1) Where was Mesopotamia located?

2) What were the three major empires located there?

3) What type of government did the Sumerians have?

4) What was their type of writing called?

5) Why is Hammurabi’s code important?

6) How did geography influence the empires of Upper and Lower Egypt?

7) What does the word Pharaoh actually mean?

8) Who were the Hyksos?

9) Who were the Hittites and why are they important?

10) What influence did the Phoenicians have on other cultures?

11) When is King Solomon supposed to have ruled?

12) What happened to the Kingdom of Judah in 586 BC?

13) When did Cyrus the Great rule?

14) Why is he important to history?

15) Who was the first Persian emperor to invade Greece?

1 answer

1) Mesopotamia was located in the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the present-day countries of Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of Syria and Turkey.

2) The three major empires located in Mesopotamia were the Akkadian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, and the Assyrian Empire.

3) The Sumerians had a city-state government, where each city was an independent political entity governed by a priesthood and a king.

4) The Sumerians' type of writing was called cuneiform, which involved making wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets using a reed stylus.

5) Hammurabi’s code, also known as the Code of Hammurabi, was a set of laws created by King Hammurabi of Babylon. It is important because it is one of the earliest known legal codes and provides insight into the social structure and justice system of ancient Mesopotamia.

6) The geography of Upper and Lower Egypt was influenced by the Nile River. Upper Egypt was located in the southern part, where the Nile flowed from south to north, while Lower Egypt was in the north, where the Nile emptied into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile River provided fertile land for agriculture and created a natural barrier, leading to the division of Egypt into two separate regions.

7) The word Pharaoh actually means "great house" or "palace" in ancient Egyptian. It referred to the title and the role of the ruler of ancient Egypt.

8) The Hyksos were a group of foreign invaders who ruled over parts of ancient Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period. They were from an unknown origin and introduced advanced military technology, such as chariots, to Egypt.

9) The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian civilization located in modern-day Turkey. They are important because they adapted and spread the use of iron technology, developed a system of laws, and were a major power in the ancient Near East.

10) The Phoenicians were a maritime trading civilization located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. They had a significant influence on other cultures through their extensive trade networks, spread of the Phoenician alphabet, and establishment of colonies across the Mediterranean.

11) King Solomon is believed to have ruled from around 970 to 931 BC. He was known for his wisdom, wealth, and construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem.

12) The Kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Babylonians in 586 BC. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed, and many of its inhabitants were taken into exile in Babylon, marking the end of Judah as an independent kingdom.

13) Cyrus the Great ruled from 559 to 530 BC. He was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, which became one of the largest and most powerful empires in history.

14) Cyrus the Great is important to history because of his policies of religious and cultural tolerance, his conquests that expanded the Persian Empire, and his role in the liberation of the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity.

15) The first Persian emperor to invade Greece was Darius I. He led two failed invasions during the Greco-Persian Wars, known as the First and Second Persian Invasions.