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Ancient Mesopotamia

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Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and the cradle of civilization.

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What does 'Mesopotamia' mean and which rivers does it refer to?

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  1. 1What does 'Mesopotamia' mean and which rivers does it refer to?
    Mesopotamia means 'Between the Rivers' in Ancient Greek, referring to the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers
  2. 2When was the name Mesopotamia first used?
    The oldest known occurrence of the name Mesopotamia dates to the 4th century BC
  3. 3Which modern countries does the historical region of Mesopotamia encompass?
    Present-day Iraq, and parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey
  4. 4What is Upper Mesopotamia?
    The area between the Euphrates and Tigris from their sources down to Baghdad
  5. 5What is Lower Mesopotamia?
    The area from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf
  6. 6Why is Mesopotamia called a 'cradle of civilization'?
    It has been home to many of the oldest major civilizations, entering history from the Early Bronze Age
  7. 7What is the earliest settled site for hunter-gatherers in Mesopotamia?
    Körtik Tepe (10,400 BC)
  8. 8When did agriculture begin in Mesopotamia?
    During the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period (10,000–8,700 BC)
  9. 9When did animal domestication begin in Mesopotamia?
    At the transition from PPNA to Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB, 8700–6800 BC) at the end of the 9th millennium BC
  10. 10What is significant about Göbekli Tepe?
    It contains the earliest monumental sculptures and circular stone buildings from the PPNA/Early PPNB, representing communal efforts of hunter-gatherers
  11. 11What are the major cultures of the Chalcolithic period in Mesopotamia?
    Hassuna culture (north), Halaf culture (northwest), Samarra culture (central), and Ubaid culture (southeast)
  12. 12What is one of the oldest known Neolithic sites in Mesopotamia?
    Jarmo, settled around 7000 BC and broadly contemporary with Jericho and Çatalhöyük
  13. 13What was the first settlement in southern Mesopotamia?
    Eridu, settled during the Ubaid period by farmers who brought the Samarran culture from the north
  14. 14What is the Ubaid period dated to?
    c. 6500–3800 BC, nearly three millennia
  15. 15What is the Halaf culture known for?
    Pottery decorated with abstract geometric patterns, clay fertility figurines painted with lines, and carefully crafted and dyed pots
  16. 16What is the Uruk period significant for?
    It saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia and the gradual emergence of the cuneiform script (34th to 32nd centuries BC)
  17. 17When did the cuneiform writing system develop?
    During the Uruk period (4th millennium BC), further refined during the Jemdet Nasr period
  18. 18What is the Jemdet Nasr period dated to?
    3100–2900 BC
  19. 19What language is thought to have been used in Jemdet Nasr period texts?
    Sumerian, though it cannot be identified with certainty for this period
  20. 20When is the Early Dynastic period generally dated to?
    2900–2350 BC according to Middle Chronology, or 2800–2230 BC according to Short Chronology
  21. 21Who were the Sumerians?
    People firmly established in Mesopotamia by the middle of the 4th millennium BC; their language is a language isolate unrelated to any other known language
  22. 22When did logographic script develop into decipherable cuneiform syllabic script?
    By 2600 BC
  23. 23Who was Gilgamesh?
    A semi-historical king of Uruk during the 3rd millennium BC, subject of the famous Epic of Gilgamesh
  24. 24What were important city-states during the Early Dynastic period?
    Kish, Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Nippur, Girsu, and Eridu
  25. 25When did the Akkadian period occur?
    Generally dated to 2350–2170 BC (Middle Chronology) or 2230–2050 BC (Short Chronology)
  26. 26Who founded the Akkadian Empire and when?
    Sargon became ruler of Akkad around 2334 BC and proceeded to conquer from the Persian Gulf to Syria
  27. 27What was significant about the Akkadian language?
    It was a Semitic language that came into widespread use as the lingua franca, though literacy remained in Sumerian
  28. 28Who was Naram-Sin and what did he do?
    An Akkadian ruler who brought the dynasty to its zenith and began the trend for rulers to claim divinity for themselves
  29. 29Who were the Guti?
    People from the Zagros Mountains who invaded and controlled Mesopotamia (especially the south) for half a century after the Akkadian Empire fell
  30. 30Who was Gudea?
    The most famous ruler of the second dynasty of Lagash, who left many statues of himself in temples across Sumer

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