Topic 2: The Fertile Crescent

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, historical terms, inventions, and definitions from Topic 2: The Fertile Crescent, including Sumer, Babylon, Persia, and Phoenicia.

Fertile Crescent

A region in the Middle East that stretches in a large crescent-shaped curve from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.

Mesopotamia

A wide flat plain in between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present-day Iraq, meaning "land between two rivers."

Irrigate

To supply water to crops, such as by digging miles of canals to bring water from rivers to fields.

City-State

An independent state that includes a city and its surrounding territory.

Barter

A trading system in which people exchange goods directly without using money.

Polytheism

The belief in many gods.

Ziggurat

Pyramid-shaped towers built to honor gods, filled with paintings, statues, and offerings.

Pictographs

Simple pictures used by Sumerian priests to represent objects and keep track of goods.

Cuneiform

A system of writing created by priests around 3100 BCE that uses triangular-shaped symbols to stand for words, ideas, or sounds.

Bronze

A metal technological advancement that is harder than copper, used by Sumerians to make stronger tools and weapons.

Hammurabi's Code

A set of written laws created by Hammurabi that governed life in the Babylonian Empire.

Rule of Law

The idea that all members of a society—even the rich and powerful—must obey the law.

Standing Army

A permanent army of professional soldiers.

Tribute

Payment made to show loyalty to a stronger power.

Currency

Money that is used as a medium of exchange.

Great Royal Road

A road with postal stations built by Darius to improve communication, travel, and trade across the Persian Empire.

Zoroastrianism

An ancient religion differing from others by believing in one god instead of many, centered on the belief that the universe is in a struggle between good and evil.

Import

A good or service sold within a country that is produced in another country.

Export

A good or service produced within a country and sold outside the country's borders.

Navigation

The art of steering a ship from place to place.

Alphabet

A small set of letters or symbols, each of which stands for a single sound; the Phoenician alphabet consisted of 22 consonant symbols.