Mesopotamia2
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- Phoenicians
- Had few resources but one they did have was cedar, a valuable trade item. Created a wealthy trading society by becoming expert sailors and built a harbor in Tyre. Phonecians grew wealthy from trading. The alphabet was the Phoenician's greatest achievement.
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- The palace of Nebuchadnezzar, built in Babylon. It featured trees and flowers, which grew on the terrace and roof. From the ground, the gardens seem to hang in the air.
- Epics
- Long poems that tell the stories of heroes. One example of an epic is The Epic of Gilgamesh, the story of a legendary Sumerian king.
- Assyrians
- Had a strong army and used iron weapons and chariots. They were fierce in battle.
- Alphabet
- A set of letters that can be combined to form words. This was the Phoenician's most important achievement. The alphabet made writing easier and had an impact on our own society today.
- Wheel
- One of the Sumerians' most important developments. They were the first to build the wheel and use it for carts and wagons. The wheel led to the device that spins clay called a potter's wheel.
- Architecture
- Most Sumerian rulers lived in palaces. Other rich Sumerians had two-story homes. Most people lived in smaller one story houses. Bricks were made of mud and were the building blocks for homes.
- Hammurabi's Code
- Hammurabi is most famous for his set of 282 written laws. There were laws that dealt with almost every part of daily life, such as trade, loans, theft, marriage, injury, and murder. Some of his ideas are still found today. Social class mattered as well. If you injured a rich man, the penalty was worse than if you injured a poor man.
- Cuneiform
- Cuneiform was the world's first system of writing. Sumerians used sharp tools called styluses to make symbols on clay tablets. Sumerians used cuneiform to keep business records.
- Chariot
- Made by the Hittites, the chariot was a wheeled horse-drawn cart used in battle. The chariot helped the Hittite soldiers to move quickly around the battlefield.
- Scribe
- A writer who was hired to keep track of the items people traded. Scribes were also in charge of keeping records for government officials. Becoming a scribe was a way to move up in social class.
- Hammurabi
- Hammurabi was a war leader and he brought all of Mesopotamia into his empire. It's name was the Babylonian Empire. Hammurabi was a ruler who governed a large empire. He also improved Babylon's tax collection system. He increased trade as well.
- Ziggurat
- A pyramid shaped temple tower. Temples were the largest and most impressive buildings in Sumer.