1. Ch. 3 Vocabulary Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent

2. Fertile Crescent: large arc of rich farmland in Mesopotamia
Silt: a mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks brought to the land by the flooding of the rivers.
Irrigation: a way of supplying water to an area of land.
Canals: human-made waterways.
surplus: an amount that is more than needed
division of labor: an arrangement in which each worker specializes in a particular task or job.

3. rural: countryside areas
urban: city areas
city-state: a city and all the countryside around it
empire: land with different territories and peoples under a single rule
polytheism: the worship of many gods
priests: people who performed religious ceremonies

4. social hierarchy: the division of society by rank or class
cuneiform: the world’s first system of writing created by the Sumerians
pictographs: picture symbols
scribe: a writer who would be hired to keep track of the items people traded
epic: a long poem that tells the stories of heroes
architecture: the science of building

5. 19. ziggurat: a pyramid shaped temple tower that rose above each Sumerian city
monarch: a ruler of a kingdom or empire
chariot: a wheeled horse-drawn cart used in battle
potter’s wheel: a device that spins clay as a craftsman shapes it
execration: to curse something
plunder: to take the property of others by force

6. Epic of Gilgamesh: the world’s oldest epic story.
Hammurabi’s Code: a set of 282 laws created by King Hammurabi to be the first code of law
Nebuchadnezzar: Chaldean King who built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, an ancient wonder of the world.
Sargon – Leader who conquered and created the world’s first empire
Sumerians: People who are believed to have created the world’s first civilization in Mesopotamia.