Chapter 3 Key Terms

1. Chapter 3 Key Terms • Fertile Crescent • Mesopotamia • irrigate • city-state • barter • polytheism • ziggurat • cuneiform • empire • ally • cultural trait • Hammurabi’s Code • rule of law • cavalry • standing army • tribute • currency • stele • import • export • navigation • colony • cultural diffusion • alphabet

2. Chapter 3 Section 1: The Civilization of Sumer • The Fertile Crescent • Located in the Middle East • Includes Mesopotamia • Lies between two rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) • “land between two rivers” • Cradle of civilization Agriculture in Mesopotamia • Rich soil • Grew many grains and vegetables • Raised sheep, goats, and cattle Geography of Mesopotamia • Contains the foothills of the Taurus and Zagros mountain chains in the North • In the South… • Foothills flatten into plains • Hot, dry region with little rainfall • Soil is rich with nutrients because of the two rivers • Two rivers could be harmful if the floods were too high and caused damage Farming the Land • Used technology to irrigate, or supply water to, their crops. • Created funnels to automatically drop seeds into the ground

3. City-States of Sumer • Better agricultural techniques= produce more food= population grew • 3400 BCE cities started to form Cities Emerge • First city was Uruk- population 40,000 • Others were Ur, Lagash, and Nippur • World’s first city-states • An independent state that includes a city and its surrounding territory Trade • Most trade done by barter • A trading system in which people exchange goods directly without using money • Used rivers and canals to transport goods • Then, used new technologies (the sail and wheel) to make trade easier Social Classes • Each class had distinct roles • Upper class- ruler, his top officials, powerful priests, wealthy merchants, owners of large plots of land • Middle class- farmers and skilled workers • Lower class- slaves

4. Sumerian Religion • Practiced polytheism • Belief in more than one god • Gods controlled every aspect of life- rain, wind, and other elements of nature • Behaved much like people- ate drank, slept, married • Gods lived forever • Needed to keep the gods happy • Only priests communicated with the gods • Built pyramid-shaped brick tower temples called ziggurats • Filled with beautiful paintings and statues

5. Sumerian Writing • At first they drew pictographs • Simple pictures that represent objects Cuneiform • Created by 3400 BCE • Uses triangular-shaped symbols to stand for ideas or things Epic of Gilgamesh • 2000 BCE- first story • Stories are myths- made-up tales of gods and heroes

6. Sumerian Government • First leaders were priests • When conflicts arose the way cities were ruled began to change Development of Kingship • Conflicts over land and water led to wars • Priests chose military leaders that would sometimes continue to control city-states- became first kings Kings and Priests • Kings needed support of the priests • Priests supported the kings by declaring that the gods had chosen them Written Laws • Earliest known law code written around 2100 BCE by Ur-Nammu- the King of Ur • Laws about marriage, slavery, causing harm to others Achievements • Trade spread the Sumerian’s achievements • One of the first cultures to make bronze by mixing copper and tin

7. Section 1 Quiz • The term Mesopotamia refers to which two rivers? • Danube and Euphrates • Nile and Danube • Mississippi and Tigris • Tigris and Euphrates • Another term for a city and the surrounding land it controls is… • city-state • empire • kingdom • nation-state • The laws written by Ur-Nammu are an example of • a law code • national control • a priestly text • a religious text • Which of the following is a type of building? • Gilgamesh • pictographs • polytheism • ziggurat • Cuneiform is a type of… • clay tablet • mathematics • writing • wedge