1. Fertile Crescent: Vocabulary Study Guide

2. fertile --rich, as in soil

3. drought = a long period of time with no rain

4. the state of not having enough of something
scarcity
the state of not having enough of something

5. a period of time when there is not enough food for people to eat
famine
a period of time when there is not enough food for people to eat

6. led to a surplus of crops/food
irrigation
led to a surplus of crops/food
a system of transporting water to crops– this solved the problem of farming in a dry area

7. surplus
an extra supply

8. barter = to trade without using money

9. city-state
A city and the land that surrounds it– it has its own form of government

10. cuneiform Sumerian system of wedge-shaped writing
stylus
sample writing

11. scribe– a professional writer
They were important because they kept records of business transactions, medical texts, stories, etc.

12. artisans-- craftspeople

13. ziggurat-- a huge, pyramid-shaped temple believed to link the heavens and Earth

14. Polytheism vs Monotheism
Polytheism = the worship of many gods
Monotheism = the worship of one god

15. Code of Hammurabi (a set of laws established by Hammurabi)
“eye for an eye” or
“tooth for a tooth”

16. *He is known as the first Jew.
Abraham
*Abraham took the Hebrews out of Mesopotamia and into the holy land of Canaan.
*He is known as the first Jew.

17. covenant– an agreement

18. Moses The Egyptians forced the Hebrews into slavery.
Moses lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.

19. Ten Commandments
*a set of laws that provides guidance for the worship of God and rules for moral behavior

20. Judaism
the monotheistic religion founded by Abraham

21. Torah = the first five books of the Hebrew Bible

22. synagogue
a Jewish place of worship

23. Ashurbanipal
King of Assyria from 668 B.C. to 627 B.C. when it was at its largest and most powerful

24. conquest
the defeat of another group

25. descendant
a person who is born later into the same family

26. An organized community with established rules and traditions
society
An organized community with established rules and traditions

27. civilization—groups of people who have a complex and organized society within a culture

28. empire– a large territory consisting of many different places under one ruler

29. dynasty—a ruling family