| A | B |
|---|
| Fertile Crescent | an area of rich farmland stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean |
| Mesopotamia | fertile area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers |
| Epic of Gilgamesh | Sumerian epic about a king coming to terms with his mortality |
| ziggurat | a huge stepped temple platform |
| cuneiform | wedge-shaped writing system of Mesopotamia |
| Sargon | creator of the world's first empire |
| Hammurabi | Babylonian king who created the first written code of law |
| civil law | rules regulating relations between citizens--such as divorce and business law |
| criminal law | rules establishing serious offenses such as murder and assault |
| Nebuchadnezzar | Ruler of Babylon that created an empire stretch from Egypt to Mesopotamia |
| Money economy | coinage used for buying and selling |
| Alphabet | system of writing used first by the Phoenicians that used symbols to represent sounds |
