Honors Global - Ancient Mesopotamia and River Valleys

Akkad

Ancient Mesopotamian Empire, ruled by Sargon

Babylon

Ancient Mesopotamian Empire, ruled by Hammurabi

Book of the Dead

Description of the ancient Egyptian idea of the afterlife and a collection of hymns, spells, and instructions to guide the dead

City-State

A city and its surrounding land and villages

Code of Hammurabi

Set of laws written around 1780 BCE in Babylon

Cuneiform

A system of writing created in Mesopotamia around 3,000 BCE

Diplomacy

The practice of negotiating with other nations

Empire

A large political unit or state, usually under a single leader, that controls many peoples or territories

Fertile Crescent

Arc of land in the Middle East that stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf

Irrigation

The process of bringing water from a natural source like a river to an area without water

Kingdom

A country, state, or territory ruled by a king or queen

Mohenjo-Daro

A sophisticated Indus River valley city that included features such as a grid layout and the world's first urban sanitation systems

Oracle Bones

Items such as tortoise shells that when heated cracked, allowing for one to interpret the cracks to find answers to their questions

Polytheism

The belief in multiple gods or goddesses

Shaduf

Devices that enabled Egyptians to transfer water from the Nile to their fields

Social Hierarchy

The ranking of people into different groups based on certain factors

Sumer

An Ancient Mesopotamian civilization that included cities such as Eridu, Ur, and Uruk and saw innovations such as the invention of the earliest system of writing

Terrace Farming

A technique where a sloped surface is cut into flat layers, resembling a series of steps allowing for the planting of crops

Theocracy

Form of government in which the ruler, such as a priest or priestess, rules in the name of a god or goddess

Ziggurat

Temple built atop a massive stepped tower