Ancient Civilizations and Mesopotamia

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the definitions, characteristics, and key figures of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, including Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria.

Kabihasnan

Derived from the Latin word "civitas" meaning city, it refers to the level of development of a community in technology, government, art, and culture.

Bronze

A metal created from a mixture of copper and tin, used by ancient civilizations for making weapons and tools.

Cuneiform

The first writing system developed by the Sumerians using clay tablets for recording taxes, laws, rituals, and business.

Mesopotamia

Refers to the "land between two rivers," specifically the region situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Fertile Crescent

A region with fertile land located between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea that provided water, food, and transportation.

Sumerian

The first group of people in the southern part of Mesopotamia who established city-states around $3000\,BCE$.

Ziggurat

A temple, not a tomb, that served as the religious and social heart of the city-state of Ur.

Patesi

The priest-ruler of a Sumerian city-state who acted as an intermediary between the people and the gods.

Theocracy

A form of government where leaders are seen as divinely guided, such as the rule of the Patesi in Sumer.

Division of Labor

The specialization of jobs such as merchants, priests, scribes, and artisans, which emerged as not everyone needed to farm.

Cultural Diffusion

The exchange and spread of ideas, technology, and art between different civilizations.

Sexagesimal system

A mathematical system based on the number $60$, which is the origin of the measurement of $60$ seconds = $1$ minute.

Code of Ur-Nammu

The first systematic recorded law code which defended women and slaves and determined prices, debts, and punishments.

Sargon I

The leader who began his conquest of Sumer in $2340\,BCE$ and established the first empire in the world.

Hammurabi

The most famous leader of Babylon who sought to unify the empire through a single set of laws.

Code of Hammurabi

The first written and implemented code of laws based on the principle of lex talionis.

Lex Talionis

The legal principle characterized by "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" used in the Babylonian justice system.

Tiglath-pileser I

A great warrior leader of the Assyrians who defeated the Hittites in $850\,BCE$ using superior weapons and military strategy.

Ashurbanipal

The Assyrian leader under whose reign the empire reached the peak of its power and developed roads and trade.

Nineveh

The capital of the Assyrian Empire and a symbol of cruelty, bravery, and order.

Ashúr

The highest deity in the religious beliefs of the Assyrian people.