Mesopotamia and Egypt

The Code of Hammurabi in Babylonia was intended to...

• Free slaves from oppression

• Give all people voting rights

• Let all people know the laws

• Allow commoners to have more rights

Answer explanation

The Code of Hammurabi was the first written law. It's purpose was to unite the people under one law

The area known as Mesopotamia is found between the rivers

• Nile and Congo

• Danube and Rhine

• Yellow and Yangtze

• Tigris and Euphrates

Answer explanation

Mesopotamia was located in between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Rich farmland was located here due to the frequent flooding depositing nutrient rich soils. This allowed for a surplus of food to be cultivated, leading to a growth in population. However, due to the unpredictability of the flooding, people often viewed these rivers as a curse

Because Egypt received little rainfall, agriculture in the kingdom depended on irrigation supplied by

• Water from the Red Sea

• Water transported by slaves

• Water from the Mediterranean Sea

• The annual flooding of the Nile River

Answer explanation

Because of the predictability of the flooding of the Nile, Egyptians were able to create a system of canals that they dug to irrigate their crops. They built gates into these canals to control the flow of the water and built reservoirs to hold water supplies in case of drought.

Wedge-Shaped writing associated with Mesopotamia

• Hieroglyphics

• Cuneiform

• Cursive

• Phonetic Alphabet

Answer explanation

Mesopotamia was the firs civilization to establish a form of writing in order to keep records. The wedge shaped writings were known as Cuneiform.

The belief in many gods is known as

• Monotheism

• Christianity

• Judaism

• Polytheism

Answer explanation

Polytheism is know as the worship of many gods. Most early civilizations were polytheistic.

The Sumerians built pyramid shaped temples in each city-state dedicated to the gods and goddesses that were known as

• Palaces

• Ziggurat

• Shrines

• Towers

Answer explanation

A ziggurat was a religious and civic center in ancient Mesopotamia. Priest would often go to the top of the structure to converse with the gods and ask for guidance. (The closer to the sky, the closer to the Gods.) They were usually built in the center of a community.

The style of writing found in Egypt was known as

• Cursive

• Cuneiform

• Phonetic Alphabet

• Hieroglyphics

Answer explanation

• In Egypt, hieroglyphics were pictures that stood for sounds or ideas. The pictures could be put together to make words and sentences. 

Because rivers like the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates flooded in ancient times

• People lived in a constant state of fear as to when the next flood would hit

• Land around the river was fertile and capable of supporting farming

• the concepts of cooperation and democracy were founded

• those places were never able to form civilizations

Answer explanation

Though the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were unpredictable, the Nile was. Because of these floods, the surrounding lands were extremely fertile and civilizations were able to produce large amounts of food.

In approximately 2340 BC, Sargon of Akkad conquered all of the city-states and created a unified empire of

• China

• Egypt

• Mesopotamia

• Phoenicia

Answer explanation

• Sargon defeated Sumer and captured other cities to the north in Mesopotamia. He created the worlds first empire.

New ideas flowing from one culture to another is known as

• Cultural diffusion

• The law of nature

• Edict of Man

• Divine intervention

Answer explanation

Cultural diffusion is the blending of multiple cultures into one. Often, civilizations would often trade goods as well as cultural ideas. This would allow people to pick things they like from one culture and adopt it into their own.