| A | B |
|---|
| Fertile Crescent | A fertile region in south western Asia that includes the region of Mesopotamia |
| Tigres River | A river in sotheastern Asia that flows through the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent |
| Euphrates River | A river in southwestern Asia that flows through the southern part of the Fertile Crescent |
| Mesopotamia | The region between the Tigres and Euphrates river: birth place of Sumerian and Babylonian civilzations |
| Plateau | An area of flat land that rises above the surrounding land |
| Drought | A long period of dry weather |
| Sumer | A group of ancient city-states in southern Mesopotamia. The earliest civilization in Mesopotamia |
| Cuneiform | A system of writing that used wedge-shaped symbols to represent sounds, ideas and objects developed in ancient Sumer |
| City-state | A self-governing city, often with surrounding lands and villages |
| Ziggurat | A large temple located in the centers of ancient Sumerian cities |
| Polytheism | The belief in many gods or goddesses |
| Sargon | King of the city-states. Kish united the city-states of Sumer to create an empire |
| Hammurabi | 1800-1550 BC King of the Babylonian empire. Creater of the Code of Hammurabi, one of the world's oldest codes of law |
| Babylonia | An ancient Mesopotamian empire that extended throughout the Fertile Cresent in the 1700's B.C. |
| Code of law | A written set of laws that apply to everyone under a government |
