Ziggurat
Sumerian stepped tower
Patriarchal society
women have fewer privileges and rights than men
Cuneiform
Sumerians invented this type of writing
Satrapies, satraps
division of empire into provinces and ruled by satraps
City-states
basic units of Sumerian civilization
Dynasty
ruling power passed down from one generation to the next
Monotheism
belief in one god
Theocracy
belief that their city ruled by gods
Mummification
preserve the physical body after death, Egyptians used this process
Vizier
government official directly responsible to the Pharaoh
Hieratic
the script that was used for business transactions and record keeping
Bureaucracy
administrative organization with officials and regular procedure
Four laws of Hammurabi's Code
Eye for an eye, replaced goods if stolen, house collapse builder put to death, son could be disinherited
Tigris and Euphrates beneficial and harmful
beneficial: created fertile land for farming harmful: cause catastrophic damage
Sun gods and land gods
these two groups of gods were most important to Egyptians
The Wheel
around 3000 BC and it made it easier to transport people and goods for the Mesopotamian economy
The first Mesopotamian Civilization
Sumerians created the first civilization and created writing, wheel, potters and contributions in math and geometry
Assyrians
good at conquering others because they had effective military leaders, large discipline army, war chariots used for shooting arrows, iron weapons
Sumerian King
led armies, supervised building of public works, organized workers for irrigation projects
Nile was crucial
it provided drinking water, yearly flooding made agriculture possible, provide transportation
Persian Empire religion
Zoroastrianism, monotheistic
Hittites
first Indo-Europeans to use iron and it allowed them to create stronger and cheaper weapons and to create empire
Cradle of civilization
place where civilization began