Across
- 2. (also known as the Neo-Babylonian Empire / c. 911-539 BC) last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia / defeated the Assyrian Empire / later defeated by the Achaemenid Persian Empire
- 6. one of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent / its flooding left the southern plains of what is now Iraq with the richest soil in the Near East
- 7. ‘calf of the sun’ / patron deity of Babylon and the national god of Babylonia
- 9. language family primarily spoken across the Middle East and parts of Africa / includes Akkadian, Aramaic, Arabic, and Hebrew
- 12. (c. 1894-1595) empire primarily based in southern Mesopotamia / founded by the Amorite king Hammurabi, who expanded its territory across Mesopotamia / Akkadian-speaking / Marduk plays a decisive role in this empire’s creation myth
- 14. often called the ‘cradle of civilization / region that curves like a quarter-moon shape from the Persian Gulf through modern southern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and northern Egypt / regarded as the birthplace of agriculture, urbanization, writing, trade, science, history, and organized religion
- 19. one of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent / its flooding left the southern plains of what is now Iraq with the richest soil in the Near East
- 21. (established approx. 1753 BC) Babylonian legal text that established the principle of retaliation - “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” - and divine authority to protect the weak from the strong
- 22. historic region in southern Mesopotamia / divided into many independent city-states that were centered on a temple dedicated to a particular patron god or goddess
- 23. watering of land by artificial means / Sumerians designed canals, levees, reservoirs, and dams to hold the flow of water from the Tigris and Euphrates
Down
- 1. (642-562 BC) prominent king of the Chaldean Empire, who rose to prominence through military conquests - defeating both the Assyrians and Egyptians at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC / Babylon flourished as a center of trade and culture under his rule and he is credited with grand architectural projects, including the Hanging Gardens of Babylon / legacy marred by the Babylonian captivity of the exiled Jews and the destruction of the first Holy Temple located in ancient Jerusalem
- 3. (c. 2334-2154 BC) the world’s first empire / established by Sargon of Akkad / a vast region was unified under a centralized government - eventually incorporated all of the Sumerian city-states / its language became the lingua franca of the region
- 4. distinctive temples throughout Mesopotamia / suggested eternal values and a hierarchical order / their purposes were entirely ceremonial
- 5. modern country situated in ancient Mesopotamia / gained its independence in 1932 and invaded by the United States in 2003
- 8. westernmost extension of Asia / bounded by the Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the South / includes the entirety of Asiatic Turkey
- 10. (c. approx. 900-600 BCE) empire primarily based in northern Mesopotamia / strongest military power that ruled over the largest empire yet assembled / its war machine made use of armored archers, catapults, and battering rams / adopted iron for armor and weapons / its capital Nineveh located in northern Iraq / conquered Egypt in 671 BC
- 11. concept that emerged under the Akkadians, whose monarchs adopted titles like ‘God of Akkad’ / the idea of the king as supreme mediator between the gods and the people was an old tradition within the Akkadian cult of kingship
- 13. ‘land between rivers’ in Greek’ / situated between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, where regular flooding provided fertile soil for farming
- 15. pictographic writing system that used wedge-shaped characters inscribed on clay tablets / used symbols for pictures, sounds, and ideas / most surviving examples are records of business transactions
- 16. a capital city surrounded by additional urban centers and/or the countryside / ruled by a priest or king in ancient Mesopotamia
- 17. (died 2279 BCE) brought an end to the independence of the Sumerian city-states and founded the Akkadian Empire / propagated the ‘Akkadian’ version of cuneiform, which became more widely used for administrative purposes
- 18. system of rule where religious leaders also led the government / priest-kings were the earliest rulers in ancient Mesopotamia, where population growth and urbanization necessitated centralized leadership
- 20. worship of many gods