Ancient Mesopotamia: Monarchy & Empire Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, historical figures, and political structures in Ancient Mesopotamia for Standard 6.09.

Monarchy

A government whose ruler — a king or queen — inherits the position from a parent.

Empire

A large territory, or group of many territories, governed by one ruler (a king, queen, or military ruler).

City-State

An independent city that has its own ruler, its own god, and its own army.

Subjects

The people ruled by a monarch or emperor who must follow that ruler's laws.

Sargon

A military ruler from the region of Akkad who defeated independent Sumerian city-states one by one and created the world's first empire.

Akkad

The region north of Sumer from which Sargon originated and the name of the kingdom that became the world's first empire, lasting more than 200 years.

Political Structure

The 'P' in GRAPES that decides how a civilization functions and who leads it, including how power is used, plans for warfare, and rules for citizenship.

Ur

A single Sumerian city-state cited as an example of a monarchy in Ancient Mesopotamia.

Sumerian City-States (Before Sargon)

Separate independent city-states in Mesopotamia where each had its own ruler, god, and army, with no single person controlling the entire region.

Sumerian City-States (After Sargon's Conquest)

Cities within Sargon's empire that lost their independent rulers and armies, becoming part of a single unified empire.