3. Take out your maps of the Middle
East

4. Caspian Sea
Black Sea
Turkey Pal. Ter.
Cyprus
Lebanon
Mediterranean
Israel
Sea
Syria
Baghdad
Iraq
Jerusalem
Cairo
Egypt
Jordan
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Riyadh
Red Sea
Tehran
Iran
Kuwait
Persian Gulf
United Arab
Emirates
Oman
Yemen
Arabian Sea
Indian Ocean

5. Fertile Crescent Vocabulary 1 & 2
Excavation-Dictionary
BackgammonDictionary
Dates- Dictionary
Plow- Dictionary
Iron- Dictionary
Ziggurat- Glossary
Empire- Glossary
Sumerians- Index
Babylonians- Index
Assyrians- Index
Tigris- Gazetteer
Euphrates- Gazetteer
Ur- Gazetteer
Cuneiform- Glossary
Supply- Dictionary
Demand- Dictionary

6. Fertile Crescent
Vocabulary

7. excavation
The exposure,
processing and
recording of
archaeological
remains

8. backgammon
One of the
world’s oldest
boardgames

9. dates
The fruit of a
date palm
tree

10. Plow
A farm tool
used for
breaking up
soil.

11. iron
An element that
can be used to
create strong
tools,
structures, and
machines.

12. ziggurat
The sight of the
temple to the
main god or
goddess of a
Sumerian city.

13. empire
Many
territories and
people
controlled by
one
government

14. Sumerians
People
from the
earliestknown
civilization

15. Babylonians
People from
an ancient
region in
southwest
Mesopotamia

16. Assyrians
People from an
ancient region
in northern
Mesopotamia

17. Tigris
A river in
Iraq and
Turkey

18. Euphrates
A river that
flows south
from Turkey
through Syria
and Iraq

19. Ur
A city in
ancient
Sumer

20. cuneiform
A form of writing
that used groups
of wedges and
lines; used to
write several
Fertile Crescent
languages

21. supply
How many
or how
much of a
resource
there is

22. demand
How much
people
desire or
need a
resource

23. Ancient Mesopotamia for Children
Watch the video and answer
the questions on the viewing
guide.

24. Viewing Guide
1.
Mesopotamia
lays
between the
Tigris and
________
Rivers.
1.
A- Euphrates

25. Viewing Guide
2.
Sir Leonard
Woolley and
his
__________
began a
twelve year
excavation of
the lost city of
Ur.
1. A- Wife

26. Viewing Guide
3. In
the royal
tombs at Ur,
the world’s
oldest board
game was
found and is
something
similar to
________.
3. B- backgammon

27. Viewing Guide
4. A huge stepped
tower or
‘___________’
was often at the
heart of
Sumerian cities.
4. B- ziggurat

28. Viewing Guide
5. The
Sumerian
city of Ur had
a population
of
approximately
____________
people.
5. C- 30,000

29. Viewing Guide
6. The ancient
Sumerians
enjoyed a type
of wine which
they made from
____________.
6. C- dates

30. Viewing Guide
7. The Sumerians
invented the
wheel and
made the first
plough out of
_____________.
7. C- bronze

31. Viewing Guide
8. The
Sumerian’s
writing
system is
known as
cuneiform
from the Latin
word for
_________.
8. B- triangle

32. Viewing Guide
9. Iron
was
known as
‘___________’
9. B- Metal
from
heaven

33. Viewing Guide
10. A- Water
10. The city states of
Sumer began to
fight over
____________.

34. Viewing Guide
11. The
Assyrian
empire
stretched
from parts of
Asia Minor to
___________.
11. A- Israel

35. What is an empire?
Many territories and peoples
controlled by one
government.

36. The Story of Sargon II
King Sargon II of Assyria
heard the news: Assyria
had attacked the nearby
kingdoms of Urartu and
Zikurtu as planned. But
the two kingdoms had
joined forces against
him.

37. The Story of Sargon II
How dare they resist
the most powerful
monarch in the world?
In the summer of 714
BC, king Sargon II set
out to confront his
enemies.

38. The Story of Sargon II
The two kingdoms
were no match for the
powerful Assyrian
ruler. His armies
quickly overcame the
forces of Urartu and
killed all who resisted.

39. The Story of Sargon II
The Assyrians howled with laughter
when they saw the king of Urartu
fleeing on an old horse. Sargon II
let him go. He knew the defeated
king would serve as a warning to
others who might later be tempted
to challenge the mighty Assyrians.
Sargon II was one of many kings
who ruled the Fertile Crescent after
the fall of Sumer.

40. Empires
An empire is an area of many territories and
peoples that is controlled by one
government.
Rulers of empires gained great wealth
through:
Trade
Agriculture
What is agriculture?
Farming

41. Babylonians
Bab-be-Low-Ne-ans
Not baby lions
They were the first
powerful empire in
history.

42. Hammurabi
Created the Babylonian
Empire in 1787 BC by
conquering the city-states
of Sumer and land to the
north.
Made the city of Babylon
the capital of his empire.

43. The Babylonian Empire
The Babylonians
built roads
throughout the
empire.
Babylon’s location
made it a crossroads
of trade.

44. Caravans
Groups of traveling
merchants would
take to the roads
and stop in
Babylon to barter
their goods.

45. Bazaars
Markets, usually
outdoors,
where
merchants and
townspeople
would barter
their goods.

46. The End of the Babylonians
While Hammurabi was in
control of Babylon,
people to the north
were beginning to gain
some military strength.
Shortly after
Hammurabi’s death, the
Babylonian Empire was
overthrown.

47. Quick-Write
2 minutes
At least three lines.
What have you learned
about the Babylonians?

48. Quick-Write
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50. The Assyrians
The next empire to
dominate
Mesopotamia.
Assyrians were fierce
warriors and
innovators of military
weapons and
techniques.

51. Assyrian Weapons
Battering
Ram

52. Assyrian Weapons
Sling

53. Assyrian Weapons
Archers

54. Assyrian Weapons
Chariots

55. But the Assyrians were not just
warriors…
Their capital, Nineveh, was a city of great architecture and
learning.

56. Nineveh
Ziggurat
Library

57. The End of the Assyrians
Two groups,
Babylonians and
Medes eventually
joined together to
defeat the
Assyrians.

58. Quick-Write
2 minutes
At least three lines.
What have you learned
about the Assyrians?

59. Quick-Write
15
26
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48
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3
4
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Hours
Minutes
Seconds

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61. Babylonia Rises Again
About 1,000
years after
Hammurabi’s
empire collapsed
the descendants
of the
Babylonians
created a new
empire.
They called
themselves
Chaldeans

62. Nebuchadnezzar
Their mightiest king,
Nebuchadnezzar, rebuilt
Babylon bigger and better
than it had ever been
before.

63. Center of Learning and Science
Astronomers charted the
paths of the stars and
measured the length of
the year.
They were the first to use
a system dividing time
into increments of 60.
Farmers raised honey
bees.

64. The Final End of the Babylonians
The Chaldean
empire was
eventually defeated
by a new, even more
powerful
civilization…
The Persians

65. Quick-Write
2 minutes
At least three lines.
What have you learned
about the Neo-Babylonians
(or Chaldeans)?

66. Quick-Write
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26
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Minutes
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68. The Persian Legacy
The Persians built the
largest empire that the
world had seen up to that
point.

69. The Persian Legacy
The Persian
religion was
known as
Zoroastrianism.
The Persians
worshipped only
one god.
This is important
because most
other ancient
people worshipped
many different
gods and
goddesses.

70. The Difference
Monotheism
The worship of one god.
Polytheism
The worship of many gods.

71. The Persian Legacy
Their empire was
huge so they
developed
bureaucracy as a
way to rule such a
large area.
We have a
bureaucracy in the
US today.
Bureaucracy

72. The Persian Legacy
The Persians did
not force anyone
to change their
beliefs or follow a
new religion.
They allowed
people to keep
their own culture.
Tolerance

73. The Persian Legacy
Lasting Influence
Through trade and
conquest, Persian
culture was spread
around the world.
Many of their
achievements survive
today in our own
civilization.

74. Quick-Write
2 minutes
At least three lines.
What have you learned
about the Persians?

75. Quick-Write
15
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48
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Hours
Minutes
Seconds

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77. Three Tab Book
1. Cut your booklet into three tabs.
2. At the top of each tab, label it: Babylonians,
Assyrians, Persians
3. On the cover of the tab, draw the outline of the
empire’s territory using the map on page 39 as a
guide.
4. Inside the appropriate tab, write down what you
think are the 5 most important details about each
empire.