River Valley Civilizations: Mesopotamia

The term Mesopotamia refers to land between

• Sumer and Egypt.
• Uruk and Ur.
• the Arabian peninsula and the Sinai peninsula.
• the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Another term for a city and the surrounding land it controls is

• empire.
• kingdom.
• nation-state.
• city-state.

_________ is similar to Egyptians' Pyramid

• Temples
• Leaders
• Buildings
• Ziggurat

In cuneiform, Sumerian scribes used what to represent words, sounds, or ideas?

• the first alphabet
• numbers
• wedge-shaped symbols
• simple pictures

Why did priests play an important role in Sumerian city-states?

• Priests were at the top of the Sumerian social order.
• Sumerians believed only priests could communicate with gods to help the city prosper.
• Priests and temples controlled much of the surrounding farmlands.
• Sumerians feared priests because they led rituals involving human sacrifice.

A state containing several countries or territories is called

• a city-state.
• an empire.
• a region.
• an ally.

Sargon created the world’s first empire by

• defeating Hammurabi in battle.
• destroying the city-state of Ur.
• uniting Akkadian and Babylonian lands.
• conquering Mesopotamian city-states.

The main purpose of Hammurabi’s Code was to

• make sure everyone in his empire knew the law.
• punish his political rivals.
• conquer and rule a new empire.
• encourage the growth of trade.

The largest group of people in the Babylonian Empire included

• priests and nobles.
• government officials and enslaved people.
• farmers, artisans, and enslaved people.
• builders, enslaved people, and soldiers.

The rule of law, established under Hammurabi, was the idea that

• different laws apply to people of different social ranking.
• all members of society, even the rich and powerful, must obey the law.
• there is no difference between civil law and criminal law.
• the meaning of the law may differ in different parts of the empire.