Friday November 30th
Sorry for the delayed posting I was having technical difficulties with the blog!!

Today we went over our homework and reviewed for our test on ancient Mesopotamia on MONDAY!

Below you will find the study guide in which you all received in class today....

Name_______________                                             Date________

Ms. Jessi                                                                        Social Studies

                                             Study Guide

                           THE GEOGRAPHY OF MESOPOTAMIA

-The term Mesopotamia means “Land between the rivers”

-Mesopotamia is located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

-Mesopotamia is referred to as the Fertile Crescent because of its rich soil

-Three disadvantages to living by the two rivers were unexpected flooding, dry summer months, and no natural barriers

-Mesopotamia is located in present-day Iraq

-The peoples of Mesopotamia were open to invasion

                                    Sumerian City-States

-The Sumerians were the first to settle in Mesopotamia

-Each city-state had its own ruler

-Cuneiform was a system of writing developed in Mesopotamia

-Cuneiform was developed by the ancient Sumerians

-Cuneiform was written in clay using a stylus

-The Sumerians wrote on clay tablets

-The Sumerians were conquered by the Babylonians

-The Sumerians relied on the rivers for farming

-A drought is a long period of time without rain.  Droughts can cause famine (widespread hunger) because the crops die. 

Religious Beliefs in Mesopotamia

 -The people of Mesopotamia were polytheistic.  Polytheism is the belief in many gods

-Ziggurats were temples built for the gods

Babylon

-Babylonian achievements: Built roads, trade and agriculture flourished, created the postal service, invented the decimal system, built “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.”

-King Hammurabi implemented a system of laws in Mesopotamia

-Hammurabi’s code came from Babylon

-Hammurabi’s greatest accomplishment was his code of laws because it was the first set of written laws and set an example for other civilizations and their laws

-The Sumerians and the Babylonians were similar in that they irrigated fields, built ziggurats and wrote in cuneiform

**THINK OF THE LAWS WE HAVE IN THE UNITED STATES.  HOW ARE OUR LAWS SIMILAR OR DIFFERENT FROM HAMMURABI’S??