| A | B |
|---|
| alphabet | a set of letters or symbols in order, used to represent the basic sounds of a language |
| city-state | a political unit consisting of a city and its surrounding countryside |
| cuneiform | the world's first system of writing; it developed in Sumer |
| Fertile Crescent | an area of rich farmland in Southwest Asia where the first civilizations began |
| Hammurabi's Code | a set of 282 laws governing daily life in Babylon; the earliest known collection of written laws |
| hieroglyphics | the ancient Egyptian writing system that used picture symbols |
| Mediterranean Sea | a sea surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa |
| Mesopotamia | the region in Southwest Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; itw as the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations |
| Persian Gulf | a body of water located between the Arabian Peninsula and the Zagros Mountains in Iran; it has enormous oil deposits along its shores |
| scribe | a writer |
| silt | finely ground fertile soil that is good for growing crops |
| social hierarchy | the division of society by rank or class |
| Sumer | the region in southern Mesopotamia where the world's first civilization developed |
| Tigris River | a river in Southwest Asia |
| Euphrates River | a river in Southwest Asia |
| ziggurat | a pyramid-shaped temple in Sumer |
