A History of the World: Chapter 4: Mesopotamia

These rivers are nearly parallel to each other and flow more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km).

Flooded rivers were filled with silt, or small particles of soil. When the floods ended, silt was left on the banks and plains. The silt proved to be a very good soil for farming.

They dug canals that let water flow from a water source to their fields. This method of watering crops is called irrigation.

Irrigation let these early farmers grow surpluses—or extra amounts—of food. Farmers stored the surpluses for later use.

As the cities grew, they gained political and economic control over the lands around them. By doing this, they formed city-states. Each city-state had its own government and was not part of any larger governing state.

The Sumerian people worshipped many gods, a type of belief known as polytheism.

To honor its god, a city-state often included a large temple called a ziggurat. The word ziggurat means "to rise high" in the ancient Akkadian language. The very top of the ziggurat was a holy place.

The middle class consisted of merchants, farmers, fishers, and artisans.

The cuneiform writing system was made up of about 1,200 different characters. Characters represented such things as names, physical objects, and numbers. Cuneiform was written by cutting wedge-shaped marks into damp clay with a sharp reed. The name cuneiform comes from a Latin word meaning "wedge."

After years of training, some students became scribes, or official record keepers.

An epic is a long poem that tells the story of a hero.

They had embraced and made their vow To stay together always, No matter what the obstacle.

They had embraced and made their vow To stay together always, No matter what the obstacle.

He tried to ask his friend for help Whom he had just encouraged to move on, But he could only stutter and hold out His paralyzed hand.

An empire is a group of many different lands under one ruler. Through conquest and trade, these empires spread their cultures over a wide region.

He posted this law code for all to read. The code dealt with crimes, farming, business, marriage, and the family—almost every area of life. The code listed a punishment for each crime.

The Assyrians built a large and powerful military to defend their hills and fertile valleys.

They took tribute, or forced payments, from conquered people.

They divided their empire into provinces, or political districts.

The Medes, another people in the region who wanted to break free from Assyrian rule, joined the Chaldeans.

A complex irrigation system brought water from the Euphrates River to water the gardens.

Merchants came to the city in traveling groups called caravans.

Chaldean astronomers—people who study the heavenly bodies—mapped the stars, the planets, and the phases of the moon as it changed.