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Ancient Mesopotamia

The land between the rivers: Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and their inventions.

70 cardsGrades 3–5, Grades 6–8#mesopotamia#sumer#babylon#cuneiform

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70 cards
  • MesopotamiaTerm
    Greek for 'between the rivers'; the land between the Tigris and Euphrates
  • Tigris and EuphratesTerm
    The two rivers that watered Mesopotamia
  • Fertile CrescentTerm
    Curved area of fertile land from the Nile through Mesopotamia
  • SumerTerm
    Southern Mesopotamia, home of some of the first cities
  • SumeriansTerm
    People who built the first known cities and invented writing
  • UrukTerm
    One of the world's first great cities
  • UrTerm
    Sumerian city with a large ziggurat
  • City-stateTerm
    A city and surrounding land with its own government
  • ZigguratTerm
    Stepped temple tower of Mesopotamian cities
  • CuneiformTerm
    Wedge-shaped writing pressed into clay
  • StylusTerm
    Reed pen used to press marks into wet clay
  • Clay tabletTerm
    Slab of clay used for writing
  • ScribeTerm
    Person trained to write and keep records
  • Epic of GilgameshTerm
    One of the oldest known stories, about a king and his friend Enkidu
  • GilgameshTerm
    Legendary king of Uruk in the oldest epic
  • IrrigationTerm
    Canals carrying river water to fields
  • SurplusTerm
    Extra food beyond what people need
  • BarleyTerm
    Main grain grown in Mesopotamia
  • WheelTerm
    Invented in Mesopotamia about 3500 BCE
  • PlowTerm
    Farm tool used to turn the soil, early versions pulled by oxen
  • SailboatTerm
    Used on the rivers for trade
  • Sexagesimal systemTerm
    Base-60 counting that gave us 60 minutes and 360 degrees
  • Lunar calendarTerm
    Calendar based on the Moon's cycles
  • Sargon of AkkadTerm
    Built the first known empire about 2300 BCE
  • Akkadian EmpireTerm
    Empire created by Sargon, joining many city-states
  • HammurabiTerm
    Babylonian king famous for his written laws
  • Code of HammurabiTerm
    One of the earliest written law codes, about 1754 BCE
  • BabylonTerm
    Major city on the Euphrates; capital of Hammurabi's kingdom
  • Hanging Gardens of BabylonTerm
    Famed gardens, thought to be one of the Seven Wonders
  • Nebuchadnezzar IITerm
    Babylonian king who rebuilt Babylon around 600 BCE
  • Ishtar GateTerm
    Blue glazed brick gate of Babylon
  • AssyriansTerm
    Fierce warriors from northern Mesopotamia who built a large empire
  • NinevehTerm
    Assyrian capital with a great library
  • AshurbanipalTerm
    Assyrian king who collected thousands of tablets in a library
  • PersiansTerm
    Conquered Babylon in 539 BCE under Cyrus the Great
  • Cyrus the GreatTerm
    Persian king who took Babylon
  • EpicTerm
    A long story about heroes
  • PolytheismTerm
    Belief in many gods
  • TempleTerm
    Building for worship, also a center of business in Sumer
  • PriestTerm
    Religious leader who served the gods
  • Patron godTerm
    God believed to protect a particular city
  • EnlilTerm
    Sumerian god of air and storms
  • InannaTerm
    Sumerian goddess of love and war, later Ishtar
  • MardukTerm
    Chief god of Babylon
  • Mud brickTerm
    Common building material
  • DynastyTerm
    Rulers from one family
  • EmpireTerm
    Many lands ruled by one government
  • TributeTerm
    Payment from conquered people to their rulers
  • TradeTerm
    Mesopotamians traded grain and cloth for metal and stone from far away
  • Silver shekelTerm
    Weight of silver used as money
  • ContractTerm
    Written agreement; many were recorded on tablets
  • Law codeTerm
    A written set of laws
  • Eye for an eyeTerm
    Hammurabi's principle of matching punishments to harm, with different rules by class
  • Social classesTerm
    Kings and priests, then wealthy people, then commoners, then slaves
  • EnheduannaTerm
    Priestess of Ur and the first author known by name
  • Cylinder sealTerm
    Carved stone roller that pressed a design in clay to mark ownership
  • Royal Standard of UrTerm
    Decorated box found in a Sumerian royal tomb
  • LyreTerm
    Stringed instrument found in Sumerian tombs
  • HittitesTerm
    People of Anatolia who fought Babylon and Egypt
  • ChaldeansTerm
    Also called Neo-Babylonians; rebuilt Babylon after Assyria fell
  • Sumerian King ListTerm
    Ancient list of rulers, mixing history and legend
  • TellTerm
    A mound formed by ruins of ancient settlements built on each other
  • Modern IraqTerm
    Most of ancient Mesopotamia lies in present-day Iraq
  • MedicineTerm
    Babylonian doctors wrote lists of illnesses and cures on tablets
  • AstronomyTerm
    Babylonians kept careful records of stars and planets
  • Plimpton 322Term
    Clay tablet showing advanced Babylonian math
  • MathematicsTerm
    Babylonians solved problems with fractions, squares and early algebra
  • LibraryTerm
    Assyrian kings gathered tablets to preserve knowledge
  • Victory steleTerm
    Carved stone slab recording a ruler's win
  • Standard of weightsTerm
    Merchants used set weights to trade fairly

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