Tigris and Euphrates River Valley Vocabulary

Code of Hammurabi

a law code enacted by a Babylonian king, with scaled punishments depending on social status

dynasty

a ruling family that passes its authority down through generations

hieroglyphics

an ancient Egyptian writing system in which pictures were used to represent ideas and sounds

monarchy

a government in which power is in the hands of one person

monotheism

belief in a single, all-powerful god

polytheism

a belief in many gods

Mesopotamia

the region located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present-day Iraq

Sumerians

people of Mesopotamia who created the first large, complex society in human history

Theocracy

a government controlled by religious leaders

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

major rivers that flow through Mesopotamia

Ziggurat

a religious, stepped-pyramid built by the Mesopotamians

cuneiform

an ancient wedge-shaped script invented by the Sumerians