Ancient Mesopotamia

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Mesopotamia

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Land between the rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) in modern-day Iraq, home of the world’s first civilization

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Fertile Crescent

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Area around Tigris and Euphrates rivers where the flooding water brought soil for early farming

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Sumer

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World’s first civilization

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Irrigation

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Bringing water from river to crops by digging channels

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Ziggurat

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Stepped pyramids in ancient Sumer used for religion, storage, government activity

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Theocracy

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Type of government where leader is also in charge of religion

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Polytheistic

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Belief in many gods

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Silt

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Minerals from rocks eroded in rivers that go into the soil when the river floods, adding nutrients to the soil

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Cuneiform

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“Wedge shaped” writing of Sumer, earliest known writing

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Hammurabi

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Leader of Babylon, creator of the world’s first code (written) laws