| A | B |
|---|
| drought | a long period of dry weather |
| Fertile Crescent | a fertile region in southern Asia that includes the region of Mesopotamia |
| Tigris River | a river in southwestern 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 | land between 2 rivers |
| cuneiform | a system of writing that used wedge shaped symbols; developed in Sumer |
| city-state | a self-governing city and the lands surrounding it |
| ziggurat | a large temple |
| polytheism | the belief in many gods |
| code of law | a written set of laws that apply to everyone under the same government |
| Hammurabi | King of Babylon |
| Sumer | earliest civilization in Mesopotamia; located in the south |
| Babylonia | an ancient Mesopotamian empire |
| silt | fine particles of soil |
| irrigation | a system that supplies dry land with water |
| scribe | a person who copies or writes out documents |
| epic | a long poem |
| fertile | capable of producing vegetation or crops |
| empire | a large territory or group of many territories governed by one ruler |
| tribute | a payment made to a ruler as a sign of surrender |
| province | a territory governed as a political district of an empire |
| caravan | a group of merchants traveling together for safety |
| astronomer | a person who studies the planets and stars |
