Mesopotamia Vocabulary - Social Studies

Hammurabi

Ruler of Babylon who created the Code of Laws

Sargon

Leader of the Akkadians who established the world’s first empire

Babylon

The largest/most important city in Mesopotamia and was ruled by king Hammurabi

polytheism

The belief in many gods and goddesses

zigguart

A step pyramid

cuneiform

A system of writing

Hammurabi’s Code of Laws

First known set of written law codes

epic

Poetic narrative

Epic of Gilgamesh

Famous written epic about a king from Uruk and his quest

Mesopotamia

Region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

Fertile Crescent

A crescent-shaped stretch of fertile land

city-state

A city and surrounding territory which remains an independent state, free from outside rulers

hereditary

Passing down

unification

Joining of kingdoms into an empire

artisan

Worker skilled in a craft

scribes

People trained to write

merchants

People who buy and sell goods

silt

Fertile soil

Cradle of Civilization

Region in Mesopotamia called Sumer

irrigation system

Water control system

levees

Embankment

priest-king

Leader