Chapter 2: The Fertile Crescent - WikispacesFertile... · Chapter 2: The Fertile Crescent ... _____ People in ancient Sumer has a gloomy ... How did Mesopotamia’s geography help

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Chapter 2: The Fertile Crescent

Section 1: Land Between Two Rivers

Match each item in Column A with the items in Column B. Write the correct letters in the blanks.

Column A Column B

_____ 1. belief in many gods _____ 2. professional writer _____ 3. A region in Southeast Asia _____ 4. A traditional story _____ 5. city with its own traditions, government and laws

A. scribe B. polytheism C. myth D. Fertile Crescent E. city-state

Choice that best letter that completes the statement or answers the question. Prove your answer is correct with evidence

____ 6. Why were scribes important people in Sumer?

A. They had acquired large amounts of land. B. They had refused to teach anyone else to read

C. They negotiated treaties between city-states D. They kept records for kings and priests

____ 7. What attracted people to the “Fertile Crescent?”

A. convenient navigation B. rich soil

C. cool temperatures D. religious temples

____ 8. Although Sumerian city-states shared language and culture, how were they independent?

A. different architecture B. each had own government

C. no travel between city-states D. no trade with each other

____ 9. What was the main cause of wars between the Sumerian city-states?

A. disputes over land and water B. exhausted armies

C. religious disagreements D. theft of livestock

____ 10. A Sumerian ziggurat was made of terraces, because

A. it was architecturally unstable B. Sumerian society had many classes

C. multiple crop growth was better D. it was the God’s ladder

Decide which event of the following pairs is the cause and which is the effect. Label each accordingly.

1. a. _________________ The Fertile Crescent is located at the crossroads of three continents.

b. _________________ The Fertile Crescent was subject to frequent invasions

2. a. _________________ Many different people migrated into the Fertile Crescent.

b. _________________ It was difficult to unite the Fertile Crescent under on ruler.

3. a. _________________ People in Mesopotamia has a stable supply of food.

b. _________________ Silt deposited by flooding rivers made the soil in Mesopotamia fertile.

4. a.____________________ Priests acted as intermediaries between the gods and the people

b. ___________________ Priests ruled the early city-states of Sumer.

5. a. ___________________ Well-run governments developed in Mesopotamia.

b. ___________________ People in Mesopotamia needed a complex network of dikes and canals.

6. a. __________________ People in ancient Sumer has a gloomy outlook on the afterlife.

b. __________________ People in ancient Sumer faced frequent natural disasters and invasions

7. a. __________________ Merchants and governments needed people to keep records

b. __________________ Priests set up temple schools to train scribes.

8. a. __________________ Sumerians developed an accurate twelve-month calendar.

b. __________________ Sumerians needed to keep track of the change in seasons so they knew when to plant and harvest crops.

Section 1 Assessment Directions: Answer the following questions using complete and logical sentences. You must restate question into your response

1. Describe the geography of Mesopotamia. How did Mesopotamia’s geography help civilizations to develop in the area?

2. Compare the ways that Sumerian cities were alike and contrast the ways that cities of Sumer were different

3. Explain how Sumerians practice religion. What do the practices of the Sumerians tell us about their values?

4. In what ways did Sumerian cities act as states?

Section 2: Babylonia and Assyria

Match each item in Column A with the items in Column B. Write the correct letters in the blanks.

Column A Column B

_____ 1. Area of many territories and people are controlled by one government _____ 2. Group of traders travelling toether _____ 3. A powerful weapon having a wooden beam mounted on wheels _____ 4. The capital of an empire that stretched from present-day Turkey to the Persian Gulf _____ 5. A market selling different kinds of goods

A. caravan B. Babylon C. empire D. battling ram E. bazaar

Choice that best letter that completes the statement or answers the question. Prove your answer is correct with evidence

____ 6. Who united Sumer’s city-states into one large empire?

A. Gilgamesh B. the king of Urartu

C. Sargon II D. Hammurabi

____ 7. Why was Babylon a natural crossroads of trade?

A. it was the capital of the empire B. it had a high elevation

C. it was located between Assyria and the cities of Sumer D. it was located on the Tigris River

____ 8. Which of these was a military innovation of the Assyrians?

A. cannon B. battling ram

C. spear D. explosives

____ 9. In what areas did learning flourish under Nebuchadnezzar?

A. artisans perfected the art of ironworking B. legal principals of the land were extended

C. Chaldean scientists made great strides in astronomy D. scribes collected cuneiforms to establish 1st library

____ 10. In 612 B.C., the Assyrians were conquered by?

A. the Medes and Sumerians B. the Israelites and Medes

C. the Medes and Chaldeans D. the Babylonians and Chaldeans

DIRECTIONS: Read and analyze the following statements and determine whether each statement is depicting the truth or whether it is false. If the statement is false, rewrite the statement to

1. _____ The Assyrian people lived in the North of Mesopotamia near the Euphrates River.

_______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____ The Assyrian army was the first large army to use iron weapons.

_______________________________________________________________________________

3. _____ The Assyrians learned the technique of hardening iron for the use of weapons from the Sumerians.

_______________________________________________________________________________

4. _____ After the Assyrians captured a city, they allowed the conquered people to remain in their homeland.

_______________________________________________________________________________

5. _____ The capital of Assyria was Nineveh on the Tigris River.

_______________________________________________________________________________

6. _____ The Chaldeans captured Nineveh in 612 B.C.

_______________________________________________________________________________

7. _____ King Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Nineveh as the center of the Chaldean empire.

_______________________________________________________________________________

8. _____ Babylon was known throughout the world for its poverty.

_______________________________________________________________________________

9. _____ The Chaldeans were the first to have a seven-day week.

_______________________________________________________________________________

10. _____ In 539 B.C., the Chaldeans were defeated by the Assyrian army.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Section 2 Assessment Directions: Answer the following questions using complete and logical sentences. You must restate question into your response

1. Explain how the following proverb applies to Mesopotamia: “You go and carry off the enemy’s land; the enemy comes and carries off your land.”

2. Describe the empires of Babylonia and Assyria. How were the two empires similar?

3. What do the achievements of the New Babylonian Empire tells us about what was important to the Chaldeans? (offer evidence to support your response)

Section 3: The Legacy of Mesopotamia

Match each item in Column A with the items in Column B. Write the correct letters in the blanks.

Column A Column B

_____ 1. anything written that conveys information _____ 2. ruler of Mesopotamia after the fall of Sumer _____ 3. groups of lines and wedges used to write several languages _____ 4. creator of the Babylonian empire _____ 5. set of laws and rules

A. document B. cuneiform C. code D. Sargon II E. Hammurabi

Choice that best letter that completes the statement or answers the question. Prove your answer is correct with evidence

____ 6. Which statement was true of Hammurabi’s Code?

A. it was illegal to write down the laws B. a person was guilty only if he/she broke it on purpose C. the same laws applied to commoners and slaves D. everyone could know the rules and punishments

because they were written down

____ 7. Under Hammurabi’s Code, there were laws to cover

A. the adoption of children B. everything except the practice of medicine

C. everything except the hiring of wagons D. only fights between gentlemen and slaves

____ 8. What kind of material did the scribes of Mesopotamia use for writing?

A. palm leaves B. clay

C. animal skins D. papyrus

____ 9. The shape and size of a tablet for writing depended on the

A. importance of the writing B. purpose of the writing

C. date and time of the writing D. person receiving the writing

____ 10. The oldest known writing script is

A. in cuneiform B. in the form of pictures

C. in Hammurabi’s Code D. in the Ten Commandments

Ancient Alphabet Letter

Throughout history many events have occurred. Unfortunately, many of the events go unnoticed or are not realized

because there is no written record of the happening. As we have learned, even when there is text outlining the

event, sometimes we are unable to decipher the language. Remember, history is a jigsaw puzzle made of many

little intricate pieces. To truly understand why an event happened, where it happened, and what the effect of the

event is – all depends on how many of the pieces we acquire. The more pieces the better understanding we have

our past and our present.

“Man is a history-making creature who can neither repeat his past nor leave it behind”

John Fowles

DIRECTIONS: Identify the ancient alphabets in the chart below. Select an alphabet and write a story

describing a historical event in relation to the time period in the chapter. Actually, you have to write a story

in a different language and then translate (re-write your story in English) it on another page

Section 3 Assessment Directions: Answer the following questions using complete and logical sentences. You must restate question into your response

1. What was Hammurabi’s Code? and what was its purpose in Ancient Babylonia? What does the expression “an eye for an eye” mean in relation to the laws in Hammurabi’s Code? Explain how Hammurabi’s code can be considered fair in some ways and unfair in other ways.

2. What were some early uses for the art of writing? How do early forms and methods of writing differ from the way we write today?

3. Why was the development of writing an important step in human history? (back up your response with examples)

Section 4: Mediterranean Civilizations

Match each item in Column A with the items in Column B. Write the correct letters in the blanks.

Column A Column B

_____ 1. belief in one god _____ 2. to manage; direct _____ 3. time when there is so little food that many people starve _____ 4. to force someone to live in another country _____ 5. set of symbols that represent a sound of a language

A. famine B. alphabet C. monotheism D. conduct E. exile

Choice that best letter that completes the statement or answers the question. Prove your answer is correct with evidence

____ 6. Which people were a great sea power?

A. the Babylonians B. the Assyrians

C. the Phoenicians D. the Israelites

____ 7. The first alphabet was developed by

A. Hammurabi B. the Israelites

C. Solomon D. the Phoenicians

____ 8. Who led the Israelites to develop a belief in one God?

A. Solomon B. Abraham

C. David D. Moses

____ 9. The Israelites originally left Canaan for Egypt because

A. they were persecuted for their religion B. other people were jealous of their wealth and power

C. they did not have any trading partners D. there was not enough food to eat

____ 10. For how many years did the Israelites wander in the wilderness after the great exodus from Egypt?

A. 20 B. 30

C. 40 D. 50

Section 4 Assessment Directions: Answer the following questions using complete and logical sentences. You must restate question into your response

1. Who were the Phoenicians? How did the Phoenicians gain their wealth and power?

2. What are some features of the Phoenician alphabet? Describe the importance of the Phoenician alphabet. How did it affect the Mediterranean world and later civilizations? (provide examples to support your response)