artisan
one able to do skilled work
with the hands; a craftsperson
astronomer
person who studies stars, planets, and other
heavenly bodies, a scientist who studies the
universe beyond Earth
caravan
group of traveling merchants
and animals
city-state
a city and its surrounding
lands that act as a government
civilization
a society with cities, a central government,
job specialization, and social classes
cuneiform
Sumerian writing made by pressing a
wedge-shaped tool into clay tablets
empire
land with different territories
and people under one ruler
Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from
Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the
earliest known works of literary fiction.
fertile
rich in material needed to
grow healthy plants
fertile crescent
Found along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, this was
the first early river civilization. The cities in this area
were governed by city-states and used irrigation to
produced their corps.
gulf
an arm of a sea or ocean
partly enclosed by land
Hammurabi
King of the Babylonian empire; creator of
the Code of Hammurabi, one of the world's
oldest codes of law.
irrigation
The process of supplying water to areas of
land to make them suitable for growing
crops.
Mesopotamia
first civilization located between the Tigris &
Eurphrates Rivers in present day Iraq; term means
"land between the rivers;" Sumerian culture
Nebuchadnezzar
A Babylonian king who conquered
Jerusalem,and built the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon
province
territory governed as a unit within a
country or empire; political district
Sargon
leader of the Akkadians, overran the
sumerian city-states and set up the first
empire in world history
scribe
one of the professional record
keepers in early civilizations
social class
a group of people with similar backgrounds,
incomes, and ways of living
Ziggurat
a massive stepped tower on which was built
a temple dedicated to the chief god or
goddess of a sumerian city