCAB § 1. empire – people and territories controlled by one government § 2. Babylon – capital of Babylonia – city of great wealth and luxury § 3. bazaar – a market selling different kinds of goods § 4. battering ram – a powerful weapon with a wooden beam mounted on wheels

II Empires of Mesopotamia § A. Babylon reached its height in 1760 BC § 1. Hammurabi was king of Babylon from 17921750 BC – He prided himself on his ability to maintain law and justice § 2. He united the city-states of Sumer § 3. He created a system of roads throughout the empire encouraging travel & trade § 4. Babylon was located between Assyria & the city-states of Sumer –making it a natural crossroad for trade

Empires of Mesopotamia B. Code of Hammurabi 1. 1 st organized set of laws & punishments – written so everyone knew them 2. The code did NOT apply equally to all people – punishments depended on the victim’s class 3. punishments were severe – eye for an eye 4. laws covered ALL aspects of life

B. Assyria § 1. Babylon fell to Assyria in @ 1600 BC § 2. Assyria reached its height of power in 650 BC § 3. skilled warriors – best defense was to attack § a. invented the battering ram § b. expert archers § c. armed charioteers

ASSYRIA § 4. Capital city was Nineveh § a. city of great learning § b. remarkable library – held thousands of clay tablets with writings from Sumer and Babylon 5. Fall of Assyria a. Medes & Chaldeans joined together & defeated the Syrians in 612 BC

C. Babylon – Under the Chaldeans § 1. King Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon § 2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon § a. royal garden & palace 350 ft high § b. one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. 3. Babylon became a center for learning a. science, astronomy, raised honey bees 4. Babylon under the Chaldean rule fell to the Persians in 539 BC

SECTION 3 - VOCAB § 1. COVENANT – A PROMISE MADE BY GOD § 2. MONOTHEISM – THE BELIEF IN ONE GOD § 3. FAMINE – LACK OF FOOD LEADING TO STARVATION § 4. EXILED –FORCED TO LEAVE § 5. PROPHET – RELIGIOUS TEACHER WHO SPEAKS FOR GOD § 6. DIASPORA – THE SCATTERING OF PEOPLE WITH COMMON BELIEFS

III. THE RISE OF THE ISRAELITES § A. Judaism – 1 st monotheistic religion to date 1. Believed that God is everywhere, allknowing, and has complete power 2. Israelites were 1 st called the Hebrews 3. Much of what we know @ them comes from the Torah – the Hebrew Bible

III. THE RISE OF THE ISRAELITES B. Abraham – Israelite leader 1. Taught his people monotheism 2. Torah told him to lead his people out of Mesopotamia and into the land of Canaan a. In time, famine spread across Canaan causing the Israelites to flee to nearby Egypt

III. THE RISE OF THE ISRAELITES § C. Moses – Israelite leader § 1. after years of slavery by the Egyptians, Moses led his people out of Egypt back to Canaan – promise land § 2. This movement was called the Exodus § 3. Here, God gave Moses the 10 Commandments – these are the heart of Judaism

III. THE RISE OF THE ISRAELITES § D. Effects of later religions § 1. both Christianity and Islam have their beginnings in Judaism § 2. all three of these religions are monotheistic § 3. all three of these religions honor – Abraham, Moses, and the prophets