Unit 2 Mesopotamia

Fertile Crescent

A crescent-shaped region in the Middle East with rich soil, where early civilizations flourished.

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

The two major rivers framing Mesopotamia that enabled early agricultural development.

Agriculture

The practice of farming, including soil cultivation and animal rearing, allowing nomadic groups to settle.

Trade

The exchange of goods, services, or resources between different groups in Mesopotamia.

Sumer / Sumeria

The southernmost region of ancient Mesopotamia, considered the cradle of world civilization.

Sumerians

The people who inhabited Sumer, known for cuneiform writing and building ziggurats.

Akkadians

An ancient Semitic people who conquered Sumer and built one of the world's first empires.

Babylon

A major city-state in central Mesopotamia that became a powerful empire under Hammurabi.

City-States

Independent political units consisting of a city and its surrounding countryside.

Theocracy

A system of government where priests rule in the name of gods or rulers are considered divine representatives.

Empire

A large group of states or territories brought under a single authority.

Patriarchal

A social system where men hold primary power in leadership and control of property.

Polytheism

The belief in or worship of multiple gods or deities.

Ziggurats

Massive temple towers built in Mesopotamian city-states to honor local patron gods.

Cuneiform

The earliest system of writing developed by the Sumerians using wedge-shaped marks.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

A legendary tiered complex of lush gardens in Babylon, attributed to Nebuchadnezzar II.

Hammurabi

An influential king of Babylon famous for codifying laws and expanding territorial borders.

Code of Hammurabi

A set of legal codes establishing clear punishments based on social class and retaliation.

Gilgamesh

A historical king of Uruk and legendary hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Nebuchadnezzar

A powerful king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire known for rebuilding Babylon and capturing Jerusalem.